To submit a letter to the editor, click here.
To pitch a ‘My Turn’ guest column, email jdalessio@news-gazette.com.
Want to purchase today’s print edition? Here’s a map of single-copy locations.
Sign up for our daily newsletter here
CHAMPAIGN — With the lower level of Coleman Carrodine Gym full of excited fans ready for the opening tipoff, Sonny Walker huddled with the 10 starters at midcourt.
“I told those guys, as I tell them every time, ‘I love each and every one of you. Let’s put on a show,’” Walker, who was recently named Centennial’s new athletic director, said. “They know they’re all my little brothers at heart. It’s a Champaign brotherhood. The basketball community in town has always been close. I just wanted them to know that I love them, care for them and appreciate them coming out and doing this.”
Saturday night was the third year of an event Walker, the players and the Champaign community have developed immense pride in, the Coleman Carrodine Alumni Game.
Champaign Central won the inaugural game in 2022, and Centennial evened the series last year. This time around, the Maroons took back bragging rights with a convincing 90-74 victory.
“It never gets old,” Central player-coach PJ Keaton said of beating the crosstown rival. “Once I get on the basketball court, that old Central-Centennial rivalry comes back just like when I was a kid. It’s a joy just to be a part of this thing. I wish we could have got it going years ago when I was in better shape and younger. I’m just happy to be a part of it, and I feel like it’s something we can keep going for a long time.”
Much more than a basketball game, however, this event is a reunion. A chance for those who have proudly worn the Central maroon and Centennial blue to return to their roots and help bring the community together.
“My face is hurting from smiling so much,” Walker said, sporting one of his bigger smiles of the night. “Champaign is a community and a family. We love each other. Everyone has grown up around each other, so it’s just love.”
The pregame warmup session felt more like a meet and greet, with all the players taking breaks to talk to and reminisce with seemingly every fan to come through the doors.
“This is awesome. It’s great for the community,” 2020 Central graduate Pryce Punkay said. “You get to see all your buddies, teammates and classmates you haven’t seen in four or five years. It’s a good way for everybody to connect and bring the community closer together.”
And the atmosphere got even more heartfelt after the game, as the fans crowded the court to take pictures with the players and share even more memories.
“Leaving the game, I saw so many people I went to high school with who I haven’t seen in 10-plus years,” 2014 Centennial graduate and former Illini Michael Finke said. “Being able to see all these people is really cool. It’s not just for the alumni and basketball players, it’s for everyone else to come out and support. It’s always a lot of fun, win or lose.”
As for the competition, Punkay got the evening started by defending his three-point contest title. He put up a score of 12 in the first round and 15 in the final to fend off Finke and teammates Noah Wells and Keon Gill for the championship. The contest expanded from four to eight shooters this year, so Punkay said he was just as nervous this time.
“We always talk about going 2-0 on the day. We want to win the three-point contest and then win the game,” Punkay said. “As long as someone from Central wins the three-point contest, that’s all we really cared about. ... It just brings back all those memories, and those competitive juices start flowing again. It feels like old times.”
Punkay’s performance set the tone for the rest of the night, as Central went on to take control of the game in the second quarter en route to a lopsided win.
Early on, it looked like it was going to be more competitive than the previous two years.
In the opening minute, Kam Rowan threw a one-handed bounce pass through traffic to Jordan Walker, who finished at the rim for the game’s first basket to put the Maroons up 2-0. They had an even more exciting play to end the opening quarter. In the closing seconds, Khailieo Terry blocked a Centennial shot, and Germaine Roebuck drilled a three-pointer right before the buzzer to give Central a 26-25 lead.
That play gave the Maroons all the momentum they needed going into the second quarter, where they outscored Centennial 31-12 to take a 57-37 lead into halftime.
Keaton, a 2005 Central grad who’s going into his second year as the Maroons’ boys’ basketball coach, contributed to that run with a pair of three-pointers and some tight perimeter defense. One of those threes was off of a stepback, showing his high school players in the crowd that he’s still got it. And his defensive effort — he also took a charge later in the game — was a leading-by-example moment for his players.
“At the beginning of the game, I asked them, ‘What are y’all willing to do to get the win?’” Keaton said. “I told them that I’m willing to do anything. Loose balls, taking charges. It ain’t just about points. We’ve got a lot of people who can score. It’s about doing the little things that’ll help us get the big win. Once we put that together, the score spoke for itself.”
Terry put the exclamation point on the third quarter with a buzzer-beating putback slam that induced the loudest crowd reaction of the night. That put Central up 73-54, and the teams traded highlight-reel dunks down the stretch to end the game.
Roebuck’s game-high 21 points earned him Most Valuable Player honors. Other double-digit scorers for Central were Rowan with 12 points, Spencer Johnson with 11 points and Jordan Walker with 10 points. Terrion Howard and James Kinney led the Chargers with 11 points apiece, and Finke added 10.
As always, it all came back to the family feel. Sonny Walker, a 1995 Centennial grad who played for the late Carrodine, got on the microphone and thanked his former coach’s children for attending.
Everyone celebrated 2024 graduates Ezra Bernhard and Cricket Wagner from Central and Todd Makabu and Ruth Duma from Centennial for earning $500 scholarships.
And Charger cheerleaders joined in performing a commemorative halftime cheer for Daniyjah Staple, a 2024 Centennial graduate who died in late July.
“It’s a blessing to get this amount of people and this amount of support from Champaign,” Sonny Walker said. “I’m just thankful for everybody in Champaign and the community to come out and support, be peaceful and have fun. You’ve got a lot of alums who come in from out of town who want to see each other and see a good basketball game. I’m just happy to be able to do that. It’s more than basketball. It’s all about love.”
Zach Piatt covers high school sports at The News-Gazette. His email is zpiatt@news-gazette.com.
