CLEVELAND — When the Cavaliers and the City of Cleveland launched the Hoops After Dark program in 2022, part of Mayor Justin Bibb’s plan to prevent violence throughout the city, their goal was to help provide an outlet for young adults.
What they've seen since has been a trend that they hope will continue as the program grows: employment opportunities.
Since launching Hoops After Dark, the Cavs have expanded the program to a year-round slate of clinics and events that bring community members out to courts for basketball games and workouts.
Selassie Wilson, 29, from Cleveland, was a part of the inaugural Hoops After Dark season. After participating in the eight-week league for men ages 18-26, Wilson was presented with a unique opportunity he had always dreamed of.
"Played the inaugural season, they called me earlier this season about the job opportunity and I took advantage of it," Wilson said. "Right now I’m a Youth Development Coach for the Cavs. We basically do clinics around the city to help kids with their skills and teach them skill work and the game of basketball."
Wilson travels around Northeast Ohio helping coach in clinics with Cavs Youth, running drills and games in local rec centers and gyms.
Like Wilson, 20-year-old Daniel Sims from Maple Heights was also hired by the Cavs through the Hoops After Dark program. He had been invited to attend the tryouts for the league by a friend while he was back in town from attending college at Xavier University.
During the tryouts, Sims met Jessica Davis, the Director of Youth Basketball Operations for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Sims and Davis connected and Davis offered him the opportunity to coach in her program.
Sims and Wilson have been sharing their story with the youth they coach, hoping to impact the next generation of hoopers in Northeast Ohio and encourage them to follow opportunities as they're presented to them.
"Just be open-minded. You never know what opportunities will come your way and when they come take full advantage of it. It’s not just going to the NBA, you can get other jobs. You can be into finance, you can be in the social department, you can be a coach. There’s different avenues and venues," Wilson said in his message to the kids he meets.
"Basically with my dedication in staying around the game and all that, that can just teach kids to follow their dreams," is Sims' message to the youth.
For the Cavs, seeing community members participate in their programs and then find career paths through it is a trend they hope will become the norm for Hoops After Dark and other basketball clinics hosted by the organization.
"We just want to continue to put basketballs in the hands of these kids and young adults so that they, then, can have other opportunities. So we just see this growing exponentially year over year to the point where we will continue to hire coaches as long as we can find kids to play," SVP head of social impact and equity Kevin Clayton said.
