Home Court Hero Presentation- 2/28/09
Kapco President Jim Kacmarcik, along with Milwaukee Bucks player Andrew Bogut are honoring the Feb. 28, 2009 Kapco Home Court Hero Recipients – DEKALB AND MILWAUKEE MADISON HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL TEAMS. Pictured are Darius McNeal of DeKalb H.S. on the left and Johntell Franklin of Milwaukee Madison H.S. on the right.
These two teams have earned the Home Court Heroes title for displaying extraordinary sportsmanship and compassion during a basketball game. They played each other on February 7, 2009 in Milwaukee. Earlier that day, Madison senior captain Johntell Franklin's mother passed away from cervical cancer. The game came close to being cancelled, but Johntell wanted his teammates to play, even though he was not expected to be there. However, early in the second quarter of a close game, Johntell arrived at the gym. His coach immediately called a timeout and his teammates walked over to him to show support for their grieving teammate. It was at that time that Johntell expressed a desire to play. The only problem with that was that the rulebook stated that if a player enters a game that is not on the pre-game roster, the opposing team is awarded two technical free throws. DeKalb's head coach refused to accept the two technicals, recognizing along with everyone else that playing in the game might help Johntell with the grieving process, but the referees insisted that someone had to shoot the two free throws. So DeKalb's senior captain, Darius McNeal, volunteered to take the shots, which he intentionally missed. The heartfelt act of sportsmanship was felt on the Madison bench and in the crowd as they all stood to applaud both McNeal and his team. Milwaukee Madison went on to win 62-47 and Johntell Franklin finished the game with 10 points. These teams are true heroes. This touching story also received national attention and has inspired the hearts of people across the country.
The Milwaukee Bucks thank Kapco for supporting Home Court Heroes. For Kapco there is no single greater reward than giving back to the community. Kapco…making people our priority!
