Coaching shoeless for a cause
Thursday, January 24, 2008 10:29 AM PST
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| Darron Cummings | Associated Press
IUPUI coach Ron Hunter gives instructions to his team during the second half of a college basketball game against Indiana in Indianapolis, in this Dec. 22, 2006 file photo. By the time Ron Hunter steps foot on the sideline today, he already will have made a difference in the lives of thousands of African children. Hunter plans to coach barefoot in IUPUI’s game against Oakland University on today to raise awareness for needy children. |
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — For once, Ron Hunter won’t be able to stomp.
Hunter will coach barefoot in IUPUI’s game against Oakland University on Thursday to raise awareness for needy children. His goal is to send 40,000 pairs of shoes to Africa in honor of the 40th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“If a five- or six-year-old kid can walk around their entire life with no shoes on, then surely, in a warm climate, in a basketball environment, I can do it,” he said. “They may not hear my stomps like they usually do.”
Hunter is working through a Charlotte, N.C. charitable organization called Samaritan’s Feet, which was founded four years ago by Emmanuel “Manny” Ohonme.
A native of Nigeria, Ohonme received his first pair of shoes at the age of 9 from an American missionary. He eventually earned a scholarship to play basketball at Lake Region State College in North Dakota.
Samaritan’s Feet wants to send 10 million pairs of shoes to children around the world in 10 years.
Hunter said he learned about Samaritan’s Feet after a mutual friend gave his number to Ohonme. Samaritan’s Feet came up with the idea for Hunter to go without shoes.
“They told me the idea, and at first I kind of laughed, because I thought surely they were joking about that,” he said. “But they weren’t.”
That, the call from Ohonme and prayer were enough to persuade him to go shoeless for a night.
Hunter told his team about the mission, and it moved freshman Christian Siakam, who is from Cameroon.
“He said a lot of college athletes, when they get their free pair of shoes, they take those things for granted. There’s so many kids, including people in his family, that don’t have shoes. It’s hitting home with him,” Hunter said.
“I knew we were doing the right thing when I saw the look on his face.”
Those attending the game have also been asked to go barefoot, and Hunter said many IUPUI students said they would.
Hunter said he has accumulated more than 40,000 pairs of shoes.
