The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Kanter gives back to the community
Celtics center conducts free youth hoop clinic, receives Milford key to the city
MILFORD — Since he was first drafted by the Utah Jazz in 2011, Swissborn Turkish professional basketball Enes Kanter, who recently signed with the Boston Celtics, has been trying to decide what to do during the summer months of the NBA offseason.
“Since I was drafted in 2011, at the end of each season, I would ask players on my team about what they would be doing in the offseason,” Kanter said. “Some would say they would spend time golfing, others said they would play a lot of video games. But I wanted to do something more with my time off, something constructive in a way that I could give back to the community.”
At the end of the 2017 season, Kanter decided to create a a series of free oneday basketball camps for kids aged 818 at sites around the country. During the summer of 2018 he did 16 free basketball camps. This summer he expanded the number to 45 camps and Milford became one of the destination spots.
On Friday, Kanter held a twohour free basketball camp for kids at Fowler Field from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Prior to the camp, Milford Mayor Benjamin Blake presented Kanter with a key to the city in a ceremony at Milford Town Hall.
“America has given me so much, I always wanted to do something to give back to America,” Kanter said. “Some NBA players run camps in New York, Miami or LA (Los Angeles). But I wanted to do camps all over the country. The reason I came to Milford is there is a large Turkish community here.
“To get a key to the city is something special. It’s my first key to the city. Milford is a special community, everyone is so nice, and I am happy to give back to the people here.”
For Mayor Blake, giving Kanter a key to the city made sense.
“It’s really a sign of appreciation for what he is doing today, for giving back to the Milford community,” Blake said. “Having someone of his stature is great for the kids who are developing. They see someone who made it to the highest level in the sport of basketball, especially with our local teams having played for the Knicks and now the Celtics.”
The free basketball camp was sponsored by the Turk
ish Cultural Center with its headquarters in Milford.
“We are part of this community and this is also a way for us to give back to the community,” said Omer Kizilcik, president of the Turkish Cutural Center.
According to a prepared statement, the Turkish Cultural Center is a nonprofit organization that responds to social and cultural needs of TurkishAmericans and promotes crosscultural awareness.
“So with the Turkish connection, the way we both want to give back to the community and the since we share the same ideology, it made sense to sponsor one of his free camps,” Kizilcik said.
Kizilcik estimated that nearly 300 kids came out for Kanter’s camp.
Kanter, who played for the New York Knicks until they released him last season, is looking forward to playing for the Celtics.
“I’m very excited to be a part of the Celtics team, one of the best NBA teams in the history of the game,” Kanter said. “It’s a very special team, and if we do our job, we’ll have a special season and also have some fun.”