HAMPTON, VA (WTKR) - Boo Williams didn't know in 1982 that his summer league would last to 2022.
He just wanted to help change lives and give basketball players another chance to get better.
Williams achieved both. On Saturday, the 40 years of Boo Williams Summer League was celebrated in Hampton with a Free "Stop the Violence" Basketball Clinic, followed by a sneaker gala where hundreds of former players, AAU coaches, and friends paid their respect to Williams.
"To see all the people come out from all across the country for this event is great," Williams said.
His initial summer league started with 46 players. It now attracts thousands of boys and girls basketball players from around the country.
"Everybody says how tough it is to do it for 40 years, some people can't do it for 40 days," Williams remembered.
Hampton Mayor Donnie Tuck led off a group of speakers who touched on the amount of lives Williams touched through basketball, both on and off the floor. The memories have returned in waves for the long-time coach as the weekend approached.
"We started out with two Hall of Famers with Allen Iverson and Alonzo Mourning, and the great, great girls that played," he said. "Especially now, now we're coaching the siblings, we coached mothers and fathers and their children."
Longevity isn't something every coach is afforded, and it's something Williams doesn't take for granted.
"Out work everybody," he said. "You only have to compete against one percent, because the other 99-percent are lazy."
