Seventy-five students,
ages 6-13, from Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx, attended the
Tyler Ugolyn MVPs of Character Clinic on Saturday, May 5, in
Levien Gymnasium.
The clinic is named in
honor of Tyler Ugolyn '01CC, a former Columbia men's basketball
player who lost his life at the World Trade Center on the
morning of September 11, 2001. The annual event is sponsored by
Ugolyn family.
The event opened up
with a brief talk by Columbia’s head men’s basketball coach, Joe
Jones. Jones introduced the keynote speaker for the event,
former NBA all-star and world champion, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe.
Monroe, the second pick
overall in the NBA Draft in 1967, won a NBA World Championship
with the New York Knicks in 1973, just two seasons after being
traded from the Baltimore Bullets, the team he began his
professional career with.
After the address,
which detailed Monroe’s academic and professional career, and
brief question-and-answer session, the kids broke up into
stations to learn some basketball fundamentals from Columbia
coaches and players.
The students broke for
lunch, which was sponsored by Subway on 125th Street.
After the break, the participants enjoyed games run by current
Columbia men and women’s basketball players.