On Sunday, the Boston University men’s basketball team will not just be playing to beat Northeastern University. They will also be fighting to win a bigger battle: eradicating cancer at the Coaches vs. Cancer Tripleheader.
“We all know someone who has been affected, and we now get to use the game of basketball to try and help find a cure,” said Shaun Morris, associate head coach of the men’s basketball team. “Coaches vs. Cancer is a great cause for our program because it allows us to help aid in the fight against this terrible disease.”
Coaches vs. Cancer is a nationwide program created by a partnership between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. At the tournament in Boston, six of the Commonwealth’s Division I NCAA basketball teams will be matched up in three different games to raise money for the American Cancer Society at TD Garden. The six teams include BU, Northeastern, Boston College, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Harvard University and College of the Holy Cross.
As an added twist to this year’s tournament, each team has nominated a fundraising leader whose job it is to try and raise more money than all of the other colleges and universities. Connor Lenahan, a sophomore in the College of Communication, was nominated as BU’s fundraising leader by the men’s basketball team.
“BU chose me because they know about my relationship with the basketball team,” he said. “They knew that I love to help out with a great cause and the American Cancer Society obviously is [one]. There’s no one alive today that hasn’t been impacted by cancer in some way, whether…it’s a friend or a family member.”
Lenahan became involved with the athletics department and the men’s basketball team in Fall 2013 after running into Maurice Watson Jr., a former point guard on the men’s basketball team. Lenahan recognized Watson from high school as a player on one of the opposing teams his basketball team played, and was introduced to the rest of the players and coaches at practices through Watson.
“He brought me in … to the team. I remember it all led up to the same event that is happening on this Sunday,” Lenahan said, referring to last year’s Coaches vs. Cancer game. “We played in this game last year against Northeastern too, and that was my first game where I went and sat by the court and with the team. It was perfect.”
Despite his brittle bone disease that will never allow him to compete athletically, Lenahan said the basketball team often “forgets” that he’s not an athlete because they just accept him “as part of that world,” which has made this the best thing to happen to him in college.
“I’m a firm believer that everyone when they come to school, you eventually find your way in the area that you’re involved in,” he said. “I knew coming to BU that athletics would be it for me because I’m a huge sports fan and I always have been.”
Lenahan agreed to raise money for the American Cancer Society because it will not just benefit for the organization, but also BU and Lenahan himself.
“It’ll be good for the American Cancer Society because that money will go to helping people in need,” he said. “It’ll show that BU cares about this really important cause and it’ll be good for me because I’ll be happy that I helped out something so deserving.”
Lenahan said besides the benefits, there is an added incentive to raising money as well.
“There’s also the little fun part about [how] the top two [fundraisers] get to compete in the shoot out contest from the TD Garden floor where the [Boston] Celtics play,” he said. “I can hold that over my friends’ heads for life.”
The original goal was to raise $1,500 for the American Cancer Society, but Lenahan has already surpassed that goal, putting him in first place of the other school representatives with $1,705 raised as of Wednesday.
“The good news is that we’ve been able to make a dent for them [the American Cancer Society],” Lenahan said. “Even if I don’t get on the court, as long as I’ve raised money for them and I’ve helped with a good cause, I’m going to be more than happy. And I think that’ll be something to be proud of for everyone that’s donated.”
Lenahan, who is also the official announcer for the women’s basketball team, said he loves helping out the athletic department that has given him great opportunities to become involved on campus.
“I had definite hard points in my life with breaking a bunch of bones, but at the same time I’ve been so blessed in other areas that I never focus on the fact that I can’t be on the court,” Lenahan said. “I get to see things that none of my friends from back home get to see.”
Like Lenahan’s experience with the men’s basketball team, Morris said sees the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament as transcending the small stuff to focus on the bigger picture.
“We talk all the time about how certain things are bigger than the game, and this is certainly one of those examples,” he said. “We need the BU community to come support our team and this cause at the Garden to help the fight against this terrible disease.”
The Coaches vs. Cancer Tripleheader will take place at TD Garden on Sunday with the BU vs. Northeastern game at 12:30 p.m. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster, and those who would like to donate to the American Cancer Society via Lenahan’s fund can do so on the Coaches vs. Cancer website.