Gheorghe Muresan leads a basketball clinic at Potomac Community Center. Photo by Deb Stevens.
At the Potomac Community Center, Gheorghe Muresan reached out to his local community on Jan. 4 with a basketball clinic. Muresan, originally from Romania with a height of 7’-7,” was an NBA basketball player for both the Bullets and Wizards and is now active in working with children in the community and on a global level.
In 2004, Muresan started GBA (Giant Basketball Association) aimed at teaching young children the proper fundamentals of basketball. He also does work in charities for underprivileged children, according to the GBA website.
So with all these qualifications and passion for community outreach, Muresan and Peter Selikowitz of the Potomac Community Center decided to give back to Potomac through a free basketball clinic.
“It's all about people. I met Gheorghe when he came in with his two sons,” Selikowitz said. “We just started talking, we kind of hit it off. We came up with an idea for the community.” This event would teach basketball skills and be a fun, free way for the community to enjoy basketball.
The day consisted of several different stations for specific game skills. Gabe Albornoz, director of the Department of Recreation, coached the shooting station; Muresan then worked with children at other stations. Muresan “is just so accessible, we're fortunate to have him in our community,” Selikowitz said. The stands were filled with hundreds of parents; the event was also large enough to allow about 130 children from 2nd through 6th grade to participate. The event also had an equal number of boys and girls, being very inclusive as well as accessible to the public. All people running and helping with the event were volunteers for the day. Thus, this event also showcased the efforts of those reaching out to the community for free; additionally, this provided the benefit of no cost for families participating.
The recreation department with the community center host and run youth basketball programs for children in kindergarten through high school.