If, for one night, a kid battling pediatric cancer can block out that dreadful ordeal, the power of sport can provide a wonderful platform.
That happens each year on a Thursday in June when former Kansas athletes gather, most of them basketball players, to participate in the Rock Chalk Roundball Classic.
The 2016 event, scheduled Thursday at Free State High School in Lawrence, will no doubt thrill fans wanting to see the former Jayhawks committed to playing in the basketball exhibition, as well as the beneficiaries of the fundraiser.
“They really get what this is all about and realize the difference they can make in the lives of these kids,’’ said Brian Hanni, who created the RCRC in 2009 while serving as part of the KU broadcast team and continues to work as its organizer.