It all started on a cold windy winter Saturday in upstate New York. On February 19, 2000, over five thousand spectators filled War Memorial, Rochester’s iconic downtown arena, now formally known as the Blue Cross Arena. Among them were Edward Thomas, Sr., and his 3-year old son, Thomas Bryant. The two, together with Thomas’ older brother, were celebrating the long President’s weekend with courtside tickets to see the visiting Harlem Globetrotters. Edward just bought his son a small red, white, and blue basketball and little Thomas was as excited as he ever was.
He was so enthralled that, as Edward vividly recalls, as soon as the horn sounded for halftime, Thomas ran out on the floor and tried to shoot his new basketball.