Milwaukee Bucks' Pat Connaughton unveils a new basketball court at a Milwaukee school that uses it for more than just sports

Hannah Kirby - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

For the nearly 480 students that attend Milwaukee College Prep's 38th Street Campus, their basketball court is more than meets the eye.

It's where they eat lunch. Attend assemblies and events. And take part in special programs.

When Milwaukee Bucks' Pat Connaughton was a kid, his school's gym was the same way.

"What I believe a basketball court represents is a place where a community can come together," Connaughton told MCP's 38th Street Campus students in their gym on Wednesday. "For me, what basketball represents is a place where we can not only hone physical skills and do physical activity, but you can really learn some translatable life skills through teamwork, through leadership, through accountability, through discipline."

Connaughton was at the public charter school for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the basketball court that his foundation, along with Ted and Mary Kellner and the Kelben Foundation, donated and refurbished. It's the sixth court Connaughton's foundation has breathed new life into, five of which are in Milwaukee. The other is in his home state of Massachusetts.

"I didn't get to where I am today without the help of a ton of people — coaches, family, friends, mentors, etc. — so to be able to utilize my platform to kind of help give back and show different groups and kids that, 'Hey, there are people out there that want to see you do the best that you can do," Connaughton told local media after Wednesday's ceremony. "They want to see you achieve the dreams that you have for yourself. We all kind of need a helping hand ... Hopefully, it inspires that next generation to reach for the stars and land on the moon."

"I love the court," Nghia Williams, the 38th Street Campus' principal, told the Journal Sentinel. "It has added a new vibrancy to our floor and (is) so lively ... When (students) come in here, they own it, they love it and they greatly appreciate it."

And, Williams' K-8th-grade students got more than a Connaughton Court. On Wednesday, they got advice from the NBA champ — for both on and off the court — personal anecdotes, a Q&A and lots of laughs along the way.

"I'm honored, honestly," Nylah Anyadioha, a 12-year-old basketball player, told the Journal Sentinel. "He's an amazing player on the Bucks. I just feel very honored to have him come to my school."

"They see you as Pat Connaughton on television, No. 24 on the Milwaukee Bucks," Connaughton told media. "But when you're in here and when you're interacting with them, very quickly they just see you as Pat. I think that's really cool."

Some of the advice Pat Connaughton gave students

Connaughton asked how many kids made their bed that morning to segue into a discussion on discipline and how important that is for turning their dreams into realities.

"Doing those little things are creating a habit — that you wake up in the morning and do something you may not want to do," he said. "But you do it because it's helping create discipline. It's helping create accountability. It's helping create these habits that are going to translate to far more areas than just on the basketball court."

Connaughton listed habits that the kids can start developing, including hard work, teamwork, listening to their parents and teachers, having their peers' backs and treating others how they want to be treated.

"No matter what it is you kind of dream and aspire to be, those little habits that you start to form when you're at this age will help get you to achieve those things," he said.

Connaughton used his own team as an example, saying the Bucks didn't win the 2021 NBA Championship because they had the most talent or skill. They won because they were the most together as a team, had each other's backs and put in the extra work, whether it was in the film room or on the court, he said.

"We did a bunch of little things that each of us individually had learned over the course of our lives," he told the students. "And then collectively came together, put aside personal goals and aspirations as less important than the team goal and aspiration, which was to win a championship, which was to represent the City of Milwaukee to the best of our ability."

Pat Connaughton's Q&A with students

Connaughton then opened up the floor for questions from students. He got an array of 'em, from what it means to be a coachable player to why he wanted to become a professional basketball player.

The Bucks guard played several sports growing up in Arlington, Massachusetts, but basketball was his "first love."

It wasn't the sport that came easiest to him, though. That was baseball. But, basketball stole his heart.

"I fell in love with the work. I fell in love with being on a court. I fell in love with playing with my teammates," he told the students. "I fell in love with doing something no one thought I could do."

He shared what it took to be a two-sport athlete in college, and how he was drafted to play both professional baseball and basketball.

First, the San Diego Padres selected him out of high school in the 38th round of the Major League Baseball draft in 2011, but he didn't sign, according to a previous Journal Sentinel report. After Connaughton attended and played at the University of Notre Dame, the Baltimore Orioles picked him in the fourth round in 2014.

He stayed in school for this senior year to play basketball and was a second-round pick of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets in 2015. He was immediately traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, who he played with for about three years. He's been with the Bucks for about six now.

Why did Connaughton want to wear No. 24? He shared that with students, too.

"What is the one thing we have in common is we all have 24 hours in a day," he said. "What we do with those 24 hours, how you take advantage of those 24 hours, how you manage that time ... how you utilize those 24 hours will dictate what you can and can't accomplish."

This really resonated with Anyadioha.

"When he was explaining how you should do something with the 24 hours you have each day, that really stuck with me," Anyadioha said.

Since basketball doesn't last forever, Connaughton said, he shared the ways he's using his 24 hours to set himself up for continued success whenever his career on the court ends. That includes his foundation and Three Leaf Partners, a real estate development company that oversees hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of projects.

Toward the end of Connaughton's visit, he signed some students' basketballs and jerseys, and snapped photos with kiddos — including some basketballers and cheerleaders — and faculty members. Plus, there was a surprise appearance from non other than Bucks mascot Bango, who was met with cheers from the crowd.

"To have the opportunity to have words from Pat Connaughton, and then to also have interaction with Bango as well was such a great opportunity for my babies," Williams said.

More on the Pat Connaughton Foundation, Connaughton Courts

According to a previous Journal Sentinel report, the Pat Connaughton Foundation launched early in his career and included standard basketball camps and clinics. They were rewarding, but felt temporary.

“How do we have more of a sustained impact? How do we really impact these next generation of student-athletes' lives on an even other level?” Connaughton previously told the Journal Sentinel.

That sparked an idea from foundation treasurer Joe Kirpas to refurbish courts.

The foundation typically accepts applications for school's courts and other gym needs from around fall to Jan. 1. Its goal is to pick schools that "need it most" or are using their court beyond basketball, Connaughton told media Wednesday.

Before making their decision, foundation staff visits the courts they're considering and talks with community members to hear what kind of an impact a fresh court would have on a particular school.

Two more court transformations have been announced, for Milwaukee's Reagan High School and an outdoor court — the foundation's first — in Mukwonago.

As the foundation grows, Connaughton hopes to take his efforts national, and eventually, international, he said.