Piston Legend Rick Mahorn Awards Detroit Students $100k

"Bad Boy" Rick Mahorn has teamed up with the Detroit Pistons Foundation for 19 years to award tens of thousands of dollars in secondary education funding to Detroit high school students. The tradition continued this yeas as six DPS students were chosen to share $100,000 in scholarship money to aid in paying for their college education after showcasing their Black excellence to a panel of judges.

The grand prize winner, King Bethel, who attended Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, performed in the poetry slam competition, where he won the Earl Lloyd Award. for coming in first place, Bethel received 25,000 in scholarship funds.

In partnership with Priority Health, Karis Robinson of Marygrove College placed second in the poetry contest, winning a total of $15,000 in scholarship funds, and CarRyn Gilbert of Cass Tech finished third, winning $10,000 in scholarship funds. The Black History Month Scholarship Event included a poster competition in addition to poetry competition. Students were challenged to design a poster that answered the question, "How Do You Embody Black Excellence?". First-place went to Leah Vaughn, a student at U Prep Academy. She took home a total of $25,000 and the first ever Earl Cureton Award.

Earl Cureton was not only a long time ambassador for the Detroit Pistons, a former player, but also grew up in the city of Detroit,  who had just recently passed away. The Pistons organization released a statement about the Earl Cureton award and it's recipient saying, “After his passing, the organization and his good friend, Rick Mahorn, wanted to honor Earl’s legacy by naming the annual poster contest winner the Earl Cureton Scholarship Award, which was won this year by Leah Vaughn of U Prep Academy.”

The organization also stated, “Since Earl began as a Community Ambassador for the Detroit Pistons, he’s joined Pistons Legend Rick Mahorn in celebrating Black History Month at the annual scholarship event. The scholarship event was one of Earl’s favorite community events to take part in as he saw the talented Detroit students perform and celebrate their Black Excellence.”

https://kissfmdetroit.com/listicle/former-detroit-pistons-legend-bob-lanier-passes-away-at-73/

http://gty.im/1286045308

http://gty.im/110307109

Ex-Detroit Pistons star center & 1992 Basketball Hall of Famer, Bob Lanier, passed away Tuesday, May 10th at the age of 73, following a short illness.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, shared in a statement: "Bob Lanier was a Hall of Fame player and among the most talented centers in the history of the NBA, but his impact on the league went far beyond what he accomplished on the court. For more than 30 years, Bob served as our global ambassador and as a special assistant to David Stern and then me, traveling the world to teach the game's values and make a positive impact on young people everywhere."

In 1970, the Pistons drafted Lanier, a native of Buffalo, NY. He was the league's top pick out of St. Bonaventure. Over the course of his NBA career, he averaged over 20 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Check out the Pistons Legend many accomplishments below ! RIP Bob Lanier..

http://gty.im/1286045308

Lanier played 7 of his 8 All-Star Games as a Detroit Piston! In the 1974 All-Star Game, he was named All-Star Game MVP, leading all scorers!

He finished his 14 season NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks from 1980-84, considered to be on the best centers of his era!

https://kissfmdetroit.com/shows/mason-and-starr/