Clown Prince of Basketball entertains WC Students

School ended early for Worth County students Friday as they were entertained by former ABA player Valentino Willis, the self-described Clown Prince of Basketball. Along the way, Willis talked to students about the need to stay clear of drugs, tobacco, and alcohol. "I have traveled all over the world and all over, there are kids who think it is cool to do drugs," he said. "I’ve gotten letters from principals who had students die from using too much drugs."
Willis said that it was OK to have fun and that it could be done without using them; he proved his point by keeping the assembly rolling in laughter and teaching people various ball-handling tricks. "Some kids want to fight with their teachers and principals," he said. "But they do what they do because they love you," he said. He said that it was very important for kids to do homework and that "you are never too old or too young to start learning."
Keeping off of drugs starts with parents, said Willis. "If your kids see you smoking or drinking, they will want to act like you," he said. "Talk to your little ones. We may have a doctor or a teacher or a lawyer. Knowledge is power." He said that alcohol takes the future of our kids away and that "you are the future of the world." And he said that it also starts with love. "I want everyone to go home and give mom and dad a big hug and tell them you love them," he said. "There is not enough love in this world today."
Willis said that he spoke from personal experience; he was friends with the late Maryland star Len Bias, who was drafted by the Boston Celtics and died that very night from a drug overdose. "He would tell me, ‘Valentino, all I ever want to do is make it to the NBA,’" said Willis. But when Len Bias got drafted, he decided to do something that he had never done before -- he went to a party, got high on cocaine, and died of the resultant overdose. "That was the first time he every tried drugs," said Willis. "That’s why I travel all over the country asking students not to use drugs."
"Please don’t give your teachers and parents and coaches a hard time; they are here for you," he finished. Willis then led the assembly in applause for the teachers, coaches, school employees, parents, and grandparents. Willis then called out 25 different elementary and high school students and got them in a circle where he would throw them the ball and they had to catch it or get knocked out. He would throw the ball several times in a row at some of the more sure-handed students and would sometimes try to surprise people with no-look passes or surprise passes from various parts of his body.
Willis then led a group of students in a layup race, where the object was for the teams to make all their layups before the other teams did. But at the end of the day, Willis told them that it didn’t matter who won; they were all winners.