Professional basketball player and Hinesville native Jordan McRae was back at his high school gym Aug. 7, hosting a basketball and dance clinic at Liberty County High School.
Later that same evening McRae hosted a Spades tournament at Celebrations Castle in Ludowici raising funds that will benefit the Liberty County Boys and Girls Club.
“When I was growing up, I used to have to go out of town for these opportunities,” McRae said about the children’s clinics. “And for me to be able to bring some of the experiences that I have and bring it back here to Liberty County means a lot to me.”
McRae said the youth in Liberty County work hard in developing their athleticism producing top athletes to include other professional athletes like Raekwon McMillan, Richard LeCounte, Davion Mitchell, Freddie McSwain Jr., Jordan Johnson, Rion Brown and several others.
“We love our sports here,” he said. “I love the fact that I was kind of able to be the catalyst to set it off.” He went on to say he hopes the children can see that people from Liberty County can and have gone off to live out their dreams of playing professional sports.
“When you come from a small town you think you can’t get to that level,” he said. “But to be able to know us, see us and being here at this camp, you can see it is real. I’ve played on this same court and walked these same halls…if I can do it, then they can.”
During the clinics McRae went one-on-one with the kids and didn’t cut the youngsters any slack.
Setting another example McRae got a COVID Vaccine shot in hoping others would follow his lead.
Liberty County Boys and Girls Club founder Edna Walthour said she was thrilled when she heard that McRae wanted to come home and do something for his community. She said it was Liberty County Chamber of Commerce Director Leah Poole who suggested that McRae assist the Boys and Girls Club.
Walthour said McRae spoke with the kids in school Friday, held the clinic Saturday afternoon and hosted the Spades Tournament Saturday night. She added McRae also brought in community partners that deal with mental illness, and brought in folks so kids could learn about financial planning.
“He is stressing financial literacy and mental health,” Walthour said. “It is awfully exciting and we are overwhelmed.”
Walthour said they had a huge turnout at all the events and she thinks McRae might turn this into an annual event.
McRae is an American professional basketball player for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers, and was drafted 58th overall in the 2014 NBA draft, by the San Antonio Spurs
McRae won a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. After spending time in the G League and overseas, McRae signed with the Wizards in 2018. In March 2020 McRae signed with the Pistons.