Alante Fenner currently lives in Atlanta and plays professional basketball in Portugal, but he continues to give back to his hometown.
Fenner, a member of the 2012 Lake Wales state champion basketball team, is organizing a youth basketball camp and alumni game in early June.
The Allante Fenner Weekend will include a clinic for boys and girls ages 8 to 17 on June 8 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Pro-Am Celebrity Basketball game will be held on June 9th at 7pm. Both events will be held at Lake Wales High School.
“We just wanted to do something to bring the community together,” Fenner said. “People have been asking me to do things and bring things together. So this is my way of bringing everyone together and getting our community back together and getting success out of our region of Polk County.” It's like watching people and teaching kids that everyone can succeed from it. It's all about how you apply it.”
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Fenner is working with his brother Savonte Frazier to put together the event. Fenner is working on getting sponsors to lower his registration costs, he said.
Admission to the reunion game is $5. Funds raised at the alumni game will benefit the Lake Wales men's basketball program.
Players active in camp include Corey Sanders, Kevin Capers and Fenner, as well as former UCF players Diamond Battles of Winter Haven and Jikira Lewis of Bartow.
Some of the players expected to play in the alumni game include Dwayne Bacon, Keion Clejo, Antonio Blakeney, Dominic Jones, Ronaldo Segg, Max Capers, Kevin Capers, Sanders and Fenner. It will be done. Fenner also promised “a few more surprise guests.”
The team will be coached by 2012 Highlanders veterans LaDarian Wilson and Russell Wilson.
A 2012 graduate of Lake Wales High School, Fenner starred at Savannah State and played overseas for six years. He has played in Portugal, Greece, Denmark, Cyprus, Dominican Republic and Chile.
“I love you, dude,” he said. “It's actually great to be able to experience different cultures and see different things outside of the United States. It's a different level of peace. Working out here every day, I'm learning more about my skills every day. Being able to perfect that, find that balance, think about things other than basketball and come up with ideas like this, give back to the community and bring the community back together.”