Scottie Pippen & Grassroots Basketball of America Join Forces

Business Wire, July 18, 2007

CHICAGO -- Scottie Pippen has joined forces with Grassroots Basketball of America (GBOA) as its Global Ambassador of Basketball. The two-time Olympic gold-medalist, six-time NBA World Champion, and member of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players of All Time team will devote his efforts towards assisting GBOA in the improvement of grassroots basketball around the world.

GBOA is an organization of more than 300 grassroots high school all-star basketball teams from around the country. GBOA was formed in March 2007 and is dedicated to providing total access and high-quality basketball content to its devoted fans while developing and profiling urban youth in a positive manner. GBOA will develop its players on and off the court by stressing the importance of basketball fundamental skill development, academic improvement, teamwork, and appropriate player conduct.

Through its basketball tournaments and multimedia website (www.gboahoops.com), GBOA will showcase the talents of its more than 3,000 high school all-star basketball players and provide total access to grassroots basketball's millions of fans worldwide. The multimedia website will include player and team videos, player and coach blogs, coach and fan polls, community message boards, and basketball fundamental tutorials by Pippen. Pippen says, "I am very excited about partnering with GBOA because I believe that together we can accomplish great things for young athletes worldwide."

Scottie Pippen recently returned from China where he was working in conjunction with the NBA's Basketball Without Borders program, spreading the positive grassroots basketball message to millions of basketball fans. Pippen also met with the Chinese Ministry of Education, China Basketball Association, and China Olympic Committee to discuss potential future partnerships.

Pippen will join GBOA in Las Vegas for the GBOA Challenge of Champions basketball tournament from July 19-21. Pippen will host a basketball skill development coaching clinic on July 21st, working closely with some of the best young players in the game including Brandon Jennings, Renaldo Woolridge, Melquan Bolding, Kenny Boynton, and Brandin Knight. Gary Charles, President of GBOA, says "We're thrilled to have Scottie play an active role in GBOA. He understands the fundamentals of basketball, teamwork, and appropriate player conduct better than anyone, and that's what we want to instill in our athletes."

For more information or a press pass to the GBOA Challenge of Champions in Las Vegas, please contact Chris Thorne at (312) 339-2619 or email info@gboahoops.com.