It only took the New Albany Parks and Recreation Foundation a few short months to complete its first project – which made a big impact.
The foundation, created in October 2020, serves the New Albany Parks District by privately raising funds to develop programs and projects.
Its first project was creating basketball courts at Bevelhymer Park to memorialize Michael Lucey.
Lucey was 17 years old when he tragically died last August. While brainstorming ways to honor his memory, Lucey’s mother, Lindsay Harris, and fathers of Lucey’s friends quickly landed on basketball courts.
“He loved basketball,” says Harris. “It was a big part of his whole social network.”
Harris began taking Lucey to play basketball when he was 18 months old, and it quickly became a lifelong love.
In second grade, Lucey joined one of the recreation center’s teams under a program headed by Brian Smith, the recreation superintendent.
Many of Lucey’s coaches took note of his advanced understanding
The New Albany Parks and Recreation Foundation creates basketball courts at Bevelhymer Park to memorialize Michael Lucey, who died in August 2020.
of the game. Harris remembers what one coach observed about him.
“(Lucey) wasn’t the most athletic kid on the court, but he understood the game better than anybody,” she says.
Lucey became known as “the big man” for his impressive height. In fifth grade, he stood at a whopping six feet tall. Combined with his high basketball IQ, this attribute became highly desirable among the rec teams.
“He was always a man in demand amongst the volunteer coaches,” says Smith.
When he reached eighth grade, Lucey joined his school’s team. After two years, however, he left to organize a rec team with his friends, which they named the Soupreme Team – or Soup for short.
The rec program allows high schoolers to start their own teams. The rec basketball league for high school-aged students started with 34 kids and has made its way up to almost 300 athletes.
Smith and Harris believe that the rec program is so popular because it allows high schoolers to play with their closest friends while still being competitive.
“(Lucey) was a good enough player to make the travel team and school team, but … he just wanted to play with his friends at the rec,” says Smith.
The friends Lucey played with became his core support group. Harris is thankful for the community that team provided her son.
“(The rec) just provides so many opportunities for so many families,” says Harris.
Even after Lucey’s passing, his friends have stayed in touch with Harris and they helped with the creation of the memorial courts.
Now, Harris is always delighted to see Lucey’s friends enjoying their shared passion on the Michael Lucey Memorial Courts.
The memorial includes two full-size basketball courts with a pair of 40-foot lawn shade structures, portable bleachers, a donor wall and a memorial wall. In the future, Smith hopes the rec department can use it for camps and programs.
Brayden Wong, a senior at New Albany High School, worked with the architect to design the courts and hold a logo contest for the memorial wall.
The winning logo was designed by New Albany High School student Brandon Beesley.
The design is a three-dimensional silhouette of the Soupreme Team with a referee after one of their games. Lucey, number 20, is outlined in purple, and the names of the team members are listed underneath the picture as New Albany rec basketball champions three years in a row.
Harris and Smith both emphasize how the community stepped up to raise money for the memorial.
“From friends, families and local businesses, over $120,000 (was) raised,” says Smith.
Harris and her brother, Steele Harris, also contributed a large amount to the project.
At the dedication ceremony in May, so many people showed up to celebrate Lucey and his life that there weren’t enough chairs. Smith, Harris and Steele all spoke as well as coaches and friends. The community finished the night out by enjoying a meal and music together.
Harris emphasizes how thankful she is that her son can be honored in a way that benefits the community he was raised in. When asked what he would think of the Michael Lucey Memorial Courts, Harris says she thinks he would be a bit embarrassed but in awe of the community’s generosity and love.
He may have even used his catchphrase, “the GOAT,” which stands for Greatest Of All Time, to describe the courts, she says.
“I joked at the dedication that he was never very impressed by anything that I ever did,” says Harris, “but he would have said, ‘Mom, you’re the GOAT.’”
Sarah Grace Smith is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
