Youth basketball league created in honor of teen life lost

Dozens came out for the commencement of a youth basketball league in Hartford that aims to redirect teens from violence, to victory.

Posted 3:30 p.m. Jul 17, 2017 — Updated 3:30 p.m. Jul 17, 2017

Rebecca Cashman

, Patricia Del Rio

HARTFORD, CT — Dozens came out for the commencement of a youth basketball league in Hartford that aims to redirect teens from violence, to victory.

The City of Hartford and the Wilson Gray YMCA teamed up to start a program called "Shoot Hoops, Not Guns" aimed to honor the life of 15-year-old Keon Huff Jr. who was shot and killed in Hartford in early March.

Eyewitness News spoke the program's director, Glenn Mauldin, who said he knew Keon well. He said that playing basketball at the YMCA was Keon's life.

"It's called 'Shoot Hoops, Not Guns' in remembrance of a young man killed a few months ago," said Mauldin. "And we want to keep his spirit alive in a positive way."

The program will run every Saturday night for the entire summer, for boys and girls alike. A friend of the late Keon Huff Jr., Amari Wells told Eyewitness News that she knew Keon for most of her life. She said she is appreciative to see her friend remembered for the thing he loved best.

"I wanted to be here as a tribute for Keon because he really enjoyed basketball," said Wells. "Everybody who loved him is a good thing."

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