Dec. 21, 2007
With the help of Tom Blicher, operations manager of the Joyce Center, Irish men’s basketball coach Mike Brey is working with the U.S. Army and Afghanistan Army to send two baskets to Afghanistan that will be used by the troops on one of the bases. It is just one of the many efforts Brey is making to stay connected to the Armed Forces.
Major Tim Dukeman recently contacted Brey, who traveled to Kuwait from May 22-28 as part of Operation Hardwood IV, about the possibility of sending goals, rims and nets to Afghanistan for the troops to use. Brey had met Dukeman (married to Heather Gollatz, a freelance photographer who does work for the Notre Dame Athletic Department), back in the fall when he was on campus stationed in the ROTC Program. Dukemanm, who has since been deployed to Afghanistan for an 18-month tour of duty, was coordinating the Patriots’ Day celebration on campus on September 11 and asked Brey to speak about his experiences while in Kuwait.
After his conversation with Dukeman, Brey teamed with Blicher to help make the request a reality. The baskets being sent were those that were previously being used on the Stephan courts.
Blicher is coordinating shipment of the baskets with the U.S. Army and are scheduled to be sent sometime before the end of the month.