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The Westgate Coliseum was filled to capacity on Friday night with parents and fans eager to support the best young basketball talent in the parish for the inaugural Future Stars Classic.

The event was originally thought up by Westgate coach Tyrunn Walker as a way to provide the community with another positive experience in the wake of more senseless gun violence.

“It was just something that I wanted to do for the community,” Walker said after the event. “I wanted to give these kids something positive. It takes a village to raise kids and we have a lot of violence going on in our community, so I’m trying to save these kid’s lives and keep them on the right track.”

The event featured a three-point shooting contest as well as an exhibition game for representatives from all middle school teams in Iberia Parish.

Walker said that the event highlighted the talent that the parish has, and is expected to grow bigger each year.

“We have some great players here. We are calling it the Future Stars Classic for a reason,” Walker explained. “Now I want to work on the high school level and try to include some other parishes to do something even bigger. It is something that they can look forward to and it’s going to be a blessing each and every year.”

Walker thanked several people for getting the idea off the ground, including several key coaches and administrators at Westgate.

“It was great and it’s only going to get better. We’ve got plans to do some things with the high school kids soon. Mrs. (Neely) Moore has done an unbelievable job assisting me. Her, coach (Ryan) Antoine and coach (Oliver) Winston have helped me to put this thing together and given me the green light to get it done. I also want to thank Brad Boyd and everyone else that helped me put this together.”

Boyd, assistant head coach at Westgate, took over as master of ceremonies, providing entertaining commentary during the game.

Boyd said that the event was a great success, and that he looks forward to the event growing even bigger next year.

“It was a great event for Iberia Parish,” Boyd said. “To get these kids in the gym on Friday night with all of this support from the parents and everyone else, it’s a blessing. We had a couple hundred people in the gym and this is just the first event. Shout out to Tyrunn Walker who constantly comes back to the community and gives back. He spent his own money to put on this event and give gifts away. It’s a great event for the kids and the community to come together and it’s going to keep getting better.”

Teams for the inaugural Future Stars Classic were:

Team 1

Cayden Lancelin – Belle Place

Noah Antoine – Belle Place

Zane Thibodeaux – Anderson

Joshua John – Anderson

WIlfred Andras – Catholic High

Dylan Nelson – Catholic High

Calliou Polk – Loreauville

Cole Delahoussaye – Loreauville

Brock Mitchell II – Iberia Middle

Team 2

Antonio Quetel, Jr. – Belle Place

Dakylan Joseph – Belle Place

Amari Miller – Anderson

Karon Eugene – Catholic High

Shadon Lee – Anderson

Juan Castillo – Loreauville

Jalyn Lancelin – Iberia Middle

Demarcus Sam – Belle Place

Maki Pushia – Delcambre