Falls' Mr. Basketball gets city's key
Published: June 30, 2009, 9:24 am
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NIAGARA FALLS &8212; The city had one of its own to be proud of Monday night, and people filled City Hall to show it.
Kids with markers and copies of Sports Illustrated. Politicians carrying proclamations. Men clutching basketballs.
More than 300 people filled the wooden benches in City Hall and overflowed into the lobby to watch NBA first-round draftee and Niagara Falls High School graduate Jonny Flynn receive the key to the City of Niagara Falls.
Flynn, the 20-year-old point guard drafted No.‚6 overall last week to the National Basketball Association's Minnesota Timberwolves, had a long list of people to thank.
"You see a lot of guys out there who don't have that much support," said Flynn, dressed in a tie, a gray button-down cardigan and khaki pants. "But you know, I've got a whole city behind me."
It seemed as though nearly everyone in the room had a connection to Flynn.
Aunts and uncles, cousins and second-cousins filled the first six rows of seats. Former coaches showed up. One woman, Tammy Adamson, leaned over during the speeches and whispered that her son went to school with Flynn.
Even former Syracuse University teammate and fellow Falls grad Paul Harris &8212; who is still waiting to connect with an NBA team &8212; was there, too.
"It just means a lot," said Gary Wallace, 28, who counted himself among the second-cousins. "He's the first person from Niagara Falls to really do something important. It's just a small town."
For a moment, all the city's shortcomings were forgotten in the Council chambers.
"People always wonder, can anything good come out of Niagara Falls, N.Y.?" County Legislator Renae Kimble said. "Well, I'm here to tell you something good has come out of Niagara Falls, N.Y., Jonny Flynn."
The room erupted in cheers and shouts of, "We love you, Jonny," as Mayor Paul A. Dyster handed over a shiny key and announced that the city plans to start a basketball tournament in Flynn's name.
"This is one of my proudest moments as mayor of the City of Niagara Falls," Dyster said.
Cousins 8-year-old Noah and 13-year-old Nathan Williams held up hand-made signs that said, "We knew you'd go all the way."
Flynn, who is scheduled to report to Minnesota by July 6, returned to Niagara Falls on Saturday, his father said, and has been overwhelmed with good wishes from friends in his first days home since he appeared at a news conference with his parents in Minnesota.
The basketball star's father, the Rev. William Flynn, described the day his son was drafted last week as "a big wow." "It's just really exciting, and when you're sitting there in that green room, it's a lot of pressure," the father said. "You just trust in God that everything will work out."
Jordan Parks, 8, was one of dozens of children and adults who swamped Flynn for autographs. He carried a copy of Sports Illustrated with the cover headline, "Jonny Flynn takes charge for Syracuse," and called the whole event "awesome."
What does Jordan want to be when he grows up? A professional basketball player.
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