Celebrity game gets kids off the streets

Ikhor Hoops

Celebrity game gets kids off the streets
Ikhor celebrity game. Vype

Originally appeared on Vype.com

A celebrity basketball game presented by Ikhor is an event you want to make sure you let your kids attend in the future.

Over the weekend, Ikhor hosted a free celebrity basketball game in the heart of 5th Ward at the legendary J Prince Gym.

In the celebrity game, you had neighborhood legends, collegiate players, and international superstars that all grew up from around the area representing Rap A Lot Records and 1501 Certified.

While Houston’s streetball legends like The Goat, Sir Isaac, and Konfuzion are names worthy to come out and see, the celebrity game was serving a deeper purpose than just watching superstars put on a show.

“This is all about getting the kids off the street,” William Fawell, founder of Ikhor said.

Being a Houston native, Fawell understands that if there are no free and positive activities in the community for kids to participate in, they can easily fall into trouble by hanging out in the streets.

The beauty in what the celebrity game was able to do is not just get younger kids to come in and watch the game, but it also gave high school athletes from around the city a chance to come in and compete against each other.

“It feels good to be a part of this,” Ronald Harleston, a guard from Madison High School said. “It’s nice for these superstars to come out and put on a free show for the kids.”

In addition to getting kids off the streets, the Ikhor celebrity game has an endless amount of career choices for the kids to be exposed to.

Once the kids enter the gym, they have a chance to take interest in everything that makes up the Ikhor brand such as photography, videography, fashion, and of course basketball.

While everyone may not be talented enough to play basketball in the future, getting kids to see a variety of career choices in their own community is something Fawell believes is extremely valuable to young minds.

“I believe the mind is a terrible thing to waste and it’s also the most powerful part of your body,” Fawell said. “It’s great for the kids to see the different things they can do because they’re the future.”

The word Ikhor (originally spelled Ichor) means the blood of the Greek gods which is something you can’t kill and as Fawell continues to grow Ikhor, he plans to not let anything kill his desire to inspire the minds of the future.

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It doesn't sound like OC Bobby Slowik is going anywhere. Composite Getty Image.

One of the nuggets that came out of Nick Caserio's press conference this week, was his thoughts on the job Bobby Slowik has done as an offensive coordinator. When asked if the team has considered sharing the offensive play calling, Caseiro responded with an emphatic, “absolutely not.”

Caserio went on to praise the job Slowik has done this year, and to say the team's struggles in the second half this season is due to execution.

This stance is consistent with what we've heard from Texans insiders that believe Slowik will be back next season. As much as many Texans fans believe a change at OC could help CJ Stroud, who's shown regression this year, it doesn't appear Slowik is going anywhere.

To be fair, most teams aren't looking to replace their coordinators when they're leading their division and marching toward the postseason for the second straight year.

Number crunching

When comparing Stroud's stats to last season, there is a clear dropoff in 2024. But a lot of that has to do with the addition of Joe Mixon, especially when it comes to touchdowns.

Mixon is third in the NFL with 11 rushing TDs, while Dameon Pierce and Devin Singletary only combined for 6 over the entire 2023 season. One could argue the passing offense has regressed, but one could also argue the offense overall is more balanced.

Stroud is still Top 5 in passing yards, heading into this week's games. And even if we account for the bye week, Stroud will still be Top 10 after this week's slate of games.

The most concerning number to keep an eye on is sacks. Only one QB has been sacked more than Stroud, who's been sacked 41 times. CJ's protection has gotten better since Juice Scruggs was moved to guard, and Jarrett Patterson was inserted at center.

If Stroud starts getting hit again at a high level, that may be the one factor that could make the front office rethink their plans at coordinator. However, if the Texans do make a change, we expect them to address their o-line coach before any changes at OC.

Be sure to watch the video above for our full breakdown of the Texans offense, the coaching staff, and our thoughts on how the Azeez Al-Shaair suspension will impact the team.

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