CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) _ Clemson men's basketball coach Oliver Purnell says he's no different from many who've watched loved ones stricken and killed by cancer.
Now, Purnell, wife Vicky and the Tigers get the chance to help others fight the disease.
Purnell discussed plans for his newly created Coaches vs. Cancer preseason fundraiser, "Oliver & Vicky Purnell's Tigerfest 2008," to be held on campus Oct. 7. Coaches vs. Cancer is a partner with the American Cancer Society.
Purnell saw both his grandparents die from cancer. Vicky Purnell lost an aunt and an uncle.
"This is something that we've wanted to do since coming to Clemson five years ago," Purnell said. "But we had a couple of things on our plate that we needed to do first. We feel like now is the time."
Purnell has spent the past five seasons reviving Clemson basketball. Last season, the Tigers advanced to the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title game for the first time in 46 years. They reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade.
With the program on more solid footing, Purnell saw the chance to act.
"We still don't have the time to do it," Purnell added, "but it feels like every day that we don't get involved, we're missing an opportunity."
Vicky Purnell says the couple reached a point where they couldn't put off helping any longer. "We've been touched by it everyday, our family, our friends, people we know, people we don't know," she said. "We wanted to give something back."
Purnell said it didn't take long to get his players focused on this cause, too.
The father of Clemson incoming freshman Tanner Smith has dealt with the disease since the forward was a 5-year-old boy.
Smith explained how his father, Craig, lost most of his lung capacity and needed a bone marrow transplant to survive.
"It's a tough thing to go through to see a loved one go through that," Tanner Smith said.
Purnell hopes the fundraiser will instill in his players a higher sense of duty to things off the court. "Along with us recruiting high-character guys, we have a responsibility to teach them about serving others," he said. "They need to see us, our basketball program, Clemson University, standing for more than just winning basketball games."
Purnell described the fundraiser as a "high end barbecue event." It will also include a silent auction with all proceeds going to Coaches vs. Cancer, the longtime nationwide collaboration between the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the American Cancer Society.
Purnell is a past NABC present and currently serves on its board.
"Seeing all the neat things the coaches were doing, it gave us food for thought about how to do it," Purnell said.
Clemson said in a release that since the Coaches vs. Cancer concept began in 1993, more than 500 coaches have been involved and more than $40 million has been raised by the efforts.
Figures from the American Cancer Society's Web site say that about 1,500 people a day will die from the effects of the disease.
"We can and will make a difference in the fight against cancer," he said.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement