It’s always wonderful when a young person raised and schooled in our community goes on to be successful and do great things. It’s even better when that young person is also a warm, friendly and committed individual.

Such is the case with Mike James, a resident of Amityville who has made a name for himself—and for our community—in the NBA. He was a member of the championship Detroit Pistons, and has now gone on to join the Milwaukee Bucks, where we are sure he will continue his winning ways.

Amityville, Babylon Town and Long Island are still very much a part of who Mike James is, however, as a recent press conference he held attests. The former backup point guard player for the Pistons announced that he will be working to ensure that the benefits he enjoyed in his community, and which helped him develop his significant talent, is nurtured and developed and continued so that other youngsters can reach their dreams as well.

James spoke about the ability to play basketball at a local park, and explained how that enabled him to avoid the negative influences that today hound young people at every turn—drugs, crime, anti-social behavior. He wants to ensure that others have that same opportunity to focus on the positive things in life.

To accomplish that, he’s become a spokesperson for building and maintaining basketball courts and has undertaken a quest to redevelop the park he played in for so many years—Bolden Mack park. While his talent is a God-given gift, his genuine decency and sense of responsibility to others makes him shine as not only an athlete but as a human being. We’re glad he calls Long Island his home.