Blue Coats’ Neighborhood Hoops Tour Hits Milestone To Showcase Basketball Impact In Local Communities

The Delaware Blue Coats hit a milestone in community outreach earlier in September, marking the 100th different event that the team has been a part of within the local community as part of the Neighborhood Hoops Tour since the G League offseason started in April. The G League affiliate of the Philadelphia 76ers sent representatives from the team to attend the Bellevue Farmers Market, marking an astounding 100th different community event in just over five months.

With G League players not under contract during the offseason months, Blue Coats Ambassador of Basketball Joe Richmond still finds ways to ensure that the team remains an important contributor within the Delaware community, frequenting fairs, camps, workshops, and other events to promote the team and engage with fans. The Neighborhood Hoops Tour was created for this exact reason, to continue team engagement within the tri-state area beyond the confines of the G League season.

“It’s like an extension of the season just to keep us refreshed in the community,” said Richmond, who everyone within the organization calls Coach Joe. “The season is over pretty much the same time that school is over. High school is over, NCAA is over, so that’s what the Neighborhood Hoops Tour was designed for. It’s for the PAL events, the YMCA events, the Boys & Girls Club events, HBCU events, things of that nature.”

Richmond and his fellow community outreach leads Angie Domingo-Francois and Amon Crisden lead a team of volunteers that travels throughout the area, bringing with them their two inflatable Blue Coats games, free gifts from the 76ers, and an endless supply of smiles, laughter, and coaching. It was a quick rise for Richmond, who initially did not work for the team on an official basis but showcased his dedication to community outreach and earned an official role with the club. Now, he’s in his 10th year as Ambassador of Basketball for the Blue Coats, one of the only teams in the G League who have such a role.

“When we first started this, it was just me and an inflatable getting out in the community and that’s how I became the ambassador of the Delaware Blue Coats,” said Richmond. “I took that inflatable, I went out and about, and I did a total of 119 events by myself. So when the rest of these guys came, I was like ‘Let’s get out here!’. We didn’t document things, and this year with the pandemic over, we want to get things on the books and continue doing things the right way. What Angie has done, what Amon has done, they blew what I did myself there out of the water.”

The work by Richmond and his team has not gone unnoticed, as the team was recognized as one of the 50 most community-minded organizations in the Philadelphia region by the Philadelphia Foundation back in June. With recurring slogans of #BasketballHasPower and #AlwaysInTheCommunity, the Blue Coats strive to keep a year-round presence among their local fans, regardless of whether or not players can be at events.

“It has always been about the relationship, because if you show the community a true and authentic relationship, then everything else will fall into place,” said Richmond. “They’ll buy the tickets, they’ll support us, and that’s what they do! It’s hard to set that culture, and these young people have latched onto it that just love the culture that we have set.”

Now with the 100 events milestone surpassed, Richmond and his team have their sights set on an overall goal of 125 events before the G League season tips off on November 4th.

“We talk about being committed to the communities that we play in, where we practice, where our players live,” said Richmond. “Even though we’re housed in Wilmington and play at the Chase Field House, we wanted Delaware to know that we were their team. For us, there’s so much pride in it.”