LEXINGTON PARK, Md. — Walking off the court on Thursday, July 14th, Coach Casey Wilkerson, of the Pax River World Ballers said she would never have imagined that to be Syncere’s last time stepping on the hardwood.
Practice ended that night and Syncere jumped in the car to head home. After stopping by a local store to pick up snacks for the night, which always included a dark blue Gatorade, Coach Wilkerson dropped him off at his home where his mom met him at the door.
His last words to Coach and the Team Captain, Andrew, were “see you Sunday for our games, I’ll be there.”
This was a common occurrence, the boys getting a ride with the coach after practice and to the games to bond.
Coach Wilkerson said the relationship between a coach and player goes far beyond the court.
She was happy to have that first-hand experience with Syncere. She knew he was special as soon as he walked through the gym for tryouts. Coach said he had the ambition, passion, desire, skill, and heart.
He was willing to put in the extra work to make it to a higher level of basketball, he had a dream and was focused, on playing in college and Coach was determined to make that happen for him. In the past few months, the Pax River World Ballers came together and had become a family.
Syncere’s passion for the game and his friendly demeanor and character helped mold this team together as one.
Everyone was his friend or wanted to be, he always came to practice with a smile and that smile was contagious throughout the team. Syncere quickly touched the lives of several of his teammates and parents.
Everyone on the team including their parents said, “Syncere was more than a teammate he was a brother.”
The Team Mom stated, ‘He is and will always be a part of her family and appreciates the time he took to teach her little kids basketball.’ Another supporter stated, “he was on his way to big things, his heart was huge and he had a beautiful way of loving everyone around him.”
Teammates stated, “he always took the time on the court to help the younger players always passing the ball to them’ and, “Basketball will never be the same, the team will continue to play for him and he will always have a piece of their hearts and ours!”
Last Friday night ended Synceres dreams and devastated his family, team, and friends. We are hoping the community will pull together and shine a light on the true Syncere.
This innocent 16-year-old child’s life ended tragically due to being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
To help his family through this difficult time the Pax River World Ballers is putting together an event ‘Hoops for Syncere’. Remember One Two Three SYNCERE, our team chant.
Fly high #2.
Quit thugging. Parents. Be parents. Discipline. Respect. Honor. Same old thing, just another day.
He possessed all those things by reading the article, you clearly don’t based off your comment. He was a 16 year old child, that is all that matters here.
Sorry to hear about this young man’s death. The Family and team mates have my sincere condolences. Try to be strong for him, but I know it is very hard.
Turn the comments off like you did with missing boater whose body was found on the Eastern shore
My condolences to the family my heart really goes out to u . I didn’t know him but just reading about him , let’s me know he was a wonderful young man . I’m praying for you and your family.