HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) – Phoebus High School will be dedicating its gymnasium Thursday to a local basketball star.
According to a press release, the gym will be dedicated and named after Marcellus Spencer “Boo” Williams Jr. He was a basketball star at the high school before playing at Saint Joseph’s University. Williams then headed to Europe to play professional basketball before moving back to Hampton to work as an insurance agent.
In 1982, Williams started the Boo Williams Summer League with only $400 and 46 players. Since then, the popular league has changed its name to Boo Williams Nike Invitational and is made up of 200 teams across the country.
Williams was also able to open the Boo Williams Sportsplex in March 2008 in Hampton. The sportsplex, which is the largest between Washington D.C. and Greensboro, NC, consists of eight basketball courts, 12 volleyball courts, eight indoor hockey fields, and an indoor track.
The dedication will take place on June 29 at 6 p.m. at the Phoebus High School Gymnasium.