JUDI PINKERTON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent St. John Neumann grad Alize Johnson, a member of the Indiana Pacers, signs autographs for the attendees of the basketball court opening at Firetree Place on Saturday

As a kid, Alize Johnson had dreams of being an NBA player. But he also wanted to build a community park so that kids could possibly fulfill their own hoop dreams. Johnson, who was drafted by the Indiana Pacers last June, grew up playing at Memorial Park, Flanigan Park and at the Bethune Douglas Center. But with Memorial just recently getting two hoops reestablished and Flanigan in disarray, Johnson wanted to construct outdoor courts that were accessible and available to all.

His ambitions came to life yesterday as Johnson, with the help of his foundation, opened three new courts behind Firetree Place.

“I’ve had a dream to build a park since I played at a park,” Johnson, a St. John Neumann graduate, said to a sea of family and friends.

“If I can do it, you can do it,” he finished before cutting the ribbon as the party of people ushered their way onto the three state-of-the-art outdoor courts.

The blacktop, with Johnson’s “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” logo painted at midcourt, features six NBA-style hoops and a scoreboard.

It was a long process for Johnson, getting approval and funding was a months long endeavor and he was more than thrilled to see the hundreds of members of the community come out and support his goal.

“This has been like a dream come true. I’ve been working on this idea for about five months now. It’s nice to finally see it unfold. It took a lot of hard work and a lot of people around the area and I appreciate it,” Johnson said. “It’s like everybody from the town getting the opportunity to come out here and play. I’m blessed to be in this position to make these sort of things happen.”

Less than a year after being drafted, Johnson’s wasted little time and thanks to some help from his mother, Chanelle, manager, Jaron Bartholomew, and countless others, he’ll be able to come back to his hometown and, maybe, help mentor the next Alize Johnson.

“It’s just a grind,” Johnson said. “You know, we played on the same team and you know those long days when you just don’t feel like being there but you push through and this is why, so you can see rewards like this.”

Johnson signed autographs, posed for countless photos and got reacquainted with old friends. The event featured basketball games with some of the area’s best high school talent and even some local high school graduates.

Some of those in attendance included Williamsport greats Isaiah Washington, Ayyub Ali and Johnson’s cousin Chevy Troutman, as well as numerous alumni from surrounding high schools including some of Johnson’s former Neumann teammates.

Ever since being drafted, and even before, Johnson has given back to the community. Months after being taken 50th overall by the Pacers last year, he purchased basketball shoes for Neumann, Williamsport and Loyalsock. With his foundation established, he and his mother hope to do plenty more for a community that helped turn him into an elite basketball player and an elite human being.

“I think with this foundation that I’m building, it can impact a lot of lives,” Johnson said. “I try to carry myself the best way possible so there can be another NBA player that comes out of the area.”

“We’re not done,” Chanelle Johnson added.