14 him towards focusing more on basketball . I urged them to change their approach towards the young fella , in hopes of an improvement in school . To make a long story short , that same kid ended up becoming a college graduate as a recepient of an athletic scholarship . He currently is doing very well financially with a wife and family . He used the ball to get him where he was going and early on when a lot of people were ready give up on him . ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT IN CHICAGO DEMONS HISTORY ? VC : The first time we took the Demons to Florida for a AAU tournament in 1989 stands out . It was the first time any of the fellas had gotten on a plane . The kids had a ball . Once we got back to Chicago every kid was beating down my door wanting to be apart of the Demons Basketball team . The kids loved to travel and see other places . Even to the suburban tournaments were a treate , they just wanted to leave the projects for a while . ANY ADVICE TO THE NEXT YOUNG AAU PRO- GRAMS OUT THERE ? VC : You have to be patient and make sure this is something you really want to do . Do not be in this in hopes of becoming a shoe sponsored team . That can drive you crazy . You have to love working with kids and let them get all the glory . If you ’ re looking for an ego boost , get it when you see your kids winning . I recently got my my reward when we beat the ‘ Fire ’ twice this year . That was my satisfaction ( laughs ). TOP 5 PLAYERS TO EVER COME OUT THE CHICA- GO DEMONS BASKETBALL PROGRAM ? VC : Tony Allen . After that , I ’ ll let the Chicago Demons Alumni pick the rest ( big smile ) you are trying to get me killed Lefty . ANY LAST WORDS FOR THE CHICAGO BASKET- BALL COMMUNITY ? VC : Together WE make-up the Chicago basketball community and no piece is bigger than the next piece . We have players , refs , coaches , staff , and fans all involved in this . Together we make basketball what it is today in our city . It ’ s just up to us to create a productive community for our people .
Cabrini Greens and see that the kids were getting a bad rap just because of where they lived . I felt that it wasn ’ t fair . It was those first Demons that came out of Cabrini that really wanted to be something in life . That ’ s the reason I kept the Chicago Demons going . After they left a new group came . And another one and another one until this current day . Q . WHAT WERE THE EARLY DAYS LIKE WITH THE CHICAGO DEMONS ? VC : In the beginning we used to get on the Green line and take the train to the South Side and play in the Dyett , Madden Park , and Washington Park Leagues . It was weird in the beginning because here are all these hard shorty ’ s who ain ’ t scared of nothing , but wouldn ’ t get on the train unless I was with them . I had to ride the train with them for protection ( loud laugh ). That ’ s what it was during the 80 ’ s . Ride the train to tournaments across the city . ANY RIVAL TEAMS BACK THEN ? VC : Yeah ! I don ’ t know what Coach Hope is talking about saying the Original Dynasty beat us every time ?!!! We beat the Dynasty too and with all those great players ! Marcus Liberty and the rest of them !. Them boys over at the James Jordan Center . We beat their team to make it to the next round of their tournament . So after our next game was over , those guys came rushing the court and it became a battle royal right there on the court with chairs and fists flying every where . We eventually came back to that league and continued to play over their with them . A lot of these guys from all these different teams are still friends and keep up with each other today . TALK ABOUT LOSING A PLAYER ? VC : Back in the 80 ’ s the gang leaders was the ones throwing all the hood tournaments in their areas . People like Willie Lloyd had a league that we would participate in , but the gang leaders would recruit the best players to their team ’ s and offer goodies to my players so I lost a few due to the temptation . I wasn ’ t doing any of that . You would have a hold on a kid until 9pm . They would go to school , do their homework , workout with me . One day I found out that after hours , when 9pm hit and I ’ m not around , they turned into something wild in these streets and were real demons through those buildings . I would hear about the stuff that happened at night because the other kids would always tell on each other . Always ! I lost a few to situations like that as well . TELL US ABOUT HOW THE CHICAGO DEMONS HELPED A TROUBLED KID OUT ? VC : It was this one situation where this kid was labeled by his mom & his teachers as a slow learner . They said he was lazy and only wanted to dunk the ball all day long . I had to point out to his Mom and teachers that the negative energy he was receiving from them , versus the positive cheers he gets each time he dunks the ball is what naturally pushed
14 him towards focusing more on basketball . I urged them to change their approach towards the young fella , in hopes of an improvement in school . To make a long story short , that same kid ended up becoming a college graduate as a recepient of an athletic scholarship . He currently is doing very well financially with a wife and family . He used the ball to get him where he was going and early on when a lot of people were ready give up on him . ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT IN CHICAGO DEMONS HISTORY ? VC : The first time we took the Demons to Florida for a AAU tournament in 1989 stands out . It was the first time any of the fellas had gotten on a plane . The kids had a ball . Once we got back to Chicago every kid was beating down my door wanting to be apart of the Demons Basketball team . The kids loved to travel and see other places . Even to the suburban tournaments were a treate , they just wanted to leave the projects for a while . ANY ADVICE TO THE NEXT YOUNG AAU PRO- GRAMS OUT THERE ? VC : You have to be patient and make sure this is something you really want to do . Do not be in this in hopes of becoming a shoe sponsored team . That can drive you crazy . You have to love working with kids and let them get all the glory . If you ’ re looking for an ego boost , get it when you see your kids winning . I recently got my my reward when we beat the ‘ Fire ’ twice this year . That was my satisfaction ( laughs ). TOP 5 PLAYERS TO EVER COME OUT THE CHICA- GO DEMONS BASKETBALL PROGRAM ? VC : Tony Allen . After that , I ’ ll let the Chicago Demons Alumni pick the rest ( big smile ) you are trying to get me killed Lefty . ANY LAST WORDS FOR THE CHICAGO BASKET- BALL COMMUNITY ? VC : Together WE make-up the Chicago basketball community and no piece is bigger than the next piece . We have players , refs , coaches , staff , and fans all involved in this . Together we make basketball what it is today in our city . It ’ s just up to us to create a productive community for our people .