Blueprint: Building Identity, Discipline, and Hope Through Basketball

By Tyrese Alleyne-Davis

In Jamaica, Queens, basketball isn’t just played — it’s inherited. It moves through families, echoes off schoolyard pavements, and fills the silence where opportunity is often absent. For many, the court is the only space where discipline, identity, and hope can be claimed on their own terms.

Since 1986, that space has had a name: B.A.C.E. — Be A Community Educator.

Founded by Charles “Charlie” Coleman, a military technician turned international player, scout, and coach, B.A.C.E. began as a bold idea: to offer youth a structured environment where basketball could be a vehicle for education, mentorship, and transformation.

Now in its 39th year and housed at Roy Wilkins Recreation Center, B.A.C.E. is a community pillar. Each weekend, 463 kids compete across middle school, high school, and college leagues. Its legacy is reflected in the players who’ve passed through including former NBA guard Lance Stephenson who once competed on B.A.C.E. courts. So too did Kyle O’Quinn — a seasoned pro who played with the Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers. Today, O’Quinn is executive director of athletic advancement at his alma mater, Norfolk State University — a testament to B.A.C.E.’s lasting reach beyond the game.

But B.A.C.E. was never just about basketball. It’s about showing up, again and again, to teach consistency, accountability and emotional resilience. It’s where some learn to navigate poverty, fractured households and systemic neglect. And it’s where mentors who’ve lived those struggles lead by example.

Few embody that mission more than Ricardo Blake.

Blake joined B.A.C.E. at 12 years old. Now 45, he’s the program’s vice president and living proof of mentorship in action. His relationship with Coleman evolved from coach and player to partners bound by purpose.

“When I was a kid, I just wanted to play,” Blake said. “Now, seeing what Charlie does to advocate for the community — the calls, the sacrifice — I have even more love and respect for him.”

That advocacy became personal when Thursday night girls’ games faced cancellation in favor of pickleball. Blake stepped in, defending a space B.A.C.E. spent decades building.

Long before titles, there was a pivotal conversation. As a young man preparing for fatherhood, Blake hesitated to tell Coleman. Instead of judgment, he got clarity: “Show up for your child and you’ll be OK,” Colemen counseled. 

At one point, Coleman, balancing B.A.C.E., college coaching, and scouting for the Knicks and Nets, considered stepping away. Blake reignited his passion by forming a team of local kids under the B.A.C.E. name. Coleman supported from the sidelines and found himself reinvested.

Now with the launch of the B.A.C.E. Academy post-grad team, Blake and Coleman coach side by side, joined by longtime college coaching veteran Ronald St. John, whom Coleman personally enlisted to help build and guide the next chapter of the B.A.C.E. program. 

“B.A.C.E. has been an amazing program that has impacted the lives of young men and women in Southeast Queens and beyond,” said St. John, former athletic director and head men’s basketball Coach at York College and now an assistant coach with the B.A.C.E post-grad team.

“As I approached retirement from York College after 38 years, I wanted to continue impacting the lives of young people, and I couldn’t think of a better organization that would give me that fulfillment than B.A.C.E.” 

This post appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

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