Players from the top-seeded team in this week’s NJCAA Division II Men’s National Basketball Tournament in Danville fanned out into an east side neighborhood Thursday. The Trojans from Triton College in River Grove, Illinois were participating in Ameren Illinois’ ‘’Brighten the Block’’ program.
Teamed with Ameren employees and City of Danville representatives the players replaced old incandescent light bulbs with LED bulbs at more than 50 Danville homes. ‘’With the national basketball tournament in town, we thought it was a great opportunity to team up with an Illinois-based school and the City of Danville to make a difference for local residents,’’ said Richard Mark, Chairman and President of Ameren Illinois. The LED bulbs donated by Ameren for the event use up to 85-percent less energy and last as much as 25 times longer according to the company.
[In the photo Triton players are teamed with Ameren and City of Danville representatives before heading out into the neighborhood.] Triton Head Coach Steve Christiansen enjoyed the opportunity to get involved. ‘’This community has been great to us – supported not only this team, but the three teams we brought down here before that in the years prior. So we’re very happy to be able to give back a little bit,’’ said Christiansen.
And the coach added he thinks it was also something positive for his players. ‘’It’s good for them. You know they get a lot. Athletics has given them a lot, and I think these are good lessons that it can give them.’’ And Coach Christiansen added, ‘’I’ll have to use this to maybe come up with a theme for tomorrow’s scouting report.’’
Triton College is one of 16 teams that have been involved in the competition this week at Danville Area Community College. The Trojans are making their sixth national tournament appearance and have advanced to the final four (as of the writing of this story). [Note: You can click on the photos to enlarge them.]
