Newman benefit game brings back Batavia ballers from many eras

BATAVIA – It only took until the national anthem for the memories to start flooding back for Jeremy Newman.

As his aunt sang the national anthem, Newman's mind whirred with memories of his older brother, the late Michael Newman, whose two sons were the beneficiaries of Saturday night's benefit basketball game at Batavia High School.

Both Michael Newman (class of 1992) and Jeremy Newman (class of 1998) played basketball for the Bulldogs. Jeremy Newman was among about 35 former Bulldogs who participated in the game.

"When he played, I was a little guy," Newman said. "I used to come here and watch [Michael] play in this same gym. At that point and time, it just brought back memories from him playing, from me playing. Just good memories of being in the gym."

A large crowd – especially by mid-summer standards – filed into the gymnasium to watch former Bulldogs from a wide cross-section of eras relive their high school hoops days. Between the $5 admission, $10 commemorative T-shirts, donated concessions and even DVDs of the game for sale, there were plenty of opportunities to contribute.

Class of 1991 Batavia graduate Aaron Blonquist came all the way from his home in Seattle to take part in the game. Blonquist was a teammate of Michael Newman's on the 1990-91 team that advanced to the Elite Eight, and he wanted his 11-year-old son to catch a glimpse of the program's tight-knit tradition.

Blonquist called the evening "one of the highlights of my life."

"It's kind of like a time machine," Blonquist said. "The years are kind of condensed. It felt like 20 years ago. Obviously you're out of shape, the intensity's different, but you hear the crowd, see coach on the bench and the guys running the clock, Rudy (Dubis) doing the [public address system]. It just brings those memories really fresh."

Jim Roberts, the longtime Batavia coach who stepped down in the spring, served as emcee for the evening. Addressing the crowd, he said he's often been told Batavia is no longer the small town it used to be, but the support for Michael Newman exhibited Saturday showed the community's character remains intact.

Newman died in November of cancer at age 37. Several of his family members were in attendance on Saturday night, including his mother, Noralene Graves, and Jeremy, both of whom still live in Batavia.

"It was actually probably more than what I expected," Jeremy Newman said of the way the evening unfolded. "It was awesome to see everyone come out and support the benefit. It was just a real awesome turnout, and it was a good time to see all the old guys out playing ball in honor of my brother, which was awesome."

Several of the alumni who played came well after Newman's era, including 2009 graduate Ben Potter. Like just about all Bulldogs who came after the 1990-91 team, Potter grew up hearing all about them. He called it an honor to play in the event, which included one of the stars of the '90-91 team, Lamarr Justice.

"It was a lot of fun, and I know it's going to a great cause," Potter said. "It's a bittersweet kind of thing, but it was a great honor."

Blonquist thought the tone of the night was fitting for a Batavia program steeped in tradition.

"Coach always did a good job of making it feel like we were playing for more than just ourselves, we were playing for the community," Blonquist said. "We were just caretakers of the program. I think at the time we felt it was really special but now 20 years later ... it means even more now."