Lovedale Extends Love Home
2/4/2009 5:37:02 PM | Men's Basketball, 'Cats in the Community
Davidson College Men's Basketball Organizes Kicks from 'Cats - the Andrew Lovedale Shoe Drive
Davidson men's basketball head coach Bob McKillop is fond of saying, “If God had put Andrew Lovedale in the Garden of Eden, we'd still be there.”
Andrew Lovedale, though, is the sort of person who would never agree.
He is the sort of person who shouts, “Hi, Lauren,” every time he walks by the office door.
The sort of person who earns some extra cash by working the front desk at Baker Sports Complex during the summers, helping video stream a volleyball game or running stats at football.
The sort of person who grabs a friend's 10-month-old without hesitation, because as one of nine siblings, he is also the sort of person who is pretty good with children.
He is one of 30 nominees for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award because he is the sort of person who is always putting others first.
“Andrew embodies the code of our basketball team,” says Bob McKillop. “The code of commitment, care and trust. His life, on the court and off the court, is a living example of those three words.”
“Andrew is a special person because he always thinks of others before himself,” junior guard Stephen Curry '10 says. “Whenever he can help out somebody, he puts aside his schedule and time to do whatever necessary to make a difference.”
“What else is there to say?” assistant men's basketball coach Matt McKillop '06, who played with and now coaches Andrew, says. “If you've met Andrew, you know he is one of the nicest people on the planet, everyone knows that. He has been so committed to not just the basketball program, but also the Davidson community since coming here as a freshman.”
Born in Benin City, Nigeria, Andrew's basketball career took him to England, to play at Loretto in Manchester, where he caught the eye of Joe Forber, who had the ear of Coach McKillop. He became a Wildcat soon after, but has never forgotten his roots. And so every summer, he fills his bags with discarded practice gear – shoes, jerseys, shorts and T-shirts donated from teammates and coaches — and carries as much as the airlines will allow home.
“For me to take stuff back is a gift,” Andrew explains. “I don't feel it's an entitlement because there are lots of players back home who are just as athletic as I am and probably deserve it more. They are probably smarter than me, but I was brought out of that environment and given the resources and the opportunity to thrive.”
Andrew began taking things home the summer after his freshman season, after he discovered he could get a new pair of basketball shoes simply by visiting the equipment room.
“I found out we could get however amount of shoes we want, when the ones we are playing with wore out,” he expounds. “And the players really didn't do anything with them, maybe just threw them away at the end of the year. So I figured, due to the way that I played basketball growing up, especially in Nigeria, if someone gave you an already-used shoe, it seemed like a new one to you.”
Where others saw junk, Andrew saw possibility. He asked his teammates if they would consider donating their old shoes, so he could bring them back to Nigeria to give to those less fortunate than him. Plenty obliged.
“I really can't remember exactly how Andrew first asked if we could donate things,” Chris Clunie '06 recalls. “I think it happened in the locker room one day, he just mentioned how he wanted to take back shoes to Nigeria, knowing even used shoes would make a huge impact.”
“I think it started out pretty small with guys giving him their old shoes but then it slowly turned in, at least for me, to shirts and shorts,” Brendan Winters '06 remembers. “And then eventually, when I was cleaning out my house to leave Davidson for good, I was able to give him a whole bag of all sorts of clothes and shoes that I wasn't going to bring home with me.”
That summer Andrew returned to Nigeria with bags full of old shoes and practice gear to distribute. To
him, it was just a way to give back. Part of his pay-it-forward approach to life.
“It is about how much I can try to use my position to help other people to feel good about the opportunities in their life and actually step themselves up,” Andrew explains. “That is actually what it means to me. Giving is really important.”
In Nigeria, Andrew splits his time between Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria and second most populous city in Africa, and Benin City, his hometown. He often shuttled between the two cities, a four-hour bus ride, to play basketball, and he does so now to distribute gear. There are places here, he says, where people gather to play basketball on government-owned courts; these are the places where he first learned to the game, and these are the places where now he gives back.
“I just take bags of basketball shoes to these areas,” Andrew says. “A lot of people know me because that is where I started learning how to play, so when I go back it's always good to see the coaches that I learned the game under and see players that were there and the upcoming players that came after me.”
Andrew took stuff home with him that summer after his freshman year, and he has yet to stop.
“From then on, every time I went home, people started emailing me to ask questions like, 'When are you coming home, I need some basketball shoes,” Andrew said. “I just felt it was a good thing to be able to help out.”
Andrew can't remember — or more likely, won't remember — exactly how many pairs of shoes he has taken over the years. But each year, as more people become aware of his mission, the number has steadily increased.
“When he was a freshman, I feel like he only had one trash bag,” Matt McKillop says. “Now that I'm back as a coach, I know that there are bags of shoes in storage waiting to be carried and shipped back to Andrew's home. It is really amazing what he has done, but knowing Andrew, it really is no surprise.”
“My high school motto was 'men for others' and that's how I would describe Andrew, a true 'man for others,'” Clunie agrees.
“I'm sure I don't have to tell you how great of a person Andrew is,” Eric Blanchett '06 offers. “Collecting the shoes was just another routine thing he did.”
As routine as mending broken rims, painting courts or filling up holes, which are also things that Andrew has done to help in Nigeria.
“We live in a world where everyone seems to want something, but no one is willing to give,” Andrew says. “I feel like with the way things are back home with development, if everyone just gives, then we would probably be able to get out of this slump. Hopefully when you take stuff home, it will awaken two or more people that will want to give back, too, and that's how it all starts.”
Davidson, in turn, is helping Andrew give back.
What began with Andrew quietly packing his own bags full of used basketball shoes has become a massive effort amongst a Davidson community that has embraced him, and thus his people, as their own.
The community is banding together in support of “Kicks from 'Cats,” a basketball shoe drive and a White Out to showcase the community effort at the ESPN Bracketbuster match up with Butler on February 21. White Out shirts are being sold now at the Davidson Bookstore, with the proceeds covering the shipping costs on a 40-ft. container of shoes to Nigeria.
“Really, it's not very hard,” Winters says. “All we have to do is give our shoes or clothes, or maybe a little bit of money. It's Andrew doing the hard part. The Davidson community is so blessed that we should be willing to do a small thing for what Andrew says and believes makes a huge difference in his hometown.”
“The decision to help Andrew with this endeavor should be clear from above,” Clunie agrees. “It only makes sense and reinforces the Davidson attitude, that of service and giving back, and I see no better way than to help Andrew put shoes on the feet of those who need them.”
“If God has laid it in your heart to do something, then do it,” Andrew says. “I am not someone who is advertising and saying do this, but if it is something that is laid in your heart to do it, then do it, because I know the people that this stuff will go to. And these are people that I share part of my history with.”
So as his career at Davidson draws to a close, Andrew's future is just beginning. Sure it's a cliché thing to say, but with Andrew, you get the sense that it's also true.
He speaks passionately of doing something great with this life he has been given, something to transform lives, something that combines his passions of education, basketball and faith.
And sitting in the media room one Friday afternoon he is given the full details of the promotion. A visibly emotional Andrew Lovedale shakes his head, continually muttering, 'This is crazy.' He simply cannot grasp how such a simple — and to him, natural — gesture has become this.
But as always, he is grateful.
And he is humble.
After all, this is the sort of person he is.
Davidson men's basketball head coach Bob McKillop is fond of saying, “If God had put Andrew Lovedale in the Garden of Eden, we'd still be there.”
Andrew Lovedale, though, is the sort of person who would never agree.
He is the sort of person who shouts, “Hi, Lauren,” every time he walks by the office door.
The sort of person who earns some extra cash by working the front desk at Baker Sports Complex during the summers, helping video stream a volleyball game or running stats at football.
The sort of person who grabs a friend's 10-month-old without hesitation, because as one of nine siblings, he is also the sort of person who is pretty good with children.
He is one of 30 nominees for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award because he is the sort of person who is always putting others first.
“Andrew embodies the code of our basketball team,” says Bob McKillop. “The code of commitment, care and trust. His life, on the court and off the court, is a living example of those three words.”
“Andrew is a special person because he always thinks of others before himself,” junior guard Stephen Curry '10 says. “Whenever he can help out somebody, he puts aside his schedule and time to do whatever necessary to make a difference.”
“What else is there to say?” assistant men's basketball coach Matt McKillop '06, who played with and now coaches Andrew, says. “If you've met Andrew, you know he is one of the nicest people on the planet, everyone knows that. He has been so committed to not just the basketball program, but also the Davidson community since coming here as a freshman.”
“For me to take stuff back is a gift,” Andrew explains. “I don't feel it's an entitlement because there are lots of players back home who are just as athletic as I am and probably deserve it more. They are probably smarter than me, but I was brought out of that environment and given the resources and the opportunity to thrive.”
Andrew began taking things home the summer after his freshman season, after he discovered he could get a new pair of basketball shoes simply by visiting the equipment room.
“I found out we could get however amount of shoes we want, when the ones we are playing with wore out,” he expounds. “And the players really didn't do anything with them, maybe just threw them away at the end of the year. So I figured, due to the way that I played basketball growing up, especially in Nigeria, if someone gave you an already-used shoe, it seemed like a new one to you.”
Where others saw junk, Andrew saw possibility. He asked his teammates if they would consider donating their old shoes, so he could bring them back to Nigeria to give to those less fortunate than him. Plenty obliged.
“I really can't remember exactly how Andrew first asked if we could donate things,” Chris Clunie '06 recalls. “I think it happened in the locker room one day, he just mentioned how he wanted to take back shoes to Nigeria, knowing even used shoes would make a huge impact.”
“I think it started out pretty small with guys giving him their old shoes but then it slowly turned in, at least for me, to shirts and shorts,” Brendan Winters '06 remembers. “And then eventually, when I was cleaning out my house to leave Davidson for good, I was able to give him a whole bag of all sorts of clothes and shoes that I wasn't going to bring home with me.”
That summer Andrew returned to Nigeria with bags full of old shoes and practice gear to distribute. To
“It is about how much I can try to use my position to help other people to feel good about the opportunities in their life and actually step themselves up,” Andrew explains. “That is actually what it means to me. Giving is really important.”
In Nigeria, Andrew splits his time between Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria and second most populous city in Africa, and Benin City, his hometown. He often shuttled between the two cities, a four-hour bus ride, to play basketball, and he does so now to distribute gear. There are places here, he says, where people gather to play basketball on government-owned courts; these are the places where he first learned to the game, and these are the places where now he gives back.
“I just take bags of basketball shoes to these areas,” Andrew says. “A lot of people know me because that is where I started learning how to play, so when I go back it's always good to see the coaches that I learned the game under and see players that were there and the upcoming players that came after me.”
Andrew took stuff home with him that summer after his freshman year, and he has yet to stop.
“From then on, every time I went home, people started emailing me to ask questions like, 'When are you coming home, I need some basketball shoes,” Andrew said. “I just felt it was a good thing to be able to help out.”
“When he was a freshman, I feel like he only had one trash bag,” Matt McKillop says. “Now that I'm back as a coach, I know that there are bags of shoes in storage waiting to be carried and shipped back to Andrew's home. It is really amazing what he has done, but knowing Andrew, it really is no surprise.”
“My high school motto was 'men for others' and that's how I would describe Andrew, a true 'man for others,'” Clunie agrees.
“I'm sure I don't have to tell you how great of a person Andrew is,” Eric Blanchett '06 offers. “Collecting the shoes was just another routine thing he did.”
As routine as mending broken rims, painting courts or filling up holes, which are also things that Andrew has done to help in Nigeria.
“We live in a world where everyone seems to want something, but no one is willing to give,” Andrew says. “I feel like with the way things are back home with development, if everyone just gives, then we would probably be able to get out of this slump. Hopefully when you take stuff home, it will awaken two or more people that will want to give back, too, and that's how it all starts.”
Davidson, in turn, is helping Andrew give back.
What began with Andrew quietly packing his own bags full of used basketball shoes has become a massive effort amongst a Davidson community that has embraced him, and thus his people, as their own.
The community is banding together in support of “Kicks from 'Cats,” a basketball shoe drive and a White Out to showcase the community effort at the ESPN Bracketbuster match up with Butler on February 21. White Out shirts are being sold now at the Davidson Bookstore, with the proceeds covering the shipping costs on a 40-ft. container of shoes to Nigeria.
“Really, it's not very hard,” Winters says. “All we have to do is give our shoes or clothes, or maybe a little bit of money. It's Andrew doing the hard part. The Davidson community is so blessed that we should be willing to do a small thing for what Andrew says and believes makes a huge difference in his hometown.”
“The decision to help Andrew with this endeavor should be clear from above,” Clunie agrees. “It only makes sense and reinforces the Davidson attitude, that of service and giving back, and I see no better way than to help Andrew put shoes on the feet of those who need them.”
“If God has laid it in your heart to do something, then do it,” Andrew says. “I am not someone who is advertising and saying do this, but if it is something that is laid in your heart to do it, then do it, because I know the people that this stuff will go to. And these are people that I share part of my history with.”
So as his career at Davidson draws to a close, Andrew's future is just beginning. Sure it's a cliché thing to say, but with Andrew, you get the sense that it's also true.
He speaks passionately of doing something great with this life he has been given, something to transform lives, something that combines his passions of education, basketball and faith.
And sitting in the media room one Friday afternoon he is given the full details of the promotion. A visibly emotional Andrew Lovedale shakes his head, continually muttering, 'This is crazy.' He simply cannot grasp how such a simple — and to him, natural — gesture has become this.
But as always, he is grateful.
And he is humble.
After all, this is the sort of person he is.
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