Detroit officials turned to the two top public high school basketball programs this past winter for some acting help.
In a 41-second promotional video for the city’s latest summer initiative aiming to boost public safety – announcing Detroit’s new Midnight Basketball League for ages 18-26 this summer – Mayor Mary Sheffield was joined by members of the 2025-26 Detroit King boys basketball and Detroit Renaissance girls basketball teams.
In the video, Sheffield walks to center court, standing on a Detroit city logo, and flips the ball over to King senior and 2026 Mr. PSL recipient Mareon Knott. Knott then passes the ball off-screen, where it ends up in the hands of Renaissance sophomore and two-way phenom Maria Walker.
The rest of the video cuts between different Renaissance and King players flashing their handles, passing skills and dancing chops to announce the Midnight Basketball League.
“To be a part of the commercial was a great feeling for them,” said Renaissance girls basketball coach Dashaun Wood on Thursday. “But doing it with the mayor was even more special. They had a great time, man. It is something that their families and friends are going crazy over right now.”
“The greatest thing is they look at it as a source of pride, understanding the impact and the value of it,” King coach George Ward said.
The Midnight Basketball League is an organized seven-week basketball league throughout the summer offered to any Detroit residents, ages 18-26. It is part of the mayor’s Occupy The Summer program, aiming to curb the trend of increased violence during the summer.
The activity is expected to provide mentorship and wraparound services on top of the opportunities on the hardwood. There will be a men’s and women’s league at Heilmann, Adams Butzel and Kemeny Recreation Centers. The locations were selectively chosen to be in areas where crime intervention groups in the city are the most active.
Play starts on June 13 for men and June 18 for women. Registration closes on May 24.
King and Renaissance both finished the 2025-26 seasons as the Detroit Public School League (PSL) champions. As a result, the mayor’s office invited the teams to her downtown office to celebrate and get their pictures taken, similar to college and professional teams visiting the White House after winning a title.
The relationship from those meetings led to an invitation for the promo video.
“The students enjoyed being a part of it,” said JerJuan Howard, Detroit director of youth affairs. “They were in a video with the mayor and she was dribbling the basketball, throwing alley-oops and kicking it with them.
“You know how when an NBA or NFL team wins a championship and they go visit the White House? We did something similar at the city level with them last month. We plan on making it a tradition, too. Any Detroit high school team that wins in whatever sport, they will get a chance to come out, take a picture and meet the mayor.”
The Midnight Basketball League returns after being dormant for decades. The goal is to offer more activities for young Detroiters while offering support and guidance from elders at an important age juncture. The initial community feedback since the announcement has been overwhelmingly positive.
The video involving King and Renaissance players has been widely shared on social media in the few days since its release, helping spread the word.
“We are hoping to engage the youth and I think one of those ways is through sports,” said Tyler Searcy, the city’s special projects and events coordinator. “We want to make sure they feel included. One of the things that was asked of the city, asked of the mayor, is to have activitions, have events that they ask for. Don’t just do things and ask us to come.
“One of the things we heard is they want to play basketball.”
The value of Midnight Basketball League
Along with jerseys and shoes, participants will receive coaching from volunteers, who will also receive tips from Ward.
“When it comes to this, I wanted to coach the coaches,” Ward said. “Because as competitive as I am, I do realize we had to keep the main thing the main thing. If our young people can win in life, then winning on a court is really small.”
The league sits at the crossroads of two things Ward has dedicated his adult life to: basketball and community violence interruption. Outside of basketball, Ward works with Ceasefire Detroit, a community-based gun and gang violence prevention initiative that works with the city government and police department.
Ward described Ceasefire Detroit as a “boots on the ground” community violence intervention group going out to communities affected by gun and gang violence to offer resources to families and citizens in an effort to prevent future crime.
“All of the groups are very active and trying to make sure that we do everything that we can to make sure that we not only have a safe summer, but a safe culture and safe experience for our young people growing up as individuals in the city,” Ward said.
Sports can serve as a vehicle for valuable teaching lessons, especially at the youth level. The hope is this league offers the same community building that can be found in any other organized sports league.
“When we were growing up, you would hear the old people say ‘an idle mind is a devil’s workshop,'” Ward said. “So anytime you can create an opportunity for young people to have some activity, especially in the sport of basketball, it gives them a source of opportunity.”
Jared Ramsey covers high school sports for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jramsey@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: What’s behind Detroit’s new summer Midnight Basketball League
Reporting by Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
