Growing up, persistence might need been the very best good friend Ervin Leavy Jr. had. And for good motive.

Cut from the Gundry Elementary and Bryant Junior High School basketball groups not a couple of times, however 5 instances, between grades six and 10, the now University of Michigan-Flint staffer finds himself one among 10 inductees of the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023. The latest class brings the entire membership within the corridor of fame to 311 people and 85 groups because the Hall’s firstclass was inducted in 1980.

Leavy, who’s the assistant director of facility operations inside UM-Flint’s Student Affairs’ Recreational Services, can also be a 2018 Greater Flint African-American Sports Hall of Fame inductee. 

“It is a great feeling to be recognized by my community for such a prestigious award, I am very humbled by everything that is happening,” Leavy stated. “Being from the Flint area shaped me as a player and a person by putting me through adverse situations at a young age. I was a kid that got cut from my school basketball teams five years in a row, grades six through 10. Persevering through those difficult times when in my heart I knew that things were not fair made me work harder to perfect my skills.”

After lastly making the roster of Flint Central High School’s junior varsity staff as an eleventh grader, Leavy lastly made the “big time” his senior 12 months, becoming a member of a Central varsity staff that had already captured back-to-back state Class A titles. For his half, he would go on to attain 21 factors within the 1984 state championship recreation towards Detroit Southwestern.

He adopted that efficiency with two seasons at Mott Community College the place he and the boys’s basketball staff reached the Junior College State Tournament championship recreation in 1984 earlier than profitable the title in 1985. 

In 1986, Leavy transferred to Central Michigan University and as staff captain, led the staff to the 1986-87 Mid-American Conference Championship. He earned the nickname “Lightning” and was CMU’s Man of The Year in 1986, a 1987 CMU Club of Greater Flint Senior Athlete Award recipient, was named First Team All-MAC in 1987 and included on the 1987 All-MAC Tournament staff. His 1,003 factors at CMU rank him thirty fourth on the varsity’s all-time scoring record.

He went on to be drafted by the NBA’s Chicago Bulls in 1987. Although he did not make the ultimate roster, he did get to play alongside the legendary Michael Jordan, and fellow rookie Scottie Pippen, throughout coaching camp that season. He would depart Chicago for a 12 months overseas, taking part in semi-professional ball in Singapore for one summer season earlier than returning to CMU to finish his bachelor’s diploma in utilized arts and recreation. He earned a grasp’s diploma in arts and expertise from UM-Flint in 2011. Leavy has labored at UM-Flint since 2002.

 “Looking back on my basketball career, what stands out to me now is getting recognition for the work that I put in many years ago,” stated Leavy. “I remember the days of putting myself through grueling workouts at 6 a.m. alone to try and perfect my skills when nobody was around watching. I learned the importance of discipline throughout the entire process.

“Exceeding the expectations of those that didn’t consider in me nonetheless stands out. Getting reduce from basketball groups 5 years in a row taught me to make equity and equality a prime precedence when evaluating others for alternatives. My actions in life replicate these essential values as we speak.”