<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Lamaurice Williams, 13, has played basketball at the Reynolds Park Recreation Center since he was 5 years old. Until recently, the outdoor court wasn't in very good shape. "The ground was just cement, and the lines were halfway faded and it had rusty goals," Williams said. Not anymore. The court just got a $30,000 upgrade, thanks to NBA star Josh Howard and his team, the Dallas Mavericks. As a boy, Howard, a Winston-Salem native, played basketball at Reynolds Park all the time. Like Williams, he remembers how it used to be. "Ten years ago, I was on this beat-up court, dunking on people - or trying to," Howard said yesterday at a ceremony dedicating the new court. "It's just a blessing to see this all come through with the help of the Mavericks." At Howard's request, the Mavericks paid to have the court refurbished. Now, it's a spiffy blue court with bleachers and glass backboards. Howard's autograph adorns center court, and the initials of his mother and grandmother - whom Howard credits for his success - are also painted on the court. Along with Howard, three other Mavericks helped present the new court yesterday: owner Mark Cuban, coach Avery Johnson and general manager Donnie Nelson. They said they are committed to helping communities, including Winston-Salem. Howard isn't the only NBA star who has been in Winston-Salem recently. Last weekend, Chris Paul of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, was here raising money for his charity, the CP3 Foundation. Howard and Paul both played basketball for Wake Forest University before being drafted into the NBA. And both have given back to their home city. Howard has sponsored a basketball clinic and a league, and yesterday he said that there is more to come. "I've got bigger and better plans for the city off the court," he said. Once the ceremony was over, the new court was opened up to a crowd of young players in jerseys and basketball shorts. For a while, they seemed more interested in shooting hoops than in meeting the NBA star just a few feet away. "I'm glad," Williams said, "because it's good to have another place to play other than inside."</div> Source
