FLINT, Mich. _ Outside of a castle made of washed aggregate concrete with grayed seafoam green panels in between, rain spits onto the broken asphalt.
Kids playing basketball inside start a game with two men in their 50s. Painted on the far wall is a welcome along with an explanation of where you are: Hoop City Gym.
This place has embraced generations of basketball players. The Flintstones, a trio of Flint natives who won a national championship at Michigan State, played here long before a pre-teen kid nagged his mom to take him there or begged staff members to sneak him in. A block away there is a plot of land covered in rubble, remnants of a home long destroyed like so much else in this city.
But this building has stood for decades. The Greater Flint YMCA has served the community for more than a century.
It was there before the auto industry invigorated the area, back when the horse-drawn buggy earned Flint the moniker "Vehicle City." It was there through Flint's rise as a motor town, with factories bringing well-paying union jobs. It stood through Flint's fall as the American auto industry stumbled to its knees in the early years of the 21st century, when Flint turned into a place without opportunity or much hope. And when poison ran through Flint's water system, the YMCA was one safe place where you could still drink out of the taps and take a shower without fear of rash or hair loss.
Kyle Kuzma found peace, joy and purpose in this building. It incubated his love affair with the game of basketball. In many ways, it is why he is a Laker.
