The first week of August in Philadelphia is a special time.
Every year the Daniel E. Rumph II Foundation holds The Rumph Classic to honor the late Danny Rumph through playing the game he loved.
Not only is the Rumph a fun way to raise awareness, it also gives some old teammates the ability to lace up their shoes, and take the court together in the city they call home.
“There’s nothing more fun,” said Develop Now forward Donta Scott. “Every time we get to come back home and are able to play [in Philly] there’s nothing more fun. You got people out that you’ve known since you were growing up, and you’ve got people that you’re playing against that you’ve played against your whole life. It’s always a pleasure to see new people and see the old ones.”
Scott and guard Hakim Hart Jr. grew up in Philadelphia and have been teammates multiple times throughout their basketball careers.
They played on the same Philly Pride AAU team growing up, they also played college basketball together at Maryland and now they are teammates once again for the Rumph tournament on Develop Now.
“It brought back memories of our AAU day playing on Philly Pride,” Hart Jr said. “Overall, it was pretty fire playing with [Scott] again.”
“It’s always been good playing with [Hart Jr],” Scott said. “He shares the ball, he can get [the ball] to him when you want to and he can guard. So it’s always good playing with him because he’s a great player.”
This is their first time participating in the Rumph, but it isn’t their first time attending the event.
Hart Jr. always made an effort to come every year he could growing up, and the ability to finally play in the tournament was something special for him, especially next to a lifelong teammate.
“It definitely means a lot to me,” Hart Jr. said. “I was always growing up watching this, especially when it started off in the Mallery Gym. They always brought out NBA stars too. I always thought it was cool how they did this.”
After playing in the tournament, Hart Jr. reflected on what the event is all about and was happy that something like this exists so Rumph is never forgotten.
“It’s awesome,” Hart Jr. said. “I wish people would do this if something like this happened to me. Just keeping my name going on forever and ever like they are with Danny [Rumph]. I think it’s awesome.”
