Horatio Williams says he supports Detroit youths out of “love.” And Williams says he also loved what was revealed about new Piston Ron Holland on draft night for reasons much bigger than basketball.

“Energizer,” “explosive athlete,” “great transition finisher” and “high-motor defender” are just some of the more colorful descriptions in the many scouting reports seeking to define Ron Holland II, the Detroit Pistons’ first-round selection in the recent NBA draft. 

However, shortly after Holland’s name was called by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on the evening of June 27, the ESPN broadcasting crew covering the draft shed light on another side of the Pistons’ incoming rookie, revealing that Holland also has creative interests and passions that transcend the game of basketball.   

From Malika Andrews, ESPN’s NBA draft host, a worldwide audience was informed that the “wise beyond his years,” 19-year-old Holland enjoys playing the drums in his spare time and already has presented a camp for youths in his native state of Texas, using basketball to promote mental health and wellness. But before those facts could be completely digested, ESPN reporter Monica McNutt had her chance to stretch a microphone up to the 6-foot-8-inch Holland. Roughly 35 seconds later, the interview took an unconventional turn when Holland confirmed that Teddy Pendergrass was his “favorite artist.” That would indeed be the same Teddy Pendergrass who was one of the most popular R&B and soul vocalists during much of the 1970s and early ’80s.  

And it is that eclectic and mature nature of Holland’s interests and responses that has piqued the interest of native Detroiter, Horatio Williams. Williams is a devotee of 1970s music and culture who just happens to do his best and most important work — uplifting his home town — less than 2 miles from where Holland will be playing his home games this season, at Little Caesars Arena.      

“To hear some of the things that Ron Holland is passionate about, and to learn that he is already giving back, shows that Ron gets it — he understands the process,” explained Williams, creator of the Horatio Williams Foundation, which, since 2005, has helped boys and girls succeed through programming conducted at the nonprofit’s headquarters — 1010 Antietam, just east of downtown off Gratiot — in what used to be the Wayne County Medical Society building. “In the game of life, just like in basketball, there is a process to being successful that is bigger than the game. Identifying your passions outside of your sport is important. And then for all athletes, at the end of the day, it should be all about giving back. That’s how you win in life.”

Basketball analogies come naturally for Williams, who earned his stripes in the game while growing up in Detroit, which included being among the top 40 players in the city that comprised the 1986 Detroit Free Press All-PSL/Detroit teams during his senior year at Osborn High School. While rising up in the game during an era when the Detroit Public School League routinely sent student-athletes to major college basketball programs and the NBA, Williams says he and other young players in Detroit had something going for them that makes him particularly interested in professional athletes that join Detroit teams today.

“In my day, growing up as a young player, we had local professional players that came into the community,” said Williams, who pointed to “Big” Bob Lanier, selected by the Pistons with the first overall pick in the 1970 NBA draft; Spencer Haywood, state champion at Pershing High School, 1968 Olympic gold medalist and 1969 All American at the University of Detroit before his trailblazing entry into the American Basketball Association and then the NBA, and George Gervin, a star at King High School and Eastern Michigan before starring in the ABA and NBA. On Wednesday, Williams defined his ideal Detroit sports community as a place where every resident, especially young people, would be able to identify at least five players on each of the city’s pro sports team based on actual contact with the players in the community. “Gervin would even come back to the Butzel Center (on Detroit’s east side),” Williams added. “And when we saw that these great players were a part of our world, that gave us hope that we could succeed too.”

The seeds planted in Williams as he witnessed future Hall of Famers give back to his city and neighborhood would come to fruition a few decades later. After recovering from being hit by a drunken driver while riding a bike, which ended his college basketball career at Tuskegee University before it started, Williams, as an operator of a nonemergency medical transportation company, made a financial and personal investment in the former Butzel Elementary Middle School. His generosity, about five years before he created his foundation, included renovating the school’s gymnasium and providing food and clothing to a few students in need, at a school where Williams had been nurtured as a student.    

Given his own dramatic journey, Williams said Wednesday morning that he believes athletes on Detroit’s sports teams still have an important role to play in the community. And that he would love to make his pitch to as many local professional athletes as possible, such as Holland, who Williams said he already views as a kindred spirit of sorts. 

“First, I would love to have a sit-down session with him and just listen to some real music,” said Williams, who hopes to see Holland play basketball in person soon during the NBA’s Summer League in Las Vegas. “To hear that he likes Teddy Pendergrass says something, because Teddy Pendergrass and Marvin Gaye were talking about the times they lived in. Teddy Pendergrass (with Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes) was saying: “Wake Up Everybody” and Marvin Gaye was asking: “What’s Going On.” Then they both sang about love, so what’s not to like about that?”    

But even better than trying to say hello to Holland during the busy Summer League schedule, which, for the Pistons, will consist of five games at the Thomas & Mack Center between July 12-22, Williams would like to extend an invitation to Holland and the community to check out the last day of a Summer Performing Arts Camp presented by the S.O.N.G. (Saving Our Next Generation) Project that will take place Monday through Friday, July 15 through Aug. 1, at Williams’ 1010 Antietam building, before moving over to the Music Hall for the final day on Aug. 2.  

“That final day of the camp at the Music Hall will include a special drumline performance, so I would love for Ron Holland to see that as a new member of our team and community. And it will take place after the Summer League is over,” said Williams, who reported that the entire camp is being conducted by S.O.N.G. founder and CEO Carles Whitlow, someone Williams took pride in mentoring when Whitlow was a young man. “There’s dancing, singing, acting; everything for boys and girls, including disabled young people. For the drumming, some of the kids will come in not even knowing anything about drums and a transformation will take place. The camp is just a great program and it’s an honor to have it at our building for three weeks because Carles and the kids just really do their thing.”

The excitement in Williams’ voice as he spoke about an event that was still more than 10 days away could not be denied, and he believes that community events and community engagement in general can have a lasting positive impact that can be carried over to other areas of life, even a basketball court.  

“When players have a connection to the community, I think it really does impact how they play on the court,” said Williams, who also has become a familiar face at the Wayne State Fieldhouse, where he takes girls and boys to see the Motor City Cruise, the Pistons’ G League affiliate, play home games. “When I get tickets to see our G League team play, I make time to talk to the players, and before the game they all come by and dap me up. 

“It’s not just a game, it’s about building relationships for the players and the community. Especially at this time of year in the NBA, with all the trades and changes taking place, you see that the NBA is a business. But it can be more for the players that are connected to the community. It’s a part of the process that can make a difference for the player and the community.”  

Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and a lifelong lover of Detroit culture in its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city’s neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at stalley@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @STalleyfreep. Read more of Scott’s stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/. Please help us grow great community-focused journalism by becoming a subscriber.  

LOS ANGELES – Too soon to panic, Dodger fans?

It’s probably fair to suggest that the past week, when the Dodgers were 3-4, lost two games off an 8½-game division lead and had their starting pitchers compile a 9.00 ERA in those seven games, represented a short sample size in a long season rather than a troubling trend.

Calm down, folks. Crisis averted. For now.

James Paxton made it through five innings Saturday, reinventing himself as he goes. And some late inning thunder and a managerial move that almost backfired but didn’t – we’ll explain – gave the Dodgers a 5-3 win over Milwaukee, the NL Central leader, and cinched their first series win in over a week.

If you’re seeking a reason why spirits have been so down – or at least up and down – among certain segments of the fan base, here’s a hint: The first 12 questions manager Dave Roberts fielded in his pre-game briefing Saturday involved injury updates. Among the revelations: Max Muncy has stopped swinging the bat in his rehab process, because the oblique injury that has kept him out of the Dodgers’ lineup since May 15 just won’t allow him to do so freely.

“Everything he does, turning and rotating, is good except swinging the bat,” Roberts said.

Given that swinging the bat is what Muncy does best, and is not only his best contribution to a Dodgers lineup but creates a giant chasm when he’s not in it, that’s a problem.

Go down the list. Clayton Kershaw has another simulated game lined up Sunday, as he tries to regain momentum after a slight rehab setback of his own. Joe Kelly is getting hitters out for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes but is probably still at least a couple more outings away from returning. MVP candidate Mookie Betts, recovering from a broken left hand, is doing some baseball-type activities but is still a few weeks away – and he, too, can’t swing a bat yet. (But his appearance in the Dodgers’ TV booth Wednesday night suggested he could have a post-career future in the booth if he wants it).

Meanwhile, relievers Brusdar Graterol and Ryan Brasier are still working out at Camelback Ranch, Michael Grove and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are in various stages of their rehabs … and the list goes on. The upshot: A team that still has a healthy division lead also has plenty of needs as the July 30 trading deadline approaches. Clearly, $1.1 billion doesn’t guarantee health.

Layered over all of this is the realization, within the organization as well as among its fan base, that the only achievement that means anything has to come in October.

So on social media, our current bastion of learned discourse, Dodger fans are chill, nobody’s suggesting any outlandish trades and Roberts isn’t getting hammered for his in-game decisions, right?

Right??

Hey, if you allow it to, following baseball can be a nightly nervous breakdown.

To be sure, Roberts gave the wannabe managers more ammunition Saturday. Nursing a 3-2 lead, he used Daniel Hudson in the sixth, Blake Treinen in the seventh and normal closer Evan Phillips in the eighth, guessing that Phillips could handle the middle of the order in that inning and Alex Vesia could pitch the ninth for the save. Roberts had done so at the start of the last road trip against the woeful White Sox and got away with it.

This time, Christian Yelich sent a 2-2 pitch into the net above the kids’ play area in dead center field off Phillips to tie the game 3-3.

But Roberts ultimately got away with it again. Miguel Vargas pinch-hit for Gavin Lux leading off the bottom of the eighth and hit a paint-scraper that just cleared the left field fence to break the tie. Two hitters later Shohei Ohtani left no doubt with his 28th homer of the year, a 430-foot cannon blast (one estimated foot longer than Yelich’s). And Vesia retired the Brewers in order in the ninth, so what could the critics say?

“It was a right, left, right” situation, Roberts said afterward, given that righties William Contreras and Willy Adames bookended the left-handed Yelich. You could make the counter argument that the dominant hitter in the eighth, Yelich, was left-handed, while right-handed Rhys Hoskins – who had already homered in the fourth Saturday, after hitting a grand slam Friday night – was likely due up in the ninth.

“I feel confident with Alex versus either, but I think that for me, just having the righty on Contreras and Adames, I like that,” Roberts said. “And, you know, (Phillips) had count leverage on Yelich (it was 2-2) and left a sweeper middle, middle. But if I had to do it over again, I’d do the same thing.”

Footnote: Vesia struck out Hoskins on a 2-2 slider to start the ninth.

Meanwhile, maybe Paxton provided a sliver of hope by battling his way through five innings and 83 pitches and leaving with a 3-2 lead.

He acknowledged he’s not the same pitcher he was before Tommy John surgery in 2021, and Saturday he was working with a four-seam fastball that topped out at 93.9 mph and averaged 92.8, a couple of ticks below his 93.3 average for the year. He’s thrown mostly four-seamers and knuckle curves this season, with a few changeups and very few cutters (Saturday he threw two). Three years ago he was throwing the cutter nearly 30 percent of the time according to Baseball Savant; this year, less than four percent.

“I think I’m just evolving as a pitcher,” he said. “You know, my stuff isn’t what it used to be, but I’m pitching differently, pitching to weak contact, and still trying to give us a chance to win.

“I kind of figure it out as I go.”

That’s sort of the way baseball works in general. In this case, they’ll be figuring it out not only on the field and in the dugout but in the executive suite as July 30 approaches.

Meanwhile, after this series the Dodgers head to Philadelphia to play the team with baseball’s best record. So if your daily mood depends on the previous night’s results, you might want to hold on tight for a while.

jalexander@scng.com

Minneapolis police are providing more information regarding the arrests made for the dangerous fireworks activity over the Fourth of July holiday.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara discussed the department’s response in a press conference on Friday.

“Starting Wednesday night, the Minneapolis Police Department began monitoring social media and found invitations on social media platforms,” O’Hara said. “They encourage people to come to Minneapolis and commit these egregious, dangerous and just frankly, stupid acts.”

On Saturday, police provided updates about the specific incidents, resulting in 30 confirmed arrests and five citations. Eight of the suspects are minors, with all of them between 15 and 23 years old.

The majority of the arrests were for felony-level PC Riot and/or assault.

“I am thankful to the Minnesota State Patrol, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, the Minneapolis Park Police, and the University of Minnesota Police. Through a coordinated effort, dozens of arrests or citations related to illegal firework activity were made and illegal fireworks were recovered.”    

Police say that around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, a large group of people were throwing fireworks at each other and at vehicles near the 4900 block of Lake Nokomis Parkway. According to police, two people, a 19-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman, were cited for fireworks violations.

Just before midnight, a group of people were shooting fireworks at officers near 14th Street and Fourth Avenue South. According to police, two 18-year-old men and one 19-year-old man were arrested for riot, and another 18-year-old man was arrested for riot and assault.

Then at about 12:31 a.m. Friday, people in a vehicle were driving near the 600 block of 12th Avenue Southeast and aiming mortar-style fireworks at pedestrians. An 18-year-old man and two 15-year-old boys were arrested for riot.

Police say that around 1:15 a.m., a group of men were throwing mortar fireworks at officers near 11th Avenue Southeast and Sixth Street Southeast. One 18-year-old man was arrested for assault, an 18-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy were arrested for riot and fleeing on foot and a 17-year-old boy was arrested for assault and riot.

At around 1:25 a.m., officers saw fireworks being thrown out of a vehicle at pedestrians near 11th Avenue Southeast and Fourth Street Southeast. Four women — aged 18, 20, 20 and 21 — were arrested for riot.

Then, around 1:41 a.m., a large group of people was seen shooting fireworks at people, vehicles and apartment buildings near 12th Avenue Southeast and Sixth Avenue Southeast. Officials say a 16-year-old boy was arrested and cited for curfew, while 11 people ranging from 18 to 21 years of age were arrested for riot.

Minneapolis police say at about 2 a.m., a group was seen throwing fireworks at police and firing mortar rounds. An 18-year-old man was arrested for riot.

At around 3 a.m., a group of people were shooting fireworks at squads near Cedar Avenue and West Lake Nokomis Parkway. A 21 and 23-year-old man were arrested for assault.

There were also two 16-year-old boys and one 17-year-old boy cited for curfew.

Minneapolis police say the number of arrests will likely increase as more reports are completed. O’Hara added that probable charges will be tallied in the coming days from other agencies that helped MPD respond.

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers at policetips@minneapolismn.gov or call 612-673-5845.