The basketball courts at the Bridgewood and Valley Ridge Housing Complexes in Murphysboro have a new look and a new name.
Murphysboro Mayor Will Stephens says he helped secure funding for repairs with the help of several groups and businesses, including the Jackson Housing Authority, which paid for most of the nearly $30,000 price tag.
During this time, the mayor says SIU-Carbondale Chancellor Austin Lane agreed to have the University pay $8,000 for the court to be striped with a Saluki Logo at center court.
There has been some preliminary discussions about the Saluki Men’s and Women’s basketball teams practicing there.
Then Mayor Stephens and Chancellor Lane agreed it would be a good idea to rename it “Flynn Robinson Court”.
Robinson was born in Murphysboro and first learned to play basketball there. He was on the SIU basketball team for one semester in the early 1960's. He went on to play with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Robinson passed in 2006, but Stephens says they plan to invite his family to town in the near future to unveil a historic maker near the court that honors his athletic achievements.
