Refurbished gym at Kansas School for the Deaf is Big 12 legacy

Former Texas Tech guard Luke Adams, who was born deaf, stepped to the free-throw line to attempt a ceremonial shot.

“Now this is real pressure,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told Adams as he took the ball.

No problem, as the shot fell through to cheers and sign language applause of the crowd that gathered at Kansas School for the Deaf in Olathe on Monday, when a refurbished gym was dedicated as part of the Big 12 Legacy Project.

“I thought I’d make it,” said Adams, who appeared in 64 games for the Red Raiders during 2012-15. “But really I’m just happy to be a part of this.”

The Big 12 contributed $25,000, and several conference corporate partners and other contributors kicked in another $25,000 to refinish the basketball floor, paint new lines and a midcourt logo of the school’s Jackrabbits mascot, put up new wall padding, and buy a new motor to adjust the freshly painted bleachers, among other improvements.

The gym is used by KSD teams and by the Olathe Parks and Recreation Department.

“We want to encourage and support active lifestyles in our community, and that will continue to happen in our beautiful gym,” said KSD assistant superintendent Luanne Barron. “This project is an amazing gift to our students.”

Adams attended public schools in Texas but said he spent hours every day shooting in gyms like the one at KSD.

“Basketball and sports was a way I was able to distract myself and relax,” said Adams, one of approximately 40,000 adults in the U.S. to wear a cochlear implant and hearing aid “With me, if someone made fun of me because I couldn’t hear them, basketball was my way of dealing with that.”

The project traces its origin to 2015, when the Big 12 announced the men’s championship, a four-day tournament in March at the Sprint Center, would remain in Kansas City through 2020.

Legacy projects were part of the deal. Bowlsby was a member of the NCAA men’s basketball committee when it started a similar initiative, and now Final Fours don’t occur without the NCAA working with the host city to fund improvement projects.

The idea has taken root in the Big 12, and the first project was introduced in March with the construction of two new basketball courts at Parade Park in Kansas City, site of the Urban Youth Baseball Academy.

The Kansas City Sports Commission worked with Olathe to steer the Big 12 toward this project, and Bowlsby, standing near the Big 12 logo painted inside the free-throw line, sounded an optimistic note about the future of such projects — and the tournament — in Kansas City, which will be the site of the annual media day on Tuesday.

“When you say leave a legacy, it sounds like you’re going someplace, and you want to leave something behind,” Bowlsby said. “We actually aren’t going anyplace. We love having our tournament in Kansas City. It’s going to be our home for a long time to come.”

This story was originally published October 24, 2016 at 6:44 PM with the headline "Refurbished gym at Kansas School for the Deaf is Big 12 legacy."