{"id":4054,"date":"2019-05-25T07:06:24","date_gmt":"2019-05-25T07:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wooter.com\/articles\/2019-5-25-hoops-journey-comes-full-circle-at-6th-annual-balling-4-lupus-game-for-ms-basketball\/"},"modified":"2024-05-07T09:54:36","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T09:54:36","slug":"2019-5-25-hoops-journey-comes-full-circle-at-6th-annual-balling-4-lupus-game-for-ms-basketball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wooter.com\/articles\/2019-5-25-hoops-journey-comes-full-circle-at-6th-annual-balling-4-lupus-game-for-ms-basketball\/","title":{"rendered":"Hoops Journey Comes Full Circle For Ms. Basketball At 6th Annual Balling 4 Lupus Charity Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Married<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

\n
\n

Married To The Game: Long before Ms. Basketball (far right) grew into a headlining player for charity basketball games like Sunday\u2019s Balling 4 Lupus game outside of Atlanta, Christina Granville was a girl who fell in love with basketball and became a standout college player in Florida. All she\u2019s done since then is emerge as a multi-talented branding, marketing, social media influencer, and media personality around basketball.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Take a quick minute to ask Bo Talley-Williams what she appreciates the most about Christina Granville (better known as the vibrant and multi-talented, Ms. Basketball<\/a>), and the founder and creator of the annual charity and celebrity basketball game, Balling 4 Lupus, will automatically show some love to a basketball player that has essentially become family these past six years. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s my little sister\u2026we are so lucky to have her on the court and taking part in helping us raise awareness and support for the fight against Lupus,\u201d said Talley-Williams, with the 6th annual Balling 4 Lupus charity game taking place on Sunday, May 26 at the Riverside Epicenter<\/a> in Austell, Georgia. <\/p>\n

The week before stepping on the court sporting the newest Wooter Apparel jersey for the game, Ms. Basketball<\/a> took time to both look back on her own personal journey<\/a> through the game. From growing up around the game in Florida and overcoming some athletic obstacles in the Midwest, Christina shares how she rediscovered a passion for the game of basketball that earned her both a college scholarship and helped shape her current career in branding, marketing, as a social media influencer, and as a media personality around the basketball world. <\/p>\n

Through it all, Ms. Basketball remains married to the game. On and off of the court, she remains an inspiration and is ready to inspire the next generation of young lady basketball players (did we mention she\u2019s preparing to host a 3-Day Basketball Camp<\/a> in Montgomery, Alabama with the WABA\u2019s Montgomery Lady Magic?) as she heads into the 6th Annual Balling 4 Lupus game on Sunday\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Ladies<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

\n
\n

Ladies First: Last year at the Balling 4 Lupus charity basketball game, Ms. Basketball (right) shared the floor with a number of impressive basketball players and athletes like all-everything upstart track star, Ariel Lawrence (who returns for her third year at the B4L event).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

It’s hard to believe the Balling 4 Lupus event is back already. How excited are you to get back on the floor and why is it so important for you to take part in this charity basketball game to help raise awareness and support for the fight against Lupus?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am super excited to be able to share my energy and support with such a great organization. This will be my 6th year participating in this game and I can\u2019t wait. <\/p>\n

This is such a great cause and event run by Bo Talley-Williams and Frank Williams with a number of talented players taking the floor. For those not familiar with your own game, can you share a little bit about your journey from growing up in Clewiston, Flordia to eventually <\/strong>playing college basketball at St. Leo’s University<\/strong><\/a>? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Wow, growing up in a small town such as Clewiston Florida (population 7,720), basketball became my happy place and my “get out of church free card” (laugh)! I used to watch my brother dominate guys on the court and I said, \u201cIf he can do it..I can do it too…\u201d, so I started trying to play with him and the guys. I went from playing basketball with my big brother in a next door neighbor carport, to playing in middle school, to being Varsity Girls Basketball player all 4 years in high school, to receiving a full scholarship to play basketball in Independence Kansas, where things came to a halt. <\/p>\n

I was told that I wasn\u2019t good enough to play college basketball. Talk about crushed! But God had other plans! Although my dreams of playing college basketball was put on hold I continued to run track and did pretty well. I was 11th in the nation in long jump and 10th in the nation in high jump. To some, they said I was better in track than basketball, however, my heart was always focused on the game of basketball! After my two years of being there, I figured if I couldn\u2019t play basketball, well I don\u2019t want to go to school so I moved back to Florida and basically lived life as a “brand ambassador” and model for the next 4 years. Even though I wasn\u2019t on a professional or college team I still played basketball almost everyday. <\/p>\n

From Rec centers, to outdoor courts, to community games, to summer leagues teams, to celebrity basketball games, basketball stuck with me. It stuck with me so much that while playing in an old school versus new school charity basketball game, my game caught the attention of an NBA scout who helped me get back into school.<\/p>\n

Within one week of meeting him, he had 4-5 colleges ready to talk with me about coming to play at their school. And by the end of the summer I received a full scholarship to play at Jefferson College in Missouri at the age of 25-years old. <\/p>\n

I became the captain of the team and broke a record of having 22 rebounds in one game. From there I transferred to Saint Leo University where I graduated with my BS in Business Management.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Then<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

\n
\n

Then And Now: Even at 11 years old, Christina developed an overall approach to the game that was richly rooted in family, hard work, determination, and simply loving basketball. Today, at 32 years old Ms. Basketball knows the hard work has paid off throughout the years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Growing up in a big family as you did it can be feast or famine, particularly when it comes to athletics. You have mentioned before that your older brother Jeff really pushed you to become a better player. In what ways did he feed your passion for the game?<\/strong><\/p>\n

He really just taught me how to be fearless, not to doubt myself, or talk about myself in a negative light. If I wanted to be a good basketball player I had to be tough I had to be strong and I had to be relentless and that\u2019s what he taught me. <\/p>\n

On your college basketball bio, you wrote that your goal was to “compete in the WNBA until she is 72 years old and own an advertising firm”. Since graduating in 2013, you have really crossed your game over — modeling, TV, movies, radio, and as a social media influencer — and essentially have become your own “advertising firm”. How would you describe these last seven years of really growing your own career from the ground up?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh wow. It\u2019s really been seven years! Wow, these past seven years have went by very very fast. Within that time I have grown so much — from being a sign spinner on the side of the road to selling knifes door to door, to hosting Essence Festival three-times in a row, to hosting a dunk contest on ESPN (and showing off her crossover game in heels<\/a>), and so much more. If I had to choose a word to describe the past seven years it would be, BLESSED<\/em>.<\/p>\n

To think about how far I have come, especially starting on a blank canvas it\u2019s motivation to myself to actually see the growth. It\u2019s been so many times to where things didn\u2019t go as planned or it just seemed as if I wasn\u2019t doing enough and as soon as I was about to say \u201cYou know what… just forget about it!”. <\/p>\n

God always worked things out. I mean, He\u2019s still working things out right now as we speak!! Sometimes I look back after an event or gig and say to myself, \u201cWow…that really just happened…wow… this is amazing!”<\/p>\n

I\u2019m forever grateful for how my career is going. I mean I\u2019m the captain of my career. I get paid to be ME and to share my energy and experience with the world and through the game that I love! <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"ms.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/p>\n

View fullsize<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

<\/p>\n

View fullsize<\/span><\/p>\n