'Hoop dreams' come true for Airman

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Ann Peru Knabe
  • 440th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. (AFPN) --  For the fourth year in a row a Reserve Command member has been tapped to play on the All Air Force basketball team. 

Capt. Kurtis Darden, the only reservist on the team, will play in the Armed Forces Basketball Tournament to be held March 23 to 28 at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

"This year I'm shooting for a 'three-peat,'" said Captain Darden. "The past two years we (the Air Force team) won the gold in the tournament."

Unlike the stars of the NBA, Captain Darden works a full-time "day-job" as a district manager for a North Carolina company. One weekend a month he drills with the 440th Airlift Wing at Pope Air Force Base, N.C. The other three weekends a month he hits the local gym, shooting hoops to keep sharp.

"It's not a complex practice session," he said. "I simply play pick-up ball on Saturday mornings for three hours, and I try to practice early in the mornings during the week before work."

Growing up, Captain Darden spent a lot of time with his father at the gym shooting hoops. In college, he played "guard" at Pfeiffer University in Misenhiener, N.C. In addition to playing on the All Air Force team four years in a row, he's served as team captain the last two years, and both times the Air Force won a gold. 

His years of basketball practice and games has paid off, Captain Darden's said.
He hopes the pre-tournament training camp will lead to another gold and a spot on the All Armed Forces Basketball team that competes internationally.

"This year (2008) we're having training camp early," he said. "The CISM (Conseil International Du Sport Militaire) is being held in the U.S. at Lackland Air Force base and is hosted by the Air Force."

With his eye on a three-peat, the reservist credits his father for inspiring him. Silas Darden is a retired Army command sergeant major who still plays basketball and goes to the gym.

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