3rd Annual Ernie Wallengren MemoriaHoopfest set for Saturday at Calabasas H

Ernie Wallengren impacted many lives while serving as a basketball coach at Calabasas High School.

On Saturday, Wallengren’s influence will be felt once again in the basketball gym at CHS, as the 3rd Annual Ernie Wallengren Memorial Hoopfest gets underway beginning at 8 a.m.

Wallengren, an accomplished screen writer who wrote for shows such as Little House on the Prairie, Knight Rider, Flipper and Baywatch, passed away May 27, 2003, after being stricken with Lou Gehrig’s disease, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

He was 50 years old.

Confined to a wheelchair while suffering through the debilitating effects of his disease, Wallengren continued to give his time to the Calabasas basketball program.

Following Wallengren’s death, Calabasas head coach Russell White and others associated with the program established the Hoopfest as a way to remember their fallen friend.

“He was a huge fan of basketball, but he was also a huge fan of kids,” White said. “He put his heart and soul into it.”

Proceeds from the tournament and accompanying silent auction will go to the Ernie Wallengren Research Fund, said White, and specifically toward funding stem cell research.

“The dollars that we raise go toward (funding stem cell research).” White said. “It doesn’t go to mailers of the charity or the salaries of those who work there. It goes to research.”

Some of the items up for bid include a chance to hang out on the set and meet the cast of Fox’s The O.C., Laker and Clipper tickets and a round of golf with twotime Cy Young Award winning pitcher Brett Saberhagen.

Those items are just the tip of the iceberg, said the CHS coach.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Hoopfest without the basketball.

One athlete who’ll be running the court Saturday is 7foot-8, 360-pound Sun Ming Ming from China.

Ming Ming’s a 21-year-old NBA prospect who would qualify as the tallest player in league history if he makes a roster in the future.

To donate auction items or find out more information about the tournament, please contact Coach White at (818) 222-7177 ext. 711.