Morgan City’s Shawn Long returns home for community events

Shawn Long is pursuing a career playing basketball at the highest level, but he hasn’t forgotten where he came from.

The second annual Shawn Long Feed the Beast Block Party was held Sunday in Morgan City. The party was just part of Long’s Feed the Beast Weekend that also featured his inaugural Bully Ball Classic Alumni Game Saturday between alumni of Morgan City and Central Catholic high schools.

Long, 25, a 2011 Morgan City High graduate and former Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns basketball player, spent part of the 2016-17 NBA season playing for the Philadelphia 76ers and is entering his third year as a professional basketball player.

Long, a 6-foot-9-inch power forward and center, played in the NBA Summer for the Chicago Bulls earlier this month. He has also spent time playing for the 76ers affiliate in the NBA G League, the Delaware 87ers, and the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association so far during his professional career.

“My brother always tells me, you’ve always got to take care of your support system,” Long said. “And I feel like where I’m from, there’s a huge support system. Everybody showed me love. No matter how far away I go, how long away from home I go, every time I come back, it’s love. So every time I can show love in return, I’ll do it.”

His brother, Courtney Long, organized the events the past two years and plans to continue to do so each year, Shawn Long said.

“Hopefully, next year I can do something bigger, and each year just try to build on it,” Shawn Long said.

“Shawn expressed to me his love for the community and how much he wanted to give back to the community,” Courtney Long said. “He wanted to extend past just the block party.”

Discussion between Shawn Long and a cousin over which school in Morgan City had the better team “during their era” led to creation of the alumni game, Courtney Long said.

“The basketball part is the least (important) part,” Courtney Long said of the weekend.

“It’s all about giving back to the community,” Courtney Long said. “And we’re going to continue to grow, and we’re going to continue that effort.”

Shawn Long says he’s worked extremely hard to develop as a professional basketball player. He lost weight this summer and says he’s probably in the best shape he’s ever been as he tries to make an NBA roster for the 2018-19 season.

“I’m just looking forward to the future. It’s going to be a good year,” Shawn Long said. “I’m blessed to be able to do what I love.”