Garden City Public Schools

On Dec. 11, the Garden City boys basketball team received a special donation from New York Knicks guard Tyler Kolek ahead of their first game of the season. Kolek, who played college basketball at Marquette University, formed a friendship with Garden City High School alumnus and assistant basketball coach Cyrus Lalehzar, who worked as a student manager for Marquette’s basketball program.

Through that connection, Kolek provided the team with new sneakers, supporting the players as they prepared for opening night. The donation reflects the strong community connections and ongoing support for Garden City athletics.

“One of the most impactful lessons I learned at Marquette came from head coach Shaka Smart, who spoke about the ‘pyramid of identity’ and the importance of remembering yourself and who helped you along the way. Relationships were a key pillar of his program, and that perspective has stayed with me as a coach,” said Lalehzar. “Tyler and I both transferred to Marquette and built a strong friendship on and off the court. He’s followed my coaching over the past three years, and as I enter my fourth, he wanted to do something special. Giving back to our players means a great deal to our program and reinforces the values we teach every day.”

“High school is such an important stage for players, not just for basketball but for learning who they are and what they want to become,” said Kolek. “Seeing how invested Cyrus is in his players and the culture he’s helping build makes it easy to want to support a program like Garden City. If this donation helps motivate those guys, reminds them they’re supported, and pushes them to keep working as they start their season, then it’s meaningful.”