More than 300 screaming fans gathered Saturday at Eastern High School's Don Johnson Fieldhouse to fawn over a few of their favorite celebrities.
The star-studded event, located at 220 N. Pennsylvania in Lansing, was not the opening of Hollywood's newest film or the album release party for an actor turned all-around performer. It was the Hollywood Hoopfest "Hoop for Hope" basketball game.
Celebrities such as actors Morris Chestnut, from "The Best Man" and "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid," and Larenz Tate, from "Ray" and "Love Jones" as well as Playboy model Rosie Tenison, came together to play basketball and do something positive for the community.
"I love playing basketball, and it's feeding families and giving scholarships," Chestnut said. "I know they come and see my movies, so I want to give back."
Chestnut's sentiment was echoed by the other celebrities at the event, who gave their all on the court, whether they could play basketball well or not.
"I'm not really good at playing basketball," Tenison said. "The money is well deserved and it will help a lot of people. It's definitely worth my time."
The celebrities battled it out against fraternities representing universities from Mid-Michigan and players from WQHH (96.5-FM).
During the half-time show, MSU dance teams Spartan Soul and Urban Dreams performed. Several audience members followed their footsteps.
Comedian Alex Thomas and six audience members did the dance steps to Kanye West's "New Workout Plan." Other members of the audience cheered them on by singing the lyrics: "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and do them sit-ups right and tuck your tummy tight and do them crunches like this."
The greeks walked away with the win, beating the celebrities by only three points with a final score of 38-35.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Make a Difference foundation, which provides assistance to underprivileged families.
The money raised will be used to sponsor 50 families in need in the Lansing and East Lansing area during the holidays. It will also help provide book scholarships for MSU students, as well as a need-based scholarship for Eastern High School students.
"We plan to take the families to Meijer and have them purchase clothing, food, toys and other items they may need for the holiday season," Event Coordinator Joshua Gillespie said.
Gillespie said he wanted the event to do more than to just give the MSU community an opportunity to hob-nob with the stars.
"I wanted them to see that we can have wholesome, positive activities for the community as well as something a little different," he said. "It's not very often that you're in a room with celebrities."
