Ish Smith & Josh Howard to Co-Host Charity Basketball Game in Winston-Salem

Former Wake Forest players Ish Smith and Josh Howard will be co-hosting a charity basketball game at the Annex in Winston-Salem on Saturday, June 28th at 4 p.m. The doors will open at 3 p.m. and tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster or at the door. The game will feature a Wake Forest team versus a team composed of former NCAA players. Proceeds will be split between Ish's Foundation and The Josh Howard Foundation.

Wake Forest Team

Josh Howard

Eric Williams

L.D. Williams

Ish Smith

Jeff Teague

Justin Gray

Tony Rutland

Randolph Childress

Al-Farouq Aminu

Antwan Scott

C.J. Harris

NCAA Team

Reyshawn Terry

Reggie Johnson

Josh Powell

Trevor Booker

Cliff Crawford

Shammond Williams

Arnett Moultrie

Jamie Skeen

Alade Aminu

Ish's charity is in its beginning stages, but past endeavors have been used to raise money to help families, who are less fortunate, by paying for their children to participate in extra-curricular activities. He has also had a book bag drive as well as hosted a basketball camp in his hometown of Concord, North Carolina. Several of these initiatives he financed himself.

The Josh Howard Foundation is "dedicated to helping improve the quality of life of economically challenged communities by utilizing programs and services that focus on academic improvement, community outreach, and athletic and fitness training." Past causes have included dinners for senior citizens as well as 100 $100 Toys R Us gift cards that were given to less fortunate families during the holiday season.

Ish Smith is probably best remembered for his game-winning buzzer beater against Texas in the 1st round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. He finished his illustrious Wake Forest career with more than 1,000 points and 600 assists. He was the first Deacon with 1,000 points, 500 assists and 400 rebounds. He has played in the NBA for the past four seasons, and just completed his most successful season with the Phoenix Suns.

Josh Howard is best remembered for his 2003 season in which he was named ACC Player of the Year and A.P. 1st-team All-America. During that season he averaged 19.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 blocks. He played 11 NBA seasons, averaging more than 14 points for his career and made the All-Star Game in 2007.

There is a tremendous amount of talent in this event and the proceeds go to great causes. I strongly encourage Wake fans who will be in town to come out to the event and support the former Deacons who are giving back to their community. Go Deacs!