A pair of Portland-area Gonzaga alumni, Silas Melson and Kyle Wiltjer, are participating in Fam Jam, a charity basketball event on Saturday at Jefferson High School. The proceeds for the event will go toward the Erin Cowan Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to youth and basketball in the Portland community.
The schedule for Saturday (seen below in an Instagram post) shows four games between alumni of Jesuit, Grant, Jefferson, and Central High School, along with a Women’s basketball All-Star game, a three point competition, and three raffles.
Melson is an alumni of Jefferson High School. He began his college career at Gonzaga in 2014, and spent four years in Spokane appearing in 143 games and making 42 starts while averaging 6.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists and shooting 36.2% from beyond the arc.
Melson has travelled extensively since leaving Gonzaga, playing in Greece, Israel, Finland, Belgium, Russia, and most recently in Estonia.
Wiltjer attended Jesuit High School before heading to Kentucky where he won a national championship with the Wildcats in 2012. He eventually transferred to Gonzaga and was with the team from 2014-2016, averaging 18.6 points and 6.3 rebounds and shooting a whopping 44.9% from deep.
Fans interested in attending, or donating to a good cause, can follow the link in the above post for more information.
Andy hosts the Locked on Zags and Locked on College Basketball podcasts, and serves Locked On in a marketing/digital content creator role as well. He lives just outside Portland with his wife Jenna and dog, Tillie.