Kieon Arkwright— Professional Basketball and Giving Back to SC4

Kieon Arkwright is an SC4 alum who was a successful professional basketball player, has worked with large franchises such as the Denver Nuggets, Nike, Jordan Brand, 24 Hour Fitness, Boardroom and is the founder and CEO of GameLike Sports Group. Most recently, Kieon oversees the US Sports Nike Basketball Camps at three Michigan sites, including SC4 (see information below).

Kieon’s love of basketball began when he was eight and growing up in Flint. He commented that a basketball only costs thirty-five dollars but has opened many opportunities and relationships for him. He played basketball all through elementary, middle and high school and went to Saginaw Valley when he graduated. After completing his first year at Saginaw, he accepted a basketball scholarship with SC4.

“That was a very impactful time at SC4, and it put a lot of things in perspective. For me, leaving and going to SC4 put me there with my peers, people of the same age demographic. It’s a smaller college, and it was more intimate for me, and that’s what I needed at the time. I also needed to be more involved in the community, and the coaches paid a little more attention to me. The overall experience was tailored to what I needed…SC4 felt more like a family and a tight-knit space for me.”

After his time at SC4, Kieon lived out his dream of playing Division 1 basketball by transferring to the University of Texas-Pan American. When asked if SC4 prepared him for Division 1, he responded,

“One hundred percent. SC4 gave me a chance to focus on what I needed. It definitely helped me. I give a lot of credit to Dale Vos as well for buying into me as a player and a leader. When I got there, I stepped into a leadership position right away, being able to lead guys on and off the court and setting a tone. It taught me leadership, and it helped me on the next level. That’s what I really enjoyed from being at SC4.”

From Pan-American, Kieon moved to Los Angeles, where his career took off. He played in the Drew League before being recruited to play professional basketball in Nicaragua. After sustaining an injury, he started running basketball clinics in LA. While there, he met a representative from Japan who regularly brought his players to train in LA. The man recognized Kieon’s experience and offered him the opportunity to run basketball clinics in Japan to help impact their youth. From then on, Kieon would spend ten-day stints in Japan, running three or four clinics at a time in places like Osaka, Kobe, Tokyo and Chiba.

From 2015 to 2017, he served as the Assistant Manager and trainer at the Jordan Hangar facility, where he helped lead basketball training, athlete development sessions, and community activities. /Hanger Facility Program Manager for Nike. In this role, he ran lead-brand Jordan basketball youth clinics in communities for Chris Paul, Russel Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Blake Griffin shoe releases. Any time a new shoe came out, Jordan Brand would offer a basketball clinic for local kids where they would get to try out the shoes while receiving professional-level basketball training. Additionally, Kieon continued training professional athletes. He spent three and a half years in the position and is still in the loop with Nike and Jordan Brand, running events and receiving merchandise for giveaways to impact underserved youth. After this, Kieon worked as the Director of Youth Basketball and Fan Strategy for the Denver Nuggets franchise. In this role, Kieon created the first-ever Denver Nuggets Basketball Academy, building relationships with community partners and training kids to take their skills to the next level. He stated, “My goal was to get a basketball in every kid’s hands in Colorado and be a mirror of the professional teams.” It was at this time that Kieon was inducted into the SC4 Athletics Hall of Fame (see here for more).

In 2024, Kieon partnered with 24-hour Fitness and Boardroom, co-founded by Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman, to provide a clinic for underserved youth in South LA. Kieon was part of a team of trainers that included professional basketball players Trentyn Flowers, Monte Morris, and Royce O’Neale. The athletes and trainers led training exercises focused on building professional-level skills, as well as providing free Clippers tickets, signed merchandise, and 24-Hour Fitness memberships. See the full story here.

Kieon started GameLike Sports Group in 2022. His company runs a basketball academy and focuses on youth camps and clinics and provides brand management for professional athletes. They specialize in assisting their clients in philanthropic endeavors and helping them tell their story. They recently signed a three-year deal with Nike and US Sports Camps. Kieon is now the camp operator in Michigan and has set up one of his three camp locations at SC4. He expressed his excitement to be involved with these camps and sees the opportunity as his way of “giving back and showing the love I have for SC4, the community, and what it’s done for me. I wanted to make sure I was involved and the community had a chance to be a part of it.“

He is also sponsoring scholarships for the camps to support kids interested in the opportunity.

“I want them to be able to take advantage of it. I wish I had someone who had a seat at the table in control and able to give opportunities. I wanted to make sure I gave that to those kids in that area. As many kids as we can get from the Port Huron and SC4 area. I would love to get them involved.”

If you’re interested in hearing more about camp scholarship opportunities, contact info@gamelikesportsgroup.com.

Camp Locations Links:

For more information about Kieon and his professional projects visit https://www.kieonarkwright.com/