Bay Shore's Gordon Thomas paying tribute to his father with 14th annual Alzheimer's All Star Basketball Classic

Gordon Thomas wanted to find a way to honor his late father.

Thomas, a basketball star at Bay Shore High School, played at St. John's before being drafted by the Knicks in 1979. His dad, John Thomas Sr., was always by his side to cheer him on during his career. John died in 2010 after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2006.

"He went from being a very vain man to someone deteriorating, and it was sad to see," Gordon said. "I always tell families once you have a loved one with the disease, the first thing you do is get educated because it takes patience."

Shortly after his father's death, Gordon Thomas started the Alzheimer's All Star Basketball Classic to raise awareness about the disease. The top boys and girls players from Nassau and Suffolk are invited to play. The 14th annual event will take place on Saturday at SUNY-Old Westbury, with the girls game at 4 p.m. and the boys game at 6 p.m. All proceeds go to the Long Island Alzheimer's Dementia Center in Westbury.

"Some of these kids may not know what they are doing now to raise funds, but later in life, they will realize that they helped raise awareness for this deadly disease," Thomas said. "There is no cure. Events like this are so big because we want to spread awareness of the disease."

John Thomas was a fixture in the Bay Shore community, where he was born. He enlisted in the Navy in 1944 and was stationed in the Philippines and Pearl Harbor during World War II. In 1951, Thomas joined the Village of Brightwaters Police Department as its first Black officer. When he joined the Suffolk County Police Department in 1960, he was one of three Black officers in the department.

"I've always called him the Jackie Robinson of the police force," Gordon said. " It made me proud because everybody loved him. He had such a great personality."

The students selected to play in the game participate in a virtual tour that simulated how it feels to be an Alzheimer's patient.

"My grandma had it when I was younger, so going through this made me realize what she was going through," said three-time Classic participant Carter Wilson of Bay Shore. "Going through the tour made me grateful for the gifts God gave me."

Thomas, who previously coached at Amityville and Southampton, took over the Knox boys basketball team last summer. He also is the sales director for Netherbay, an assisted living facility in Bay Shore.

"My father would be so proud of this event," Gordon said. "He would say, 'Son, this is a great thing you're doing, and I'm proud of you.' "