After making 42 stops and reaching out to more than 9,000 children in the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia 76ers Summer Hoops Tour, presented by Poland Spring, wrapped up its eighth season of free clinics. Former 76ers All-Star World B. Free hosted the events that began on June 27 in Blackwood, N.J., and ended on Aug. 12, at the Carousel House in Philadelphia, Pa.

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The Summer Hoops Tour, which debuted with 14 locations in 1996, has grown tremendously to include 42 destinations in 2003, reaching out to more than 9,000 children this year. The tour made stops throughout the Philadelphia region and beyond, from Frackville, Pa., to the New Jersey Shore, extending as far north as Allentown, Pa., and as far south as Newark, Del.

All participants received not only instruction in basketball fundamentals - shooting, passing, dribbling, rebounding, conditioning and defense - but also special giveaway items. Two lucky winners at each site went home with a 76ers backboard and rim set.

“I’ve always had fun playing basketball,” said Free, the former NBA All-Star. “The Summer Hoops Tour is a perfect example of the organization’s philosophy of giving back to the community. We spend the summer sharing basketball with the kids and, to me, that is rewarding.”

Free was joined at the clinics by former 76ers player Ollie Johnson, 76ers mascot Hip-Hop and members of the Sixers front office staff. Sharing emcee duties during the summer months were Tom McGinnis, the radio voice of the 76ers, TV play-by-play man Marc Zumoff and public address announcer Matt Cord.

In addition to its 42 stops, the Summer Hoops Tour also paid a visit to the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), the 76ers practice facility, to host two clinics offered exclusively to the children of 76ers season ticket holders.

The final clinic of the Hoops Tour was given at the Carousel House, a facility committed to providing social, recreational and educational opportunities to persons with disabilities throughout the city of Philadelphia. Several members of the Magee Sixers Spokesmen, a team that has represented the National Wheelchair Basketball Association since 1978, helped the Hoops Tour staff lead the event.