Memorial for Basketball Coach to Be Held Today

A memorial celebration will be held today in honor of a South Los Angeles basketball community figure who died last week after being found unconscious in his Century Boulevard home.

The Challengers Boy’s and Girl’s Club will host the gathering for Joe Weakley, 62, who was an assistant coach at Crenshaw High School, a coach at Southwest College and who organized youth basketball leagues and a summer day camp.

The memorial at the club will begin at 1:30 p.m. at 5029 S. Vermont Ave.

John Bailey, father of former UCLA Bruin and current Phoenix Suns player Toby Bailey and current UCLA player Ryan Bailey, took his sons to Weakley’s camp for several years when they were children.

“I got to really respect and like Joe as a person and a coach, and he really had a sense of dedication to kids, especially to inner-city kids,” Bailey said.

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding Weakley’s death, and a coroner’s autopsy report is pending.

About 11 p.m. on June 17, Weakley called 911 and reported being confronted by four gunmen. When police and paramedics arrived at his home, they found him unresponsive, and Weakley was pronounced dead later that night at a local hospital.