Mr. Uniondale Basketball Tournament raises funds in memory of Xavier Parris

Xavier Parris could do it all — and that is why they called him "Mr. Uniondale."

Parris was a talented athlete who excelled at basketball, football, baseball and lacrosse when he attended Uniondale High School. He was a silky smooth dancer with a magnetic personality, his family said on Saturday during the third annual Mr. Uniondale 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. Parris, they said, was a fun-loving guy with a contagious smile and a knack for making people laugh.

And then he was gone: Parris' big personality and ambitions ended in October 2022 when he was killed in a drunken driving crash at the age of 26. His death left his family reeling, but they have channeled their grief into the annual tournament, which raises scholarship money for Uniondale High School graduates. In past years, the event has raised as much as $8,000 — and Parris' mother, Empress Henderson, said she hoped to top that this year. 

"It felt right to honor him, to take that pain and turn it into purpose," said Henderson, as hip-hop, R&B and bouncing basketballs echoed across Bernard Brown Park on Saturday. The park is the perfect place to host the event, she said, because Parris had played hoops there for countless hours.

The tournament, Henderson added, is a way to reach out to other families who have lost loved ones to intoxicated or reckless drivers.

"We are trying to connect with any family that has experienced this type of tragedy," she said as the smell of grilling burgers and hot dogs made mouths water. "Xavier had such a promising future ahead of him, and we never could imagine that he would not be here."

Henderson and her family now live in Massapequa, but they have deep ties to Uniondale, where they resided for 14 years. Parris' father, Terrance Henderson, has been a teacher at Uniondale's Turtle Hook Middle School for 23 years. Younger brother Solomon Henderson, like Parris, was also a sports standout at Uniondale High School.

Local businesses sponsored the event, while longtime friends ran the concession stand. Kellie Wilson McNeal, of Queens, Empress Henderson's pal since their high school days, said friends came from as far away as North Carolina and Maryland to work at the event.

"This is a family affair," said McNeal, Parris' godmother, who donated the burgers, hot dogs and other munchies for the tournament. "This is a community service."

Parris had been celebrating the birthday of a longtime friend and was in the backseat of a Dodge Charger driven by the friend's stepfather when he died on Oct. 29, 2022, Henderson said. In March 2024, Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly's office said the driver, Donnell Hill, a former MTA bus driver, was heavily intoxicated and driving 97 miles per hour on Jerusalem Avenue in Hempstead just before the Charger hit a tree.

Hill, who pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree assault, driving while intoxicated and other charges, was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison in March 2024, Donnelly's office said.

Solomon Henderson said the tournament was the perfect way to honor his brother.

"He is looking down from wherever he is and he is appreciative of all we are doing here," he said. "He would have loved it. I am joyous to see the people come out. It's very exciting."