Mayor Renard Johnson donates $1,500 to Andress High School’s boys basketball team

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson returned to his roots Thursday. The mayor donated $1,500 to the Andress High School boy's basketball team to support El Paso athletics.

He said he and his siblings graduated from Andress, making it a bittersweet visit.

"This was a small way that I could help the Anders boys basketball team get on the road, get basketballs, get all the things they need to continue to be champions," the mayor said.

The money will help pay for the team's travel and equipment. The team's coach said they try to get out of town as much as possible so the players can see a different "brand" of basketball.

"Once you go east in Texas, the athleticism increases," the team's coach, Eugene Costello, said. "It's good for them to see that brand of basketball and play against it, and it gets us playoff ready."