For ninth grade Benjamin Franklin High School student and basketball player Colin Tucker, 16, participating in the CIAA Tournament as a ball kid brings him a step closer to something he’s excited about — moving on to college basketball. “I always wanted to play at the next level,” he said. As hoopsters compete in the six-day Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association men’s and women’s basketball tournaments at CFG Bank Arena, young Baltimoreans will also get in on the action — sitting on court to watch games and retrieving basketballs — thanks to “Operation Future,” which took charge of the tournament’s ball kid program 25 years ago.
