National

“She Wore So Many Hats…And So Many Hats For the Good of the Children”

GRAND BAHAMA, BAHAMAS – The Grand Bahama community is reeling the loss of sports trailblazer Coach Bonnie Basden. Basden’s House of Hoops and Dreams organization, used for mentoring boys, was her life mission, and now her legacy.

Published

3 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Megan Shepherd

GRAND BAHAMA, BAHAMAS – The Grand Bahama community is reeling the loss of sports trailblazer Coach Bonnie Basden.

House of Hoops and Dreams was Bonnie Basden’s life mission, and now its apart of her legacy.

However, that’s not just it.

With a heart so big, her ministry required funds, and as music teachers Sheena Moore and Terri Johnson tells it, that’s where they come in – forming a band called “Soul Sisters and the H.O.H Band,” along with some of Bonnie’s boys.

Guidance counselor and former student, Cadrin Fernander, fondly remembers Basden as a fixture in life as his father and uncles attended school with her – where the bond carried on to the next generation.

For religious studies teacher, Lolita Johnson, Basden was a mother figure.

She says when she moved to Freeport from the capital, Basden immediately reached out, offering any assistance she may have needed.

Basden died on February 19th.