Free State High basketball coach Sam Stroh is pictured in 2012 at the Obama Classic with his wife, Molly, and President Barack Obama.

Since today marks the final full day in office for the nation’s 44th president, many Americans may spend part of their day reflecting on Barack Obama’s eight years in office.

Free State High boys basketball coach Sam Stroh’s memories will have a more concrete feel, compared to those of most in Lawrence. After all, he shot hoops with the president when they both were dressed to the nines.

Then coaching at Blue Valley High, Stroh noticed a Tweet in 2012 from the Obama campaign team that offered donors a chance to attend an event with the president and several basketball stars, past and present, including Michael Jordan. It was called the “Obama Classic.”

At the time, the campaign’s deputy national field director, Marlon Marshall, wrote of the event in an email to donors: “Now stop dreaming and make it happen. You and a guest of your choice could join President Obama and some of the greatest basketball stars for a special night at the Obama Classic.”

Stroh entered the contest.

“I donated 15 bucks to the campaign and the campaign manager called me and interviewed me,” Stroh said. “They called back about three days later, put me on the speaker phone with the DNC and said, ‘Congratulations, you and your wife are being flown to meet President Obama and Michael Jordan.’ There were about 20 other NBA All-Stars there.”

Stroh said that the outgoing president was “about as normal a guy as can be. It was very cool.”

Stroh said he shot hoops with the president, whom he said “has a good lefty stroke.”

NBA commissioner David Stern, former Georgetown and NBA star Alonzo Mourning and Arne Duncan, former Secretary of Education, were at the Strohs’ table.

“You would have thought we were big-time, but we were just two teachers from Kansas City,” Stroh said. “Right when Obama finished speaking, he came right over and said, ‘Sam and Molly from Kansas City, great to see you.’ He was very graceful. You would have thought he was Joe Cool, just hanging out, shooting baskets, fitting in like anybody else. He kissed Molly on the cheek when he said goodbye to us.”

Stroh, a middle-school teacher in Leawood at the time and now teaching at Free State, said that for security reasons, he had to keep a low profile about the event until after it occurred. He did have to tell his principal.

“When she asked me why I had to miss the time, I told her it was to have dinner with President Obama,” Stroh said. “She looked at me like, ‘Yeah, right.’ We had to keep it a secret.”

The dinner took place Aug. 22, 2012, in New York City’s Lincoln Center.

“I think it was $25,000 a plate, so when we came outside, the paparazzi was there and some guy behind the barracade yelled, ‘How was your $25,000 meal?’ I said, ‘It was only 15 bucks.’ It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”