Overall, a great experience. My son was on the team that won the 11-12 year old division, and each division winner was recognized in the closing ceremony on the 2nd day of camp. If you have a 7-14 year old I strongly recommend sending them.
Had a chance to speak with Tony for a few minutes at Mem Gym yesterday, and he’s just like one-on-one/in person like you see on TV…very approachable, humble, and just a genuinely good guy. We spoke about how much the camp has grown in the 8 years he’s done it, and how they’re actually running out of space…other than JPJ, they’re at Mem Gym, North Rec Center (right by Darden) and Slaughter Rec. I’d guess there were at least 200 kids total, and they started another camp today that’s running through tomorrow for the same ages. I joked with that him that it’s a good problem to have, but the guy has been and will be running around like crazy this week, checking in with all the locations. On that note…major respect to him for the work he’s putting in. A guy in his position could easily make a quick appearance in the morning, and quick appearance in the afternoon, and leave the rest up to his staff. That’s not Tony…he pounded the pavement throughout to make sure everything was running as it should, and to spend time with the campers.
As part of the camp, Tony invited the parents to sit in and watch a shooting exhibition on Monday afternoon that they did in the JPJ practice gym with all the campers as a group. I was very surprised at this, but he used Mamadi Diakite as his demonstrator. Folks…this kid is nowhere near a project, and will play right away. We already knew how athletic he is, but he shoots the ball like a guard. Most of his 3 pointers weren’t even hitting iron…nothing but net. Oh, and Tony had him finish things off with a windmill slam that looked like it took almost no effort whatsoever. We won’t have MD for 4 years…we may be lucky to have him 3.
Not part of the camp, but Tony also invited the campers/families to watch practice with the 6 first year guys…the 4 freshmen along with Mamadi & Austin Nichols after camp on Monday afternoon. Trying to temper my excitement, but I don’t think we’ve ever had the talent we do on this roster, at any point in program history. I had to keep reminding myself that we had 7 other guys…5 of whom are proven ACC players who played major minutes last year.
Guy will play. He has the sweetest shot, and quickest release. I know he’s never played a minute of college basketball, but Staples is the only guy I’ve seen who looked as good or better. Jerome may be the odd man out this year just because of numbers, but that doesn’t mean he can’t play. He has a little bit of a hitch in his shot that makes his release about a half second slower than Kyle’s, but we’re in good hands when LP moves on.
Already commented on Diakite…nothing in the afternoon practice made me think the demo session earlier in the day was a fluke. This kid will be a superstar, and it will be very hard to keep him off the court. With Isaiah’s mid-range game and MD’s athleticism, I don’t think it’s far-fetched that we could see line-ups of Nichols, Diakite & Wilkins on the floor at the same time…try scoring on that defense. Nichols is what I expected…polished and ready. I’ve loved Gill for 3 years, but I just don’t see much if any fall-off…we’ll be fine inside.
Hunter will be our do-it-all, glue guy. He’ll play this year, but I don’t think he’s a major threat to start…at least not early. He’s skinny and needs to bulk up a little, but he’s SO skilled. Can shoot, very athletic, his movements look so natural. He was a great pickup. Huff…last but not least, Huff. I can see why Tony rolled the dice before he blew up. Kid has some major skills, just needs to get stronger. Definitely think he should RS given our depth, but he could play in a pinch. As I was watching him, I just had to remind myself that we play in a league with NBA caliber big men…him against Anthony Gill right now would be ugly, because Gill is a man, and Huff is a kid. He has the chance to be special though.
Bottom line…this year will be fun, and I think could be better than last year. We might have some bumps in the OOC while rotations work themselves out, but there’s too much talent, and our coaching staff is too good for this season to go south in any way.
Had a chance to speak with Tony for a few minutes at Mem Gym yesterday, and he’s just like one-on-one/in person like you see on TV…very approachable, humble, and just a genuinely good guy. We spoke about how much the camp has grown in the 8 years he’s done it, and how they’re actually running out of space…other than JPJ, they’re at Mem Gym, North Rec Center (right by Darden) and Slaughter Rec. I’d guess there were at least 200 kids total, and they started another camp today that’s running through tomorrow for the same ages. I joked with that him that it’s a good problem to have, but the guy has been and will be running around like crazy this week, checking in with all the locations. On that note…major respect to him for the work he’s putting in. A guy in his position could easily make a quick appearance in the morning, and quick appearance in the afternoon, and leave the rest up to his staff. That’s not Tony…he pounded the pavement throughout to make sure everything was running as it should, and to spend time with the campers.
As part of the camp, Tony invited the parents to sit in and watch a shooting exhibition on Monday afternoon that they did in the JPJ practice gym with all the campers as a group. I was very surprised at this, but he used Mamadi Diakite as his demonstrator. Folks…this kid is nowhere near a project, and will play right away. We already knew how athletic he is, but he shoots the ball like a guard. Most of his 3 pointers weren’t even hitting iron…nothing but net. Oh, and Tony had him finish things off with a windmill slam that looked like it took almost no effort whatsoever. We won’t have MD for 4 years…we may be lucky to have him 3.
Not part of the camp, but Tony also invited the campers/families to watch practice with the 6 first year guys…the 4 freshmen along with Mamadi & Austin Nichols after camp on Monday afternoon. Trying to temper my excitement, but I don’t think we’ve ever had the talent we do on this roster, at any point in program history. I had to keep reminding myself that we had 7 other guys…5 of whom are proven ACC players who played major minutes last year.
Guy will play. He has the sweetest shot, and quickest release. I know he’s never played a minute of college basketball, but Staples is the only guy I’ve seen who looked as good or better. Jerome may be the odd man out this year just because of numbers, but that doesn’t mean he can’t play. He has a little bit of a hitch in his shot that makes his release about a half second slower than Kyle’s, but we’re in good hands when LP moves on.
Already commented on Diakite…nothing in the afternoon practice made me think the demo session earlier in the day was a fluke. This kid will be a superstar, and it will be very hard to keep him off the court. With Isaiah’s mid-range game and MD’s athleticism, I don’t think it’s far-fetched that we could see line-ups of Nichols, Diakite & Wilkins on the floor at the same time…try scoring on that defense. Nichols is what I expected…polished and ready. I’ve loved Gill for 3 years, but I just don’t see much if any fall-off…we’ll be fine inside.
Hunter will be our do-it-all, glue guy. He’ll play this year, but I don’t think he’s a major threat to start…at least not early. He’s skinny and needs to bulk up a little, but he’s SO skilled. Can shoot, very athletic, his movements look so natural. He was a great pickup. Huff…last but not least, Huff. I can see why Tony rolled the dice before he blew up. Kid has some major skills, just needs to get stronger. Definitely think he should RS given our depth, but he could play in a pinch. As I was watching him, I just had to remind myself that we play in a league with NBA caliber big men…him against Anthony Gill right now would be ugly, because Gill is a man, and Huff is a kid. He has the chance to be special though.
Bottom line…this year will be fun, and I think could be better than last year. We might have some bumps in the OOC while rotations work themselves out, but there’s too much talent, and our coaching staff is too good for this season to go south in any way.
