One of the top bigs of the class of 2010 writes from the NBPA Top 100 Camp.
Dwight Powell, a rising senior at the IMG Basketball Academy, is one of the top recruits in the country. He plays AAU with Grassroots Canada. Schools in the ACC, PAC-10 and SEC have expressed interest such as Vanderbilt, California, UCLA, Stanford, Virginia and even Harvard. The 6-9, 220-pound forward is spending a few days this summer participating in basketball camps, including the NBPA Top 100, Amar’e Stoudemire Skills Academy and LeBron James Skills Academy. Powell, also a 4.0 student, will give SLAM a first-hand account of the camps throughout the summer.—Franklyn Calle
Day four at the NBPA Top 100 Camp
The fourth and final day of camp was full of excitement, competition and gratitude.
It started off just as the days prior with the “Breakfast Club.” Attendance this morning drop yet again to 23, but still enough players to get in some extra work.
At breakfast, we could already feel the buzz of championship day. One team would be crowned the best of the best, and everyone had a shot at the title. First, though, we had a seminar on gangs and poor role models. We watched a video outlining the lifestyles of different kids, who used gang members as their most influential male role model. When we broke into discussion, the emphasis was on picking a positive male role model and what the person would be like if you could decide. It has to be someone you can trust and look up to for positive direction, even if it isn’t a family member.
We then moved on to what was on everyone’s mind – playoffs! The intensity level was ramped up a couple notches, as games were won and lost in the final minutes in front of dozens of scouts and recruiting agencies.
Although the refereeing was a little suspect at times, players fought through it and did what everyone came here to do – compete! Despite the fact that only one team won the tournament, everyone was happy with what they accomplished over the last few days and were grateful to take part in it.
At 8 p.m., we had the camp closure and award ceremony, where players who shined especially bright, work especially hard, and led their teams especially well received awards. Most of the ceremony was spent giving thanks to those involved in the making and running of the camp: coaches, NBA players, NBPA staff, parents and campers. I was extremely grateful for all the people involved who took the time to really try and teach us something more than basketball and more than the square root of pi.
I really appreciated coach Ro Russell of Grassroots Canada, who assisted in me getting into the NBPA camp. I can honestly say that I left here with some valuable knowledge that I will be able to use. Some camps send you home battered and bruised and on bed rest for a week. Some leave you thinking you’re the best in the world. And some leave you feeling like you just wasted a week.
The NBPA Top 100 Camp leaves you with tools that you can use every day to get better on and off the court. It provides a realistic sense of where you fall talent-wise amongst your peers. It gives experience interacting with current and former NBA players, a feeling like you got some work done physically and also a support group. Coaches and former players have all made it clear that they are here for us after this camp is over, which I think is big time on their part.
So, that’s it for the NBPA Top 100 camp, and hopefully I didn’t leave too much out. Thanks for taking the time to see the camp through my eyes, and I hope you enjoyed it.
As for me I need to get some rest. Camp is over but I’ll be up earlier than I have all week to catch my flight. Soon, I’m back on the road, with a trip to a Harvard basketball camp this Saturday, then on to the Amar’e Stoudemire Skills Camp the next day. Make sure you keep reading!
Until next time, this is Dwight Powell and this has been my basketball diary.
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