game are you
most looking forward
to in November?
bobcats.com
July 2, 2008
of instruction designed to help kids
improve their skills.
If you want to learn a skill, what better way to do it than under the tutelage of one of the best in the business?
Last week, 80 kids had the opportunity to receive an education about the game of basketball from one of the greats – 14-year NBA veteran Muggsy Bogues. Under his guidance, the kids attending the Jr. Bobcats Basketball Camp spent a week honing their skills on the court at Time Warner Cable Arena.
To help them improve, the game was broken down into individual skills such as dribbling, shooting, defense, passing and rebounding. Every day the kids rotated through stations doing drills that helped them perfect a certain aspect of the game.
The kids then had the opportunity to put what they had learned to use as they were divided up into teams and given the chance to play games against each other in a tournament-style bracket.
Regardless of the activity though, the emphasis was always on having fun and learning the fundamentals of the game.
“Camp’s going wonderful,” remarked Bogues. “It always feels good for me to come back and teach the young kids the fundamentals of the game of basketball. I really think it’s so important for them at this level, really at any level, to understand the fundamentals of it.”
Passing on the knowledge and the love he has for the game has always been a priority for the 5-3 Bogues. His camp has become an annual tradition in the Charlotte-area and he is always looking to find ways to mentor younger athletes.
“I remember once being in these kids’ situations, sitting there listening to a professional talk to me about dreams and you can make it and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t,” he recalled. “I know how it feels for them to receive that type of information from someone they look up to. I always try to share my knowledge and what I know and pass it on to the people I truly care for.”
But it wasn’t just Bogues who talked to the kids about working hard to achieve their dreams. The kids were also treated to several guest speakers including Bobcats guard Raymond Felton, Hornets guard Chris Paul and former Wake Forest star Justin Gray.
All three wanted to drop by the camp because of the tremendous impact Bogues had been in their lives. They wanted to repay the favor and in the process, have the same kind of influence on the next generation that Bogues has had on them.
“Muggsy’s a guy who has been helping me since I’ve been in the league at the point guard position,” explained Felton. “Anytime he needs me to help him with anything, to come out and speak to the kids, I will do that.”
“Muggsy’s my guy,” added Paul. “He didn’t even ask me to come speak. He told me he was having a camp, and I told him I was coming over. Muggsy’s a guy that has always been there for everybody and always looked out for me.”
“I try to relay to them that I used to be sitting where they are and listening to people like Muggsy talk,” he continued. “I listened and understood what it took for him to get there and now I’m there, I can relay the same message.”
Both Felton and Paul emphasized to the kids the importance of believing in yourself and the importance of hard work in achieving your dreams.
“Basically my main message is about self-esteem and just having confidence in themselves,” explained Felton. “Sometimes you may not be the best camper at the time, but as you get older and continue to work, you might end up being the best.”
“What I did was try to work harder than everybody else,” Paul said as he shared with the kids how he had achieved his success. “I was the smallest thing on the court. The thing was I had more heart than everybody. I just went a little bit harder than everyone else. Still to this day, that’s what I do. It’s been a whirlwind the things I’ve done over the past four or five years. I would never have believed it.”
Some of those things included playing in the NBA Playoffs and being selected an NBA All-Star and the best thing that has happened to him yet, he told the kids, was recently being named to the United States Olympic Team.
Felton also stressed to the kids the importance of getting an education.
“Do your schoolwork,” he told them. “This right here is extra. It’s an extra-curricular activity. It’s fun. Schoolwork is business. That’s the serious part.”
Being able to attend camps and share with kids important messages about life is something that Felton enjoys doing.
“I love working with kids,” he said “Just to see the looks on their faces when you’re talking to them. All this stuff is exciting and it’s fun. It’s all about the kids, helping them out and giving them some encouraging words.”
For Gray coming back to the camp was a return to his roots. A native of Charlotte, he, at one time, was in the exact same place these kids were at. He attended Bogues’ camp and eventually he went on to play at Wake Forest and then professionally overseas.
“When I was younger I was at Muggsy’s camp,” he said. “I remember I saw him dunk a volleyball and a tennis ball and I couldn’t believe it because he was so short, but he could jump so high. He’s left his legacy on the game and he’s important to the game now. That’s why I’m here. When you can give back to the kids and I’m in town, so why not come through and say a couple of good things to the kids.”
“It’s always good to see a kid that started off at an early age who had the dream and was able to follow it all the way through to the end of it,” said Bogues as he talked about Gray “That’s something that’s is marvelous to see.”
So does Bogues see any future NBA players in his most recent camp graduates?
“I’m quite sure there could be one or two,” he said. “You never know. It’s hard to say because the game is changing, but I can tell you, looking into those eyes, a lot of them are going to be successful because there are a lot of kids that are truly paying attention to what’s going on.”
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