Basketball camp focuses on life, too
Highland Springs' coach, nation's best players participate
Friday, Jun 22, 2007 - 12:06 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The NBA Players Association's Top 100 camp has a new home - the University of Virginia - but its message hasn't changed.

No matter how dominant they may be in high school, campers are told, there's no guarantee they'll reach the NBA. The odds against them, in fact, are astoundingly long. To have a chance to succeed in basketball - and more importantly, in life - they must continue working to better themselves, on and off the court.

"Probably a quarter of the kids really understand what we're talking about," camp director Tim McCormick said yesterday at U.Va.'s John Paul Jones Arena.

"They understand they've been blessed with a gift, and if they don't develop it, some day they'll be sitting back, like so many other people, saying, 'I wish I could go back and do it all again.'"

After five years at Virginia Commonwealth University, the NBPA's camp has moved to U.Va., where it will be held annually at least through the summer of 2010. Princeton and American also have hosted the camp, now in its 14th year. Alumni include Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Shane Battier and Jermaine O'Neal.

"This is the best college arena and facility that I have seen anywhere in the nation," McCormick said of the JPJ. "It's an amazing place. The facilities are second to none, and the staff has been incredible."

Ed Davis, a rising senior at Benedictine High and one of the nation's most coveted prospects, attended last year's camp at VCU, as did Highland Springs High's Jamar Abrams.

Davis, a 6-9 forward, turned down an invitation to this year's Top 100 camp. Instead, he's in Colorado Springs, Colo., playing in the USA Basketball Men's Youth Development Festival. But many of the nation's best players came to Charlottesville for the NBPA camp, which began Tuesday and runs through tomorrow.

The campers have been split into 10 teams, but they do more than play games and work on drills. About a quarter of their time is spent in the classroom, where various topics not directly related to basketball are discussed. That's not the format followed by camps sponsored by shoe companies Nike and Reebok.

"To me, it's the model camp," said Highland Springs High coach George Lancaster, who has participated in the NBPA event since its inception.

"From development of lifetime skills, from learning to eat at the table, to learning study habits, personal direction, basketball fundamentals, of course, learning to interact with people and to handle the media."

Some of the message may be lost on campers. Still, Lancaster said, "I think the more exposure they get to it, the better it is for them."

Christian Morris, a 6-9, 270-pound rising senior at South Kent School in Connecticut, agreed.

"It helps me think about life after basketball because it doesn't last forever," Morris said.

NCAA rules prohibit contact between the high school players and the U.Va. coaching staff while the camp is in session. Cavaliers coach Dave Leitao and his assistants can't even watch. Still, many Virginia recruiting targets are at the camp, to Leitao's delight.

"Charlottesville is a place that you have to come to," Leitao said Tuesday. "You don't just pass by, and just to have some of the best players in the country here for a week, to see who we are and get a look at the grounds and obviously this magnificent building [is positive for U.Va.]"


 

Virginia could use Plumlee brothers
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
June 22, 2007

When you ask brothers Miles and Mason Plumlee about their one-on-one battles, they break into devilish grins.

Who wins those games that take place in their Indiana backyard?

“They go either way,” Miles Plumlee explained. “That’s if we finish. That’s normally the hard thing because we get pretty competitive.”

“Bad calls I guess,” said Mason Plumlee, half-jokingly.

The Plumlee brothers, who hail from Warsaw, Ind., but attend Arden Christ School in North Carolina, are in town this week participating in the NBA Top 100 Camp at John Paul Jones Arena.

They are two of the more promising high school big men in the country. Miles is a senior, Mason a junior.

Either one would look very nice in a Virginia uniform someday.

Miles, who stands 6-foot-9, has received scholarship offers from UVa, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Georgetown and South Carolina.

Mason, who is 6-10, said he has offers from Indiana, Xavier, Georgetown and Miami.

Miles, who hopes to make his decision by the end of the summer, said Virginia may have a leg up on the competition since it was the first school to offer him.

“They saw something first that nobody else did,” he said. “They’ve got great facilities. I like Coach Leitao, their style of play and they’re in a great conference.”

Mason is hopeful to get an offer from Virginia. However, he said the brothers aren’t necessarily a package deal.

“I’m pretty flexible,” he said. “I’m going to see where he goes, and if he likes it, I’m definitely going to look into going there if they want me.”

The Plumlees, who have been getting tutored by former North Carolina star Brad Daugherty recently, have strong basketball lineage. Their mother, Millard, who is 6-feet tall, played at Purdue. Their father, Perky, who is 6-7, played at Tennessee Tech.

Both players are considered perimeter-oriented big men who have the potential to develop low-post games. Right now, Miles has the better inside skills, while Mason is the better shooter.

“I love them,” said Hargrave Military Academy coach Kevin Keatts, who is coaching the pair this week. “I think the Plumlee brothers have a chance to be really good. Both of those kids can really run up and down. They do a little bit of everything.

“They both have the ability to pass, shoot and put it on the floor. I think they’ll make some coach very happy because they’re both pretty talented.”

The brothers’ court awareness is the first thing that catches your eye. Each seems to have a great understanding of the game. They say that stems from their days playing in the backcourt - prior to their growth spurts.

“I’m a scorer,” Miles said. “[Mason] knows how to find people and is definitely a better passer than me. That’s his game. He’s grown up always wanting to be a point guard, but the one thing we have in common is that we’re both perimeter-oriented players. We’ve always worked on ball-handling, dribbling and shooting. Since we’ve [grown], it’s a bonus that we can go inside, too.”

Bob Gibbons, a recruiting analyst for ESPN, believes Mason may have the “bigger upside.” However, he is quick to add that he really likes both.

“They’re throwback players,” Gibbons said. “They pass and don’t try and do spectacular, flashy things. They’re fundamentally sound.”

That’s not to say the pair is bereft of athleticism. In a scrimmage on Tuesday, Miles and Mason both had a number of dunks. On one sequence, Miles threw a pretty behind-the-back pass to a teammate that resulted in a layup.

Virginia’s search for low-post players has been well-documented. Since taking over for Pete Gillen two years ago, Dave Leitao has only brought in two big men - Jerome Meyinsse and Mike Scott. Getting one or both of the Plumlees would have to be considered a major score.

Gibbons said Virginia has a “great chance” of landing at least one.

“But the thing you’ve got to worry about,” he said, smiling, “is that they go to school in the birthplace of [UNC coach] Roy Williams.”

Dunks

Former Virginia guard J.R. Reynolds worked out with the Washington Wizards on Thursday in preparation for the NBA Draft on June 28.

“It went well today. I thought I shot the ball really well today. I just tried to leave it all on the court and give it everything I had,” Reynolds said in a press release. “This is a great organization. I have followed the Wizards a lot since they are close by, and it would be a dream come true if I could stay in the area.

“I am just taking it day-by-day. My agent and I have backup plans. I understand that the draft is just one day and there are other routes if I go undrafted, but right now I am just taking it one day at a time.”

 

Camp kicks off at JPJ
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
June 21, 2007

Fiery. Intense. Relentless.

These are the words that are often used to describe Virginia basketball coach Dave Leitao, who this past season became the first UVa coach in nearly 30 years to get ejected from a game.

However, that’s not how Charlotte Bobcats center Emeka Okafor remembers Leitao from their days at the University of Connecticut. Back then, Leitao was an assistant on Jim Calhoun’s staff.

“He was just a cool guy, a cool coach,” Okafor said. “Coach Calhoun was already pretty intense, so I guess it wouldn’t have made sense to have two really hardcore guys.

“[Leitao] was kind of good at counter-balancing - just kind of seeing what he needed to do to get his players going.”

Leitao as the good cop? Clearly, Okafor wasn’t in Puerto Rico in December.

But on Wednesday, Okafor was one of several current and former NBA players taking part in the NBA Top 100 Camp at John Paul Jones Arena.

The camp, which runs through Saturday and is closed to the public, features the best 100 high school players in the country. This is the first year that it has come to Charlottesville.

Unfortunately, Leitao and his coaching staff, per NCAA rules, aren’t allowed to talk to any of the prospects. Fortunately, they have a sparkling $129.7 million arena to do some of their talking for them.

“There’s nobody in college basketball with better facilities than the University of Virginia,” said former NBA player Tim McCormick, the camp’s director. “The John Paul Jones Arena is incredible and the support staff has been amazing. We’re thrilled to be here and I know the campers are really enjoying their experience.”

“I like the arena. I didn’t know it was like this,” said B.J. Mullens, a 7-foot-1 center who is already committed to Ohio State. “It’s pretty nice.”

Mullens was one of several big men whom Okafor worked with in the afternoon session.

“He was just showing us face-ups and hook shots, spin moves and up-and-under kind of stuff,” Mullens said.

Also working with Okafur were Miles and Mason Plumlee, brothers from Indiana who Leitao and his staff are very high on.

Tutoring the guards was former Temple star Rick Brunson, who played for nine teams in a nine-year NBA career.

“It’s a chance to see the kids and work with them,” Brunson said. “They listen. It’s good. I like being one-on-one with them in drills.”

McCormick said the camp is a great chance for the high-schoolers to learn what it is they need to focus on - both on the court and off.

“We’re trying to mentor the future stars of the game,” McCormick said, “and give them a vision.”

It was only seven years ago that Okafor himself was a camper. Then he went on to star at UConn while playing for the calm, cool and collected Leitao.

Okafor said he isn’t surprised that Leitao has changed his style since his days as an assistant.

“That’s Coach Leitao,” said Okafor, smiling. “He’s gonna find his niche and roll with it.”

Dunks

Okafor on the recent Kobe Bryant trade rumors: “Who knows?” he said. “In the NBA, anything’s possible. The NBA is a funny business. You don’t know what is true or untrue.” … Mullens, a Columbus native, said he has had the opportunity to play against Greg Oden - the likely No. 1 pick of this year’s NBA Draft - in campus pick-up games. “He’s a beast,” Mullens said. “He’s the real deal. He’s overpowering. There’s not much you can do. When he has the ball in the paint, there’s no stopping him. You can try but there’s not really anything you can do.”… For anybody wondering what ever happened to former NBA All-Star Latrell Sprewell, Brunson, a close friend of Sprewell’s, said his pal is very happily retired and not contemplating a comeback. “He’s hanging on his yacht,” Brunson said.

 

Standing in Sampson's shadow
Big Ralph's sons forging their own identities, basketball careers
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
June 21, 2007

Even with more than 100 basketball players sprawled over side-by-side courts in John Paul Jones Arena on Wednesday, it took only a moment to spot Ralph Sampson, Virginia’s greatest hoops legend.

There he was, the man who put Wahoo basketball on the national map, showing prospects at the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp how to play good post defense.

Ralph was back in his old stomping grounds, albeit a different venue from the days when his presence used to pack old U-Hall in every nook and cranny.

This time, Ralph wasn’t alone.

He brought with him sons Ralph Sampson III and Robert, high school prospects with basketball dreams of their own.

Ralph III is 6-foot-11, 225 pounds and plays center for Northview High School in Duluth, Ga., just north of Atlanta. He’s 17 years old and already has scholarship offers from Tubby Smith’s Minnesota program and Georgia Tech. More are on the way.

Whether there’s one coming from Virginia, where Ralph was king, remains up in the air.

Robert, already 6-5 from his most recent, 3-inch growth spurt, will turn 15 in a few days and is gearing up for his sophomore year of high school.

Both kids are intelligent, respectful, well-spoken athletes that - thanks to their parents - have made education the priorty and basketball second.

“Ralph is more filled out and muscular than I was at that age,” said Big Ralph, who at 7-foot-4, was a three-time National Player of the Year and took the Cavaliers to heights never dreamed of prior to his arrival from Harrisonburg. “He’s just now growing into his body, but I like his demeanor. He’s a very hard worker, has great grades. The sky’s the limit if he wants to work.

“Robert is a left-handed kid that has fire and passion,” the elder Sampson said. “He wants to be good at everything he does. You can see it in his eyes sometimes when he’s not doing well, he’ll cry and get mad. I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do.”

Sampson, who graced the cover of Sports Illustrated three times during his career at Virginia, beamed with pride over his two youngsters.

“I’ve been blessed to have great kids,” he said with a smile.

He didn’t push basketball on them. If they ask for help, he gives it to them, but he makes sure their games are fundamentally sound and that passion is included.

If there’s any pressure on his kids, it doesn’t come directly from him.

“The only pressure that’s on [Ralph] is just to be Ralph Sampson III, to have good grades and to be a good person,” Big Ralph said.

This is Ralph III’s third time in the Top 100 Camp, Robert’s first experince.

“I get a lot of things out of this camp that I can take home with me, a lot of skills and drills that I try to incorporate into my game,” Ralph III said. “I try to fine tune the ones I already knew about in hopes of getting better overall.”

Robert said he liked the life skills taught in the camp and the drills, along with the fact that players can learn from and work with the camp’s coaches.

The pressure of being Ralph Sampson’s son comes from the outside, but usually it’s something both can easily deal with.

“People see my name, Ralph Sampson, and I know they probably expect a lot from me and can’t wait to see what I do or how I play,” said Ralph III. “They try to add pressure, but I don’t pay any attention to that. I focus on playing my game and creating my name as Ralph Sampson III.”

Robert said that being Ralph’s son is “pretty cool,” because people look up to him a bit.

Both agreed that it’s just like living with anyone else, not a former basketball legend, but just dad.

However, Ralph III said that as he gets older, he doesn’t mind taking what his father knows in order to help him improve his own game.

Sometimes they’ll sit around the house and watch old film of their father playing at Virginia or in the NBA, so they can get a feel for just how good their rockstar-famous dad really was in his days as a Wahoo.

“When we’re watching his films, he will show us things that he did wrong,” Ralph III said. “Some of the things he sees us doing reminds him of himself, so he knows how to correct our mistakes and make us better.”

Some talent evaluators believe that Ralph III has come on strong as a prospect in recent months as he has become more comfortable in his body and with the ball.

Whether that’s enough to attract an offer from Virginia isn’t clear, but it would be welcome from Ralph III, who said that the notion of following in his father’s rather large footsteps doesn’t bother him one bit.

“I have interest in any school recruiting me at this point,” Ralph III said. “The door’s wide open right now. I’m trying to gather information to see who’s interested in me then make a well-informed decision later on.”

He said he is looking for a good academic school that has a competitive basketball program, that has a family-like atmosphere, so that he can get the full college experience.

Big Ralph loves not-quite-as-big Ralph’s work ethic (“You’ve got to kick him out of the gym,” Sampson said). His son’s college choice will be made by the youngster and not by the parents.

For the legendary Sampson, who is working as a coach/instructor at the weeklong camp (the camp is closed to the public), he believes that Virginia coach Dave Leitao has the program going in the right direction.

Sampson believes there’s nothing holding back his school from winning big again, except more talent, which he believes is within Leitao’s grasp.

“He’s a great coach, and this arena will help a great deal, and so could this camp because it’s going to be back here for four more years,” Sampson said. “Just look around at this building, the workout room, the practice courts. Man, this is better than Florida’s and they’ve won national titles back-to-back.

“You can’t do anything but win here and I think Coach Leitao is really trying,” Sampson said.

All Leitao needs now is another Ralph Sampson, or a III?