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SoCalHoops College Recruiting News

News From Nike Camp Is Sparse;
Tons Of Stuff From Adidas ABCD--(July 8, 1998)

We've scoured the web and the papers for news about what's going on at the Nike Camp, being held at Indiana University's Indianapolis campus, and we were only able to locate one report, from the local Indianapolis paper's affiliated site, "Indiana's Game," but we found a ton of stuff on the ABCD camp over at Teaneck, New Jersey on the campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University. The reason for the difference: Nike camp is closed to the public, whereas the adidas guys let the public in for a $5.00 cover charge.

Who's system is better? We don't know, but from where we sit (which is actually out in Los Angeles in front of a computer screen right now) adidas gets our vote hands down. Actually, if you want the best and easiest way to get the news from the adidas camp, visit New York/New Jersey Hoops. There you'll find a bunch of links (mostly east coast oriented) to what's happening out there. Hey, so they're a bunch of homers (you won't find anything about Shantay Legans, Gilbert Arenas, Nate Hair, Josh Burgess, or any of the other SoCal guys, but then we're "homers" too. . . why do you think they call their site "New York / New Jersey Hoops" and we call this "SoCalHoops?"

The best we could find about the Nike guys' little party was the following article from the Indianapolis Star/News. We've edited the piece to give you just the most pertinent stuff. If you want to see the rest of the article, go to their site, and if you're in Indiana, by all means spend the quarter and buy the paper. Here's what they had (it's not much, but at least it's something):

Prep stars try to wow scouts at Nike camp
Representatives from college and pro teams evaluate the nation's top high school talent.
By David Woods
Indianapolis Star/News

INDIANAPOLIS (July 7, 1998) -- There were so many out-of-town journalists, television cameras and sneaker-clad tall men milling about the University Place Hotel on Tuesday that it looked like Indianapolis was hosting another Final Four.

It was just the designated lunchtime meeting hour organized by Nike for its 12th annual All-America basketball camp.

About 200 high school boys have been in attendance since Sunday, when the camp began with academic and life skills classes at IUPUI.

Although the camp is closed to the public, it is open to college and pro scouts.

This is the second Nike camp for Casey Sanders, a 6-11 center from Tampa, Fla., who is one of the nation's top-rated upcoming seniors. If there is one lesson he can pass on to first-time campers, it is to concentrate on the task at hand: just play.

"You don't really have to impress anybody," said Sanders, who was eager to do that a year ago. "If you play well, you play well. If coaches think you have potential, they'll continue seeing you."

Increasingly, evaluations of high school players are made in these summer camps and tournaments instead of during the winter high school season.

Sanders said it is mere coincidence that the colleges he's looking at, Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Florida State, Miami (Fla.), Syracuse and hometown school South Florida, are Nike-sponsored. His Amateur Athletic Union team, Team Florida, also is backed by the corporate giant.

"It's such a big and important decision for me, I can't afford to consider a big company like Nike," Sanders said.

So much for Nike "news."

Actually Frank Burlison from the Orange County Register had more news related to SoCal guys playing, or rather not playing at the Nike Camp who had been scheduled to attend. Frank notes that Casey Jacobsen (6'-5" Sr. G) from Glendora, will miss the Nike All-American Camp this week because he, along with Jason Kapono (6'-9" Sr. G/F/C) from Artesia High and Tito Maddox (6'-4" Sr. PG) from Compton High, were all selected to the U.S. 17-and-under team that will participate in the World Youth Games in Moscow beginning Saturday through July 19.

Jacobsen left early and went to the practice sessions, but apparently Maddox went to the camp and will leave Saturdey with the US team for Moscow. Jason, who is at adidas/ABCD, turned down an invitation to play for the U.S. 18-and-under team that began competing Monday in the World Junior Qualifying Tournament for the Americas at Santiago, Dominican Republic to be able to attend the camp.

And Frank also notes a little bit of irony: Seems that Chris Burgess and Eric Chenowith, who participated in the rival Nike All-American Camp as high school players, are among the college standouts serving as counselors at the adidas/ABCD Camp. Josh Burgess (6'-8" Sr. F/C), from Woodbridge, Chris' brother, is attending adidas camp, and so is Nathan Hair (6'-5" Sr. G/F) who recently transferred to Capistrano Valley along with J.J. Sola. Both of these guys also play for the Pump N' Run team with Gilbert Arenas who is also at adidas ABCD. Frank also notes that Chris Burgess and Eric Chenowith sophomores for Duke and Kansas, respectively, are spending their free time when they are not acting as counselors at the camp by working out with former Seattle SuperSonics assistant coach Tim Grgurich between game sessions.