Today, July 30, 2008, my family and I will be flying to San Diego, California. I will be participating in the Adidas Jr. Phenom Camp at Alliant University. I attended last year and made the all-star team while posting above average stats. The four day camp will allow me to showcase my skills in front of many scouts and recruting services. I will be returning two weeks from today after visiting the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam. Wish me luck as I compete against top competition in San Diego, Cali-for-nia.
July 31, 2008
5:30 AM
I reluctantly awoke to a phone alarm after getting only four hours of sleep. After wiping the cobwebs out of my eyes and successfully dragging my body out of the hotel bed, my family and I swiftly ate breakfast and headed to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
7:00 AM
After a chaotic check in and security check, we boarded our 7:10 flight to Atlanta, GA. I found it very easy to settle in and relax while awaiting the takeoff of the plane- but that newfound peacefulness was short lived because of my sister’s curiosity. It was her first time flying, she’s only five, and she kept asking what everything was and pointing to everything he saw out the window- which, by the way she almost hit me for. After an hour of comforting, listening, and looking, we finally arrived and had to quickly skirmish off the plane to find our next flight.
10:55 AM
Subsequent to searching for our terminal and gate, we picked up some food at the checker’s in the food court. I was relaxing, and free of all worried when it’s time to load onto the plane. Once again, we had to find our boarding passes and wait in line for them to be scanned. I can’t begin to explain how much chaos we went through trying to find our planes find our planes and get everyone situated. I’m just glad this is the last flight and then I can rest.
1:30 PM
We arrived in San Diego safely and all in one piece. After calling the hotel shuttle we waited thirty minutes outside of the airport in the fine California weather. The ride to the hotel was only about twenty minutes and we saw lots of buildings and ocean. Once we started getting closer to the hotel, things became more familiar and I knew that there was no turning back- actually, I knew that about four months ago when my parents booked everything (that just sounded good).
Day 1 of Camp
After waking up at the crack of dawn, we headed across the street to Carl's Jr. to eat breakfast. We had to be at the gym before 8:00 so we left around 7:30 so I would make it in time for the camp intro. Then after listening to the opening remarks by Dave Taylor we worked out with the shooting instructor, Tim Sullivan. I then met my teammates and practiced for about half an hour before heading off to lunch.There were always optional workouts after lunch, and each day I participated in them. They ranged from boxing out drills to dribble moves, etc.. At 2:30 the 7th grade started playing their games. We, Hawaii, played Ohio state first and there was one person that I knew was there. Let me rewind back to last year's camp and you'll undestand better.
Kendell- forgive me if I'm spelling your name wrong- was at the camp last year with me as 6th graders. We were the only true "post players" at the camp and we both made the all-star team after going head to head in two games. We then battled in the all-star game, her team won by one point and she rightfully earned the MVP award. Because we both made the all-star team we both got invitations to the camp for this year. And sure enough, she came back.
This year, in our first game we played Kendell's team first, just like last year. Its always been a friendly relationship with us two,we always battle on the court, but off the court we're cool. In this game we got beat by double digits but I felt good because she only scored a 2 or 4 points.
continued after i clean up my side of the hotel room....
In the second game we played another good team with another tough post player. We lost in the last minute on a lame call by a referee. I played good defense and scored a few points adn grabbed a lot of rebounds, so I was satisfied with my performance.
Day 2
After breakfast and morning workouts we played our first game and suprisingly won against a team that was faster a well rounded team athletically. They had quick guards and forwards and a pretty strong but undersized center.
Meals were free for the campers, and everyday I took advantadge of it. The lunch was always good and healthy. I was able to relax, enjoy a warm-meal, and get to know my teammates a little better.
The evening game wasn't to challenging, the post wasn't very big and the guards were quick but containable. I was able to get some easy scores because of the mismatch in the post and I had an overall good game because of both my defense and offense and my hard play.
As I later found out, Kendell was struggling to domnate in the paint against Jenni, another good post player.Jenni is about the same height as me, but she's quicker and more agile than me and Kendell so she presented more of a challenge.
As I sat on the sideline, watching another game, my Dad tried some of that reverse psychology stuff. He told me that some coaches thought that I couldn't compete with Jenni. So I went to bed with something to think about, and to camp with a mission.
Day 3
We beasted on Jenni's team beating them by double digits Sunday morning. Her team was missing some players, but I believe excuses aren't excusable- nice quote, eh? She only scored 2 points as we cruised to an easy win.
Once again Kendell's team and my team squared off again in the last game of the camp. I knew that like last year, when we played it was going to be the game to see. The bleachers were full and the cheers were loud as we stepped onto the floor. From that moment on all was good, on both defense and offense for my team. We were moving the ball, making great shot selections, and playing swarming defense. We won easily and ended camp on a good note.
I was also selected to both the All-Defensive Team and the All-Star team. I wasn't at all surprised that I made the team, I'm not concieted I'm just confident in my abilities. And I wasn't at all surprised at the fact that Kendell was on the opposite team. Last year we battled it out in the All-Star game with her team winning by one point. But this year, my team won by one after struggling to make a comeback and hold onto the lead.After the game, I told Kendell good game, but when I was talking to Kendell and her mom, I had to talk a little trash. We took pictures together and we said our goodbyes. And then we were off to our next destinations.
