July 16, 2002
Easy as ABCD
Joe and his pals traveled to Fairleigh Dickinson University to watch over the goings-on at the Adidas ABCD camp for high school seniors-to-be (as well as underclassmen). Having never been to one of these "camps," in which high school all-stars from around the country square off against one another in front of nearly every college coaching staff in the land, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect besides the usual all-star, me-first, no defense mentality.

If there is such as thing as NBA pre-school, this place is it.

We went to the Thursday night edition of the camp, a wrap-up of the four-day sessions featuring two all-star games – one for the underclassmen, one for the seniors. I must be getting old. With a few notable exceptions, the kids participating in the camp don't look old enough to be awake at this hour. There was a good size crowd, with a mix of hardcore b-ball fanatics, family of participants, the curious, and little kids; lots of famous college coaches; Stephon Marbury watching his cousin Sebastian Telfair play; All-World injured high schooler (and the next Michael Jordan) LeBron James; and plenty of bling-bling all around. Nearly everyone seemed to know everyone else, and the place had the feel of an organized pickup game (albeit one with an announcer doing his best Raftery impression, but sounding more like a character out of Fat Albert). Yes, it was all there, including the babysitters sitting courtside. Here then is one man's view.

Arrival on Campus - My friends and I arrived in Hackensack for a pre-camp dinner at the lovely Cheesecake Factory. The "Factory" was absolutely teeming with a sea of nameless and nearly faceless scouts, assistant coaches, agents and other hangers-on from the college hoop world. Why, there's Rutgers Coach Gary Waters. And over there, on his cell phone, Denver Nugget GM Kiki Vanderweghe.

FDU itself has all the personality of an office park. What is it with that 60's style Russian-compound architecture that most New Jersey schools seem to be cursed with? Walking into the gym, we nearly ran over Mike Jarvis of St. Johns. There seemed to be three kinds of audience members: family of the players, the professional judgers (scouts, coaches and the like), and the gawkers, mostly a combination of small children, 300 pound men, and geeky fans. Put us solidly in the third category.

On the Court, Boys - The underclassmen came out on the court shortly after our arrival to form their layup line. Over there was Sebastian Telfair, Steph's cousin and the leading undergrad talent at this camp. We were tipped off early to watch number 3 on the opposing team, Darius Washington out of Florida, who is just as good as Telfair but doesn't get nearly the hype. Oh, and these two don't like each other. There are many other players, mostly from the East Coast, but they all look too young, as if we were watching a sixth grade scrimmage. The game began – forget about passing and team defense. There were more jacks in the first half alone than a typical Las Vegas dealer sees in a night.

Enter Stephon - Just as the underclassmen action started, in strolled Stephon Marbury, in a designer "wifebeater" t-shirt that probably cost more than my entire outfit (shoes and all). He took a seat courtside to watch his blood play. Steph actually looked rested, and was polite to the few who dared come near him. No word on whether Marbury misses New Jersey, now that things have "strangely" turned around without him.

Bitch Slaps and Attitude - The highlight and lowlight of the underclassmen All Star game was the final five minutes of one-on-one play between Telfair and Washington. All of the other players seemed to be forgotten as each "point" guard clearly didn't get the meaning of the position, taking turns taking it to one another in a personal grudge match – complete with "in your face" dances, trash talking, a forearm shiver by Telfair on Washington as he drove the lane, and a shoving match as things got interesting. Telfair, with far more PR than anyone on the court, was actually outplayed by Washington (in fact, he was rattled into some turnovers and poor shots). It was fun to watch, but everything that today's youngsters should not be learning on the court. In fact, Telfair has such a strong "Marbury personality" that it was hard not to think back to his Stephon's Nets tenure and shake your head, sadly, for what would become of young Sebastian. Both players were named co-MVP of the game, but in my opinion Washington was the better player. Oh, and his team won the All Star game, in large part due to his defense on Telfair.

King James - Just In time for the Seniors All-Star game, the most hyped high school player ever, LeBron James, entered and sat courtside. James, wearing his throwback "Joe Namath in a LA Rams" football jersey and a cast on his broken left wrist, looked more like a linebacker than the best high school basketball player in the country. But he already played the part of "the next Michael Jordan" well, patiently signing autographs for the small kids and holding camp with Telfair while the Senior Game was ongoing. It's amazing that a 17-year old who couldn't even play could be the star attraction, but how many high schoolers have his hype? Anyway, James split his time between the Nike and Adidas camps, to make sure he makes the right decision on a sneaker deal. "For me, it's great, having two companies chasing me – I'm liking it," said King James. Ka-Ching! You can hear David Stern now: "Ladies and Gentleman, with the number one pick of the 2003 draft..."

Charlie Bravo - What a world of difference a year or two makes. The Seniors look about 10 years older than the underclassmen, and play a much more cohesive game. Charlie Villanueva from Blair Academy in New Jersey, with his bald head and his pro-worthy game, looked and played like he's 25. Villanueva, who I never heard of before tonight, got my attention quickly as the best player on the court. He's a 6'10" forward who runs and passes well, has a nice shot, and defends and rebounds. He seems to be everywhere. His team wins in a rout, and Charlie is named the co-MVP. Watch out for this kid. He's gonna be a great one. We saw many who will be outstanding college players, and perhaps NBA superstars. But in my book none were more impressive than Charlie.

"Just Win, or Else I'll Yell" Redux - Yup, there he was in the flesh, that ol' snake-oil saleman turned NBA coach turned Southern Rebel Rouser, John Calipari. Surely you remember the stomping feet, the screamed "encouragement" and the way the Nets flat-out quit in response to his bullying style? There he was, sitting in the bleachers with a bevy of the college coaching fraternity, working a phony smile and a lime green Banana Republic golf shirt to lure in unsuspecting prospects. Of course, coaches aren't allowed to make contact with the players, but that's ok. Other notables included Tubby Smith, Louis Orr, Bob Huggins, Jarvis, and Waters, among others.

The Final Verdict - It's a shame, really, that these kids are encouraged to show off like trained seals for these college coaches. But they're so smart and jaded, most of these kids understand the deal and play these coaches far better than they get played. And trust me, they all know that it's about the benjamins, and no amount of defense is going to get you on Sportscenter nightly they way an outrageous move to the bucket or a jam will. I enjoyed the visit (despite the serious case of "ass-itis" I developed sitting on the hard wooden bleachers for 3 hours – how the hell did we get through high school?), and understand I only saw the post-camp All-Star games, but I did miss seeing some fundamentals, like passing and defense. Call me old school, but it was hard to get past the feeling that these high school kids are just attending NBA pre-school, only paying as much attention as they need to in order to get to the next level – which means avoiding finishing school so they can get to the NBA and start making some serious cash. It's not wrong to want to make the big bucks, but it can't be right to ignore the fundamentals, either.

What an old fogey I've become.

For some ABCD camp highlights, check out these links:

• Frank Burlison at Fox Sports.
• Seth Davis at Sports Illustrated Online.
- Joe Netsfan

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