On Thursday, March 29th, D-Fenders players Nick Lewis and Babacar Camara visited Ms. Snowden’s class at Mark Twain Middle School as part of the class’ Career Day. The two players were able to provide the students with a look into the life of a professional athlete and the time and dedication needed to succeed as a player.

Lewis, a graduate from the University of San Diego, and Camara, from Cal-State Fullerton, stressed the importance of using their skills on the basketball court to translate into athletic scholarships to four-year universities. Both realize the importance of getting a college degree. “Tomorrow I could break my leg and never play basketball again, but the one thing no one can take away from me is my degree,” said Lewis. Camara, a native of Senegal added, “We are student-athletes. Students first, basketball players second. I came from Africa to the U.S. to get an education.”

Another point of emphasis for the players was the need to take care of their bodies. In addition to team practice, each will put in an additional couple hours daily shooting around and in the gym. Both players agreed that they enjoy eating healthy and cooking their own food. To the amazement of the classroom, Nick Lewis revealed that he has not eaten at McDonald’s in years.

After they had finished speaking, the players took time to shake hands and take pictures with some of the students while handing out D-Fenders pencils and bookmarks.

To see photos from the event click here.

If your community group or organization would like to get a chance to meet the Los Angeles D-Fenders, contact the Community Relations Department at (310) 426-2231.