Five boys and five girls from across the United States were chosen as members of the Jr. NBA and Jr. WNBA National All-Star team for their on- and off-the-court achievements by an independent selection committee made up of youth basketball administrators, NBA and WNBA team executives, Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA officials and representatives from Gatorade and Nike. The All-Stars represented 350,000 players taking part in Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA member leagues across the United States, Canada and abroad.

The Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA National All-Stars took part in a number of festivities at All-Star 2002 in Philadelphia, February 8-10. This included playing in a halftime game of the “got milk?” Rookie Challenge on Saturday, February 9th coached by NBA All-Star Ray Allen and WNBA All-Star Tina Thompson.

12-year-old Jr. NBA All-Star Oscar Bellfield of the Pan Pacific Recreation Complex Youth Basketball League in Los Angeles, CA and 12-year-old Jr. WNBA All-Star Kelly Kosiek of the Tacony Police Athletic League in Philadelphia, PA shared their thoughts on their whirlwind weekend from meeting Shaq and Kevin Garnett to performing in front of a sold-out crowd at the First Union Center.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8 – OSCAR BELLFIELD

Philly, here I come!

I was so excited to go to All-Star. Me, my mom, my auntie and cousin left Los Angeles early morning. It was around 7 o’clock or so. We stopped in Houston and then flew to Philadelphia. On the way from Houston to Philadelphia, my cousin and I played a computer laptop game called Backyard Football 2002, and next thing we knew, we were in Philly.

As I looked for my bags at the airport, I saw the rapper, Mystical, who was also at baggage claim. My cousin and I went up to him and got an autograph and a picture. He was cool. After we got our bags we headed to the hotel. When we arrived, all I thought of was: Big. Loud. Noisy. Famous.

It was 5 o’clock and there were a lot of people inside the hotel and a lot of players, too. Shaq, Tracy McGrady, Gary Payton. Dikembe Mutombo and Darius Miles were all there. I couldn’t believe it. I went up to them and I got their autographs and took some pictures. I told them I was in Philadelphia because I was named one of ten Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA National All-Stars. They then congratulated me.

Afterwards, I went to dinner and met the other Jr. NBA and Jr. WNBA National All-Stars. Everyone was from a different part of the country. It was cool. We also received lots of cool stuff, like a Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA jersey, a Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA shooting shirt, a jacket, Nike shoes, sweatpants and a duffel bag. After dinner, I was so excited but I was also very tired because of the long day of travelling. I went upstairs to go to bed. I can’t wait for tomorrow.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8 – KELLY KOSIEK

Let the weekend begin!

We left my house in Northeast Philadelphia around 2:30pm and arrived at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Philadelphia by 3:00pm. It was me, my mom, my sister Megan and my brother, Walter, who all made the trip. After we checked into our room, we went down to the lobby to meet some of the players. We saw Samuel Dalembert of the 76ers, Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks and Darius Miles of the Clippers. My brother and I got autographs and took some pictures. My 10-year-old brother was so excited to see the players. He’s the world’s biggest Allen Iverson fan.

After a few hours of trying to get some autographs, my family and I went upstairs for a Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA National All-Star welcome reception dinner. It was awesome! At the dinner we got a lot of cool stuff like Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA All-Star jerseys, basketball shoes, a jacket, a Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Regional All-Star medal and certificate and some cool stuff from Gatorade. I was amazed at how much stuff we received. I couldn’t believe it. Even my sister got some cool shirts and stuff.

At dinner, I was able to meet all of the other Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA National All-Stars from across the country. I quickly became friendly with Ausha and Veronica, who were both from Texas. After we finished eating our dinner and listening to various people speak; we all went back to the lobby to see if we could see some more players. It was really crowded.

That night, my mom and sister slept over at the hotel with me. My mom once played college basketball at St. Joseph’s and told me to enjoy the weekend and have fun. So far I was and it was only just beginning.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9 – OSCAR BELLFIELD

All of the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA All-Stars ate breakfast at 7 o’clock. It was really early. At breakfast we found out our plans for the day and what a day it was.

After breakfast, we went to the Read to Achieve celebration concert at Jam Session. We saw Britney Spears, Lil’ Bow Wow and Alicia Keys. I thought Lil’ Bow Wow was cool. We didn’t stay for the whole show because we had so much to do.

After the concert, all of us All-Stars had a short scrimmage at the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Activity Court at Jam Session. We had our game later on that night and we wanted to get some last minute practice in. After the scrimmage we all went back to the hotel for lunch and then went on a trolley ride tour of Philadelphia. Seeing Philadelphia was exciting. I was never there before. There were a lot of buildings and people and it was noisy. We saw so much. The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and China Town. My favorite place was the Museum of Art. That’s where Rocky ran up the stairs. We actually walked up those stairs and when I reached the top, I raised my arms, too. Just like Rocky.

After the tour, we went to the First Union Center. It was huge. We played an exhibition game at halftime of the Rookie Game on the First Union Center floor. I wasn’t nervous about the game; I was just really excited. My special coach was WNBA All-Star Tina Thompson. She told us to work hard and have fun and that’s what we did. We ended up losing by a point, but I had a lot of fun. Even though my team lost, I had fun playing in front of all of those people. It felt different playing in an arena but it wasn’t my first time. I once played at the Staples Center for my AAU traveling team.

The whole experience was cool. After we left the arena floor, we took a photo with NBA All-Star Ray Allen and received an autograph from him as well. He was really nice.

After the second half of the Rookie Challenge, we took a trolley ride to a diner to eat. After dinner, we went back to the arena to watch the slam-dunk and three-point contests. I was excited because some of my favorite players were there. I thought Steve Francis would win the dunk contest because he has hops and I also thought Ray Allen would win the three-point contest. He won last year, he’s one of my favorite players and he is also very involved in the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Program.

Later that night, all of us Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA National All-Stars received a special honor when we were introduced to the crowd on the First Union Center floor. It was really cool. The arena was dark and there were spotlights on us. I was a little nervous. I didn’t know what to do but just to stand there. My family was real proud when the announcer said my name. Some of us couldn’t hear our names because it was so loud.

NBA All-Star Saturday Night was cool. I was glad to see the three-point contest because I had never seen it before on television. I wish Ray Allen had won but he didn’t. It wasn’t his night I guess. The dunk contest was exciting and my favorite dunk was Desmond Mason’s reverse dunk.

After the contests we left the arena and went back to the hotel. We tried to get some more autographs before going to sleep.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9 – KELLY KOSIEK

We all met early Saturday morning for breakfast at the hotel. Our first stop was the Read to Achieve Concert celebration at Jam Session. We saw Britney, P.Diddy, Lil’ Bow-Wow and Alicia Keys. I liked her a lot. She played her song, “Girlfriend.” Afterwards we had a scrimmage at the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Activity Court at Jam Session. At that point I was a little nervous about our exhibition we were scheduled to play at halftime of the Rookie Challenge. After the scrimmage, my sister told me that I had played well. She also said that that I shouldn’t get nervous about the game later. She said to have fun and to remember that it was only a game.

After we left Jam Session, we had lunch at the hotel and then we went to check out the different sights in Philadelphia. Even though I am from this area, I still enjoyed our trolley tour of the city. I felt like I was an unofficial tour guide. I was telling Ausha and Veronica about some of the places we visited including the Betsy Ross House. After the tour, we went to the First Union Center. I had been there a lot for Sixers games, plus my aunt works there.

As our exhibition game during halftime of the Rookie Challenge drew closer, I was nervous. There were a lot of people in the stands. The arena was sold out. My nervousness went away after I started to play. My team ended up losing and I thought that I played OK. That was one of the biggest courts I’ve ever played on. My brother also played on this court once for a 2ball competition. He told me the court was big and he was right.

After our Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA National All-Star exhibition game was over, we walked past the rookies as they were walking onto the court for the second half. In the hallway of the arena, we took a photo with Tina Thompson of the Houston Comets and also received her autograph. I was sort of relieved that the game was over. After the game we went to dinner and then returned to the First Union Center to watch NBA All-Star Saturday Night. I was sort of mad that Iverson wasn’t in the three-point contest. He is my favorite player.

All of the Saturday Night contests were really fun. I wasn’t surprised to see Jason Richardson win the dunk contest because he had a lot of cool dunks in the Rookie Game. I really thought Ray Allen was going to win the three-point contest but I guess it wasn’t meant to be. I also liked the new Hoop-It-Up tournament. Before the final round of Hoop-It-Up, we went down onto the arena floor and we were introduced to the crowd. It was really exciting but I was also very nervous.

After All-Star Saturday Night we then all went back to the hotel. I was tired, but what an exciting day it was!

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10 – OSCAR BELLFIELD

Boy, was it hard waking up this morning. We did so much yesterday and I was up late, hanging out in the lobby trying to get more autographs.

Today, after breakfast, we went over to Jam Session and got to play the different games. My favorite attractions were street ball and the rims where you could dunk. It was fun. We then went over to the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Activity Court for a skills and drills clinic with Tina Thompson who is a very good teacher. She taught us some basic moves and also showed us ways to help your teammates. We also met Bill Walton, who is in the Hall of Fame and helps out the Jr. NBA and Jr. WNBA, and received our trophies at an unbelievable awards ceremony at Jam Session.

After we left Jam Session, we went to the hotel, ate lunch and hung out before we went to the NBA All-Star game. I was so excited to see the Eastern and Western Conference All-Stars play. Once the game started, I couldn’t believe the fans booed Kobe. That was messed up. I think they booed him because the Lakers defeated the Sixers for the championship last season. Also, a lot of people were probably mad that he left Philadelphia since he’s from here. My favorite part of the game was the Tracy McGrady dunk and the Michael Jordan missed-dunk. I also liked when Kobe was named MVP. I predicted that he was going to win that award! My correct prediction made me feel good.

After the game, we all went back to the hotel and waited for the players to return. I met Kevin Garnett and Chris Webber. I showed them my National All-Star trophy and they told me good job and congratulations. I then got their autographs. Afterwards, I went upstairs with my cousin, went swimming and then packed up since we had to leave early in the morning for Los Angeles.

This past weekend was incredible. I met so many people. I met my Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA National All-Star teammates and so many NBA and WNBA players. I also saw the entire city of Philadelphia. If I had to pick a favorite moment, it had to have been the exhibition game we played at halftime of the Rookie Challenge. I got a chance to play in front of a lot of people and show them my basketball skills. It was really cool.

I plan on keeping in touch with the other All-Stars. I have their phone numbers and e-mail addresses. I was so glad to be selected for this enjoyable weekend. I want to thank everyone who was so nice to my family and me. Well, I gotta go. I don’t want to miss my flight.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10 – KELLY KOSIEK

We got to sleep in a little bit this morning and didn’t have to meet for breakfast until 9:00am. During breakfast we all talked about the night before. We then went to Jam Session and got to hang out and play a lot of different games. My brother was there before and he was said it was cool and he was right. There was so much to do and see.

At 11:00am, we went to the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Activity Court for a basketball clinic with Tina Thompson. She taught us a lot of different defensive stances and other basic basketball drills. I learned a lot from her. For example, she taught us not to scream for the ball but to go to it. Defensively, she showed us how to slide our feet.

After the clinic, there was a trophy presentation for us at the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Court at Jam Session. Tina, Bill Walton and Tom Fox, a Vice President from Gatorade, presented us with our trophies. I got Bill Walton’s autograph after the presentation. He was really nice and really tall!

After the awards ceremony ended, we went back to the hotel. We hung out in the lobby for a while hoping that we would meet more players. We ended up meeting Shaq! He told us congratulations and then he left for the All-Star Game.

Shortly after we met Shaq, we all left for the NBA All-Star Game. I thought the starting lineup introductions were cool. And once the game started, I couldn’t believe Kobe got booed. Every time he touched the ball, he got booed. I felt bad for him. After all, he is from Philadelphia. Tracy McGrady’s dunk was unbelievable. But my favorite moment was when Michael Jordan missed his dunk. It was so funny!

After the game ended, we went back to the hotel and hung out in the lobby to meet even more players. That was one of my favorite moments of the whole weekend, meeting the players. Another favorite moment of mine was meeting the other Jr. NBA and Jr. WNBA All-Stars. I took Ausha’s and Veronica’s phone number and e-mail addresses. I know for sure that these two girls and I will be staying in touch for a very long time.

I can’t believe the weekend has ended already. It was so great. I’m so glad my sister Megan and my Police Athletic League officer/Jr. NBA and Jr. WNBA coach recommended me for such an amazing honor. I guess hard work does pay off!! This has been a once in a lifetime experience that I’ll never forget. Thank you, Jr. NBA and Jr. WNBA, for everything!