The Detroit Pistons are spending part of their summer helping to develop the next generation of basketball talent. Coach Steve Moreland and his crew of veteran coaches and Michigan college players have been spending this summer crisscrossing the state to conduct basketball camps with young basketball players of all ages and skill levels. This week the camp rolled into the Palace of Auburn Hills, where over 300 kids got the opportunity to play on the same floor as their idols the Pistons and Shock. Several current and former players including Don Reid and Jerry Stackhouse also stopped by to convey some wisdom to the kids.
“Basketball camps are very important, because that’s where kids learn their fundamentals,” said Moreland. “We are the only NBA team to take kids as young as first grade. We do it because we believe it’s important to get hold of them early, to start coaching during the developmental stage. It gives them a tremendous advantage when they get to junior high and high school.”
The camp spans four days and is comprised of two sold-out sessions of 150 students each. First through fifth graders come from eight in the morning till noon, while sixth through twelfth graders play from one to five in the afternoon. Moreland said that the camp’s focus was on developing fundamental skills such as passing, shooting, dribbling and setting screens.
“We want to teach these kids the game of basketball, but also teach them the game of life,” said Moreland. To accomplish that goal, he brings in current and former NBA and WNBA players to speak to the kids about the path they took to reach the professional level. Students heard from former Bad Boy Rick Mahorn and Shock rookie guard Allison Curtin in the first two days of the camp, and listened to forward Don Reid and former Piston All-Star and current Washington Wizard Jerry Stackhouse on the third day. Stackhouse talked with the young players about facing adversity and overcoming it on the way to his career in the NBA.
“Playing for Dean Smith (Hall of Fame Coach at University of North Carolina) was an honor,” Stackhouse said. “But he was tough on me. Everyone thought I would start as a freshman because of all the awards I’d won in high school. But to Coach Smith I was just another player, he had coached Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins and James Worthy. I remember my first year I came in with four other freshmen and a walk-on, and they all got into the first game before me. It was tough, but I learned from it and by the end of the year I was named Most Outstanding Player of the ACC tournament.”
Stackhouse also stressed the importance of a college degree and described how he had returned to college after being drafted to complete his requirements.
“It’s the biggest accomplishment of my life, and it gave me a very special feeling. Better than anything I could get on the basketball court,” Stackhouse said.
Pistons forward Don Reid also spoke about his experiences on the way to the NBA, and Coach Moreland praised him for making a living playing defense and rebounding. Reid described how he had never played basketball until high school, but made the switch from soccer after being recruited by the varsity basketball coach. Asked who the strongest player he had ever guarded was, Reid replied, “Karl Malone. Shaq might weigh more but Karl is stronger.”
Coach Moreland and his camp have been on a ten-week tour throughout the state of Michigan this summer. This year the camp has drawn over 1,200 players, a new record. After arriving each day, players stretch and begin ball-handling drills. After working on their “handles”, they move to skill stations where they work on one of their fundamentals. The day concludes with five-on-five games followed by a daily competition, which varies from a free throw shooting contest to a game of Beat the Pro on Thursday against Pistons center Cliff Robinson.
John, 13 from Plymouth Educational Center said that the camp was, “Real nice, the best coaches I have had.” He added that his favorite part was hearing the players speak because, “They talk about how they got so big from being so small and playing when they were young. It makes me want to try harder to be a pro basketball player.”
