Craig Brackins visits Sixers Camps at Haverford College - 6/15/2011

Today at Sixers Camps, the coaches could answer "yes" to the question every child has asked since starting their week-long basketball clinic: Is an NBA player coming to visit?

Sixers forward Craig Brackins stopped by Sixers Full and Half-Day Camps at Haverford College to teach the boys and girls ball-handling skills, answer questions and sign autographs.

Three sets of youngsters were chosen by Director of Sixers Camps Todd Landry to learn techniques like right- and left-hand controlled dribbles, figure eights and crossovers, before Brackins answered questions about life in the league.

His favorite current NBA player? Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant.

Shoe size? 15.

How did he make it to the pros? Hard work and dedication.

After plenty of laughs and new lessons learned by the group, every camper lined up for an autograph from Brackins, walking away with a jersey, sneaker and even an arm signed by the sophomore player.

Landry verbalized what a visit like this means to the kids, with whom he’s worked since 1992.

“He’s a hero to them,” he said. “A lot of these guys went to camps as they were young kids, and they sat in the same spot and dreamed the same dreams that these little kids do. It’s a special day when they have the opportunity to meet a player.”

Brackins remembered what it was like to be in the campers’ much-smaller shoes, too.

“When I was little, I loved to see anybody that I knew that was some type of famous,” he said. “These little kids, it inspires them to want to be in the gym, work out. Whether they pursue basketball as a career, it just gets them to be involved in sports.”