The 2006 Phoenix Suns Summer Camp held at Pine Summit Camp in nearby Prescott indeed had a little bit of everything for all those involved - everything from special visits and competitive tournaments to a hail storm for the ages - all helping to make for a most memorable week.

Opening ceremonies kicked off on Wednesday with former Suns Cedric Ceballos and Connie Hawkins along with current swingman James Jones taking in the festivities. Campers were greeted by Ced in the registration area as he wrote the last names of players on their brand new team jerseys. Jones meanwhile participated in a question-and-answer session with the group and signed autographs on anything the campers could get their hands on. The autograph session was followed by team pictures, each featuring Jones front and center.

"I just want to show them that I’m an NBA player, but I’m an everyday person first," Jones said. "I just want the kids and everyone else to get the chance to interact and find out while we may have celebrity status, at the end of the day we were once kids just like them pursuing a dream, too."

On Thursday, teams began participating in games with leagues divided up by age and skill level. The schedule of games would spill over to Friday and Saturday with Sunday featuring the championship game for each of the three leagues. Teams would generally participate in two or three games a day, their hunger for the game of basketball satisfied in between with game footage and speeches from former and current Suns players.

Campers were usually addressed by the players in large groups, with one team getting a very special treat from Hawkins. The struggling 0-3 Team Matrix consisting of the youngest players at the camp were given a special training session by the Hawk in hopes of turning their "season" around. The Hall of Famer went through a number of drills with the youngsters helping them with everything from their ball handling to playing solid team basketball.

"I just wanted to teach them some basic fundamentals," Hawkins said. "A lot of time the younger kids just need some hands on coaching and hopefully I was able to provide that."

As he did throughout his NBA career, "Hawk" did indeed come through as the Matrix went on to win back-to-back games. Hawkins wasn’t the only individual to provide some face-to-face coaching with the kids. Fellow Suns Ring of Honor member Alvan Adams broke down game footage with a number of children, pointing out the do and dont’s of the NBA world. The former center even broke down a bit of his own footage along with footage of Hawkins, Ceballos and former teammate John Shumate.

The footage helped provide kids with a blast from the past and helped make players like Shumate more recognizable for the youngsters when they spoke. Shumate dropped by Saturday evening and provided an inspirational true story about how he himself was once cut from his high school basketball team - a moment which would ultimately change his life.

While the theme of the camp was obviously basketball, campers were also given opportunities to seek fun elsewhere. A miniature golf course on the campgrounds kept many entertained while a game room gave the options of table tennis, pool and foosball. The children were fed three solid meals a day and even had a snack bar to visit whenever a respective sweet tooth would take over.

On Sunday, everything wrapped up with closing ceremonies emceed by Suns broadcaster Tom Leander. Leander wasn’t alone in the ceremony as Shumate and center Kurt Thomas were also in attendance. Like James had done for the opening ceremonies, Thomas took time out to sign autographs and take some pictures with his young fans.

"It’s great," Thomas said. "It’s my first time up here and I’m really enjoying seeing these kids competing, going against one another and having fun. Looks like we’ve got a great turnout, the kids are excited and the parents are real happy. I’m just glad to be here."

Everybody appeared glad to be there, particularly 15-year-old Jamie Bristow who was given an amazing opportunity thanks to Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver. Chosen at random, the youngster knocked down a free throw for courtside seats to a regular season game and a visit to the Suns locker room.

"I was scared but the crowd really got me pumped up and I was able to hit it," Bristow said.

While not every camper had the opportunity to win courtside tickets, they all did receive a number of goodies from basketball hoops to bobblehead dolls and already appear ready for next summer’s camp.

"I really enjoyed it and want to come back next year," 9-year-old Brody Casper said.

Fellow 9-year-old Patrick Benjamin agreed.

"It was really great," Benjamin said. "I didn’t get to win as many games as I wanted, but I think if we get to play together again next year we could be the best team."