Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Kansas coach Bill Self addressed a big huddle when he spoke to a group of 700 campers on Sunday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse. The campers, boys ranging in age from eight to 19, listened to Self speak about having a good time and following the rules. Self’s annual summer camp, kicked off Sunday and runs through Thursday at 16 gyms throughout Lawrence.
There’s also a camp June 18-22 for the same age groups, and a parent child camp for boys and girls aged 4-7 June 23-24. There’s no slowing down for Self, as these next couple weeks don’t present much of a breather. Even though the campers can require as much effort to coach as his Jayhawks, he said both were easy.
“The challenges with some young campers is they want to try to do what’s right, but physically they can’t quite do it yet,” Self said. “The challenge with our players is that they can do it, but sometimes they won’t do it the exact way a coach would expect them to do it, For one week, I’d say the campers are easier to coach, but if you had the campers for a whole year, you may change your mind about that.”
Junior guard Russell Robinson said the campers were receptive to what the players had to say.
“They’re big fans, they listen, they watch us all the time and whenever they get a chance to actually see us and communicate with us, it’s good,” Robinson said,
“They’re open, Some kids their age think they know it all, but they’re open to what we have to say and they respond well to us.”
Self said desire was a big part of why the kids were there.
“The reason kids come to camp is they want to be around ball,” Self said. “Hopefully they want to be coached and be corrected.”
Asked to describe his teaching style with the campers, Sophomore forward Julian Wright said his style had two sides.
“I kind of have a balance between being serious and joking with the kids,” Wright said, “You can’t be too serious, sometimes kids won’t listen, If you joke too much they won’t take you seriously, I think that’s key in terms of helping kids out, You try to have a little fun, laugh, crack a joke or two, but also be serious when it’s time to be serious.
A fan favorite, Wright gets specials requests from the campers,
“Everyone wants me to do a 360 dunk,” he said.
Wright said he enjoyed both putting on a show for the kids and helping them become better basketball players.
There’s not a lot of get-to-know-you time between players and campers, The campers come prepared.
“Kansas does a good job of covering me and putting all my business out there so they pretty much know everything about me,” Robinson said,
Wright said he enjoyed working with the campers.
“I like it,” he said. “It’s a chance to give back and give advice.”
Former and current KU players advise campers
KU basketball players and coaches lead youth basketball camps during the summer.
Living the Wright life
Wright left Kansas for the NBA last year. His life outside of ...
City takes no action overnight against Occupy
Demonstrators remained camped out in South Park Thursday night, despite city order ...
Former Jayhawks return to Lawrence
Former Kansas basketball players Keith Langford, Aaron Miles and Michael Lee are ...
Self's summer basketball camps underway
The first youth basketball camp began last week. Several current and former ...
Hornets "extremely happy" to have Wright
Former Jayhawk Julian Wright was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets on ...
Morris ready for Flyers' Wright
Kansas prepares for its second round game against Dayton and Chris Wright ...
Wright headed to New Orleans
Hornets take former Jayhawk with 13th pick in Thursday's NBA Draft
Alumni, current players scrimmage at camp
Mario Chalmers and Keith Langford were among former Jayhawks who returned for ...
Survival guide to basketball camping
Maggie Young gives the quick and dirty of the essentials to one ...
Robinett: Can we be disappointed?
This column was a tough one to put into words. Hey Julian ...
Introducing Mario Little
His name could reminds fans of former Jayhawk Mario Chalmers, but his ...
Julian Wright will go to NBA
After two years at Kansas, Wright decides it's time to go. He ...
The Wright Stuff
Sophomore forward shares Player of the Week title with Kevin Durant. Wright ...
Rock Chalk memories
Former Kansas basketball players return to Lawrence, play current team in annual ...
On Senior Day, ’05 recruits are missed
Rush, Chalmers, Wright, and Downs, though moved on, may have formed Kansas’ ...
'Hawks bond, learn together during 'boot camp'
Colaianni: Wright made right decision
You can’t convince me that Julian Wright is making the wrong decision ...
Rush signs up for NBA
Rush met with Self to discuss the pros and cons of leaving ...
Morning Brew: The Faux Pas free throw
Morningstar’s slippery free throw draws more than 3 million viewers on YouTube.
Morning Brew: The Faux Pas free throw
Morningstar’s slippery free throw draws more than 3 million viewers on YouTube.
Freshman pumped for basketball season
The Burlington freshman prepared to be a Jayhawk even as a youth ...
The Rush that almost never happened
After projections put Brandon Rush outside the first round of the NBA ...
Jaybowl, fans sad to see Wright leave
Until last week, students could see Wright rolling a ball down the ...
Morning Brew: Go out and win one ...
Natalie Randolph is making waves as the nation’s first female high school ...
Memory of Jason Wren educates students about ...
The Sigma Alpha Epsilon pledge died of alcohol poisoning in 2009.
Saving seats can present problems
Student basketball fans who camp out for tickets have a hard time ...
Men's Basketball: The season in review
Beginning with Boot Camp and ending at the Elite Eight in San ...
Simien makes move to minister
Former Kansas basketball player Wayne Simien has turned from NBA to sports ...
Wright leaves for NBA
UPDATE: Sophomore forward Julian Wright announced this afternoon that he will be ...
Freshman Reed lives dream of playing KU ...
Incoming guard Tyrel Reed grew up in Burlington wishing to become a ...
Oh, the places Hawks will go!
Coach Bill Self expects five Jayhawks to be picked in this year’s ...
A look at Tyrel Reed, past and ...
Over the past four years, Reed has grown from an anxious freshman ...
Former Jayhawks help with youth fitness
Nick Collison and Cole Aldrich helped out at the Boy & Girls ...
Sherron's story
Collins has come a long way from the inner-city streets of Chicago.
Morning Brew: Wright might shine this season
Former Jayhawk Julian Wright could start in the NBA after two years ...
Big Monday becomes a family affair
Chase Buford, and his adopted brother, Alexis Wangmene, who plays for the ...
Alley-oop turns into an art form
Jayhawk guard toss some mean alley-oop passes that have led to some ...
Basketball boot camp starts this week
Basketball team prioritizes motives
Self is focusing on playing a rivalry and preventing turnovers, the team ...
From left: Kimberlee Hinkle, Libby Johnson and Hannah ...
1 comment
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID