NCAA Release - New Youth Development Camps

EAST STROUDSBURG – The NCAA announced in April that it selected four locations and two different sessions for its newly created youth development college basketball camps. The events are intended to provide promising Division I men's basketball prospects the opportunity to develop their skills while also preparing them for college both as a student and an athlete. East Stroudsburg University rising sophomore Ryan Smith was nominated by men's basketball head coach Jeff Wilson to attend the camp as a counselor. 

The camps, which will be held in four geographic regions include, the University of Houston (South), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Midwest), University of Connecticut (East), and Grand Canyon University (West). Two three-day sessions will occur at each site location. The first session will be July 23-25, and the second from July 26-28. 

The new camp initiative was created as part of the NCAA's recent reforms to college basketball and aim to integrate the higher education experience with the traditional recruiting process. These camps are designed to complement already existing recruiting opportunities. The camps will invite as many as 2,400 rising seniors, juniors and select sophomores, with up to 300 high school basketball players competing in each of the eight sessions across the four sites. All expenses for participants and one chaperone – such as a parent or guardian – will be paid by the NCAA.

In addition to basketball skills instruction, players and their parents or guardians will participate in educational sessions about the academic eligibility process, health and wellness, and other life-skills programming.

Smith has made the trip to Storrs, Connecticut, and UCONN to get ready for day one of the opening session that begins on Tuesday.

Below are daily blog entries from Ryan after arriving at camp on Sunday.

[Sunday] I woke up at 8 a.m. and finished up packing and getting my things together. I drove three and a half hours without any traffic to Busby Suites, the housing residence that the staff and players would be staying in. Once there, I was checked-in and received my backpack which contained all of my gear for the week (shirts, shorts, backpack). I met my roommate, Brandon, a rising senior who plays for a branch campus of Penn State. From there, we helped sort and pack clothes, backpacks, and other items for the campers who won't arrive until tomorrow. Luckily, after that, we got an hour to chill out until we took the campus tour at 6 p.m. We toured the campus and focused on the facilities that we would be working with. In total, there were six courts across three buildings that the camp would take place in. After the tour, we sat down for a catered dinner and listened to staff members from the NCAA speak about all the activities and rules of this week's camp. By the time we got back to the dorms, it was roughly 10 p.m. We ended up going back to one of the facilities later to play basketball from 10:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. I am currently writing this in bed and it is 1:10 a.m. Today was a very busy and eventful day, and the campers haven't even arrived yet, but I'm looking forward to tomorrow to help out with the combine that the campers go through. I can tell this is going to be a great experience. - Ryan Smith

[Monday] Today my responsibility was to set up and help run a version of the NBA combine for the campers. A company called BAM provided all the equipment necessary to do a 3/4 court sprint, lane agility, standing vertical test, reactive shuttle, and maximum vertical test. After we completed setting up the different stations, we were assigned to help members of BAM run a portion of the combine. I was assigned to the maximum vertical jump where a player was allowed a running start to touch the highest point possible in three tries. I recorded each of the camper's numbers on a tablet that was then sent to a database. With all the scores they received, the BAM formula creates a score for each player and places them into a category such as Elite, Pro, Division I, Division II, etc. The highest that a camper touched today was 142 inches, which is equivalent to touching 11'10". Before we got finished testing all the final stragglers, it was 8 p.m. We were sent back to the dorms where there was a meeting for the campers that basically went over all the rules of the camp and things to do and not to do. After that, we had a final staff meeting which went over the plan for Tuesday. Tomorrow is going to be completely different and is going to be where the competition between the players start. I am assigned to a court so I will help with drills and assist with games. I'm looking forward to it. - Ryan Smith

[Tuesday] Today we were assigned different courts to help work. I was fortunate enough to be assigned to Gampel arena. Gampel is the main arena where both the UConn men and women basketball teams play at. In this huge arena, I assisted different coaches as they demonstrated drills to the campers. Over the course of five hours, we had three different groups. We worked on ball-handling, shooting, and off-the-dribble finishing. Today was focused on the guards and how they play the game. A few of the other student-athletes are guards at their colleges so they naturally took the lead in some of the drills. After lunch, we had four games that were played on the main floor of Gampel. I was instructed to assist coaches in whatever they needed, mostly with substitutions at the right points throughout the game. Even though I had a minor role, I tried to teach the campers some of the things that I learned from my past year of basketball, mostly the players who played the four and the five. Tomorrow I will be at the same place with the same schedule, but I was told that I will be working at the station tomorrow because it is all about teaching campers post moves. Hopefully, I'll be able to teach the players something that they did not know before and help them improve their game. - Ryan Smith

[Wednesday] Today, we had the same schedule as the day before. It consisted of drills in the morning and afternoon and then games in the afternoon and night. In the first two groups of drills, we mostly did team drills and ran out of time for incorporating the post moves into the session. But, in the final group, we only had four guards and one big. Most of our time at the station consisted of post entries and positioning that went with it. Burke, the big that was with the group, picked up quickly on the fundamentals of post positioning that coaches were teaching him. I also helped him with things such as straddling the hash, staying low, keeping your arms high, and holding seals on defenders. My goal from yesterday was to teach a camper something they didn't know before and help them improve, and I think I accomplished that goal. After drills, we held the most competitive teams in our gym for the games. By the end of the third game and the start of the fourth (and final) game, there were high DI coaches looking on. Unlike most other games we saw, the final game came down to a last-second shot to decide the outcome. When we finally got back to the dorms, we had a hectic meeting about tomorrow's schedule. This was due to the fact that we had the first session of kids leaving and the second session coming in. I have specific roles for tomorrow, but I have a feeling that I could be bouncing around helping out where I am needed to transition from one group of kids to the next. Looking forward to seeing the different campers and the talent that they show off in the next few days. - Ryan Smith

[Thursday] Today was a little bit different compared to the other days because it was a transition day. We were moving the first session kids out and moving the second session kids in. In the morning, we helped campers move bags down to Gampel where they would pick them up after their games. After that, I helped with two games in Gampel. Because it was the last day, I thought there wouldn't be too many coaches watching the kids, but there were almost as many for the games this morning as we've had all week. After that, I was sent to the court in a different facility to help with the combine. Session two kids started rolling in around 2 p.m., and I was assigned to the maximum vertical jump. This time, one of the campers touched 12 feet easily. Honestly, I was amazed at the athleticism that the campers showed while testing. After finishing the combine, we had a meeting for the campers and wrapped things up for the day. Unfortunately, we didn't do many basketball-related drills today, but tomorrow, we hop right back into the drills and games like we did yesterday just with a new group of campers. I'm looking forward to seeing the different types of talent that this group brings to the court. - Ryan Smith

[Friday] Today, I mostly had the same schedule as I did in the first session. I helped with drills in the morning until about three o'clock in the afternoon. We helped campers improve on their handling, shooting, and their finish around the rim. I thought they did a very good job taking what they learned from the coaches and applying it to their game. After the drills, we had four games that the campers played. It was very refreshing to see a new group of kids figure out and learn as the game progressed. The kids did a great job of working together even though they've never played with each other. Just from watching a few games, I can see that these campers are very talented, and a camp like this can help them learn even more to boost their skill set. After the games, we helped count inventory for the remaining gear that the camp had. We only have two days left of camp, but I hope that I can still provide some knowledge that I acquired from playing a year at the college level to the campers around me. - Ryan Smith

[Saturday] Today, we had the same schedule as we did yesterday. We rotated through drills first. We had a variety of drills to help players play off-ball screens and dribble handoffs. These drills are optional and are split into three different sets. For the last group, only six players worked out because the others wanted to rest for games. I was able to hop in and get a complete workout with some of the campers. I enjoyed being able to show them different things rather than telling them what to do like on the other days. It was actually nice showing them by running through the drills myself. I also loved getting to workout because I haven't had any time this week to truly get into the gym. After the drills, the games started. Today, I did the score sheets for each game. What I loved watching the most in one of the games was when the big men went at each other trading basket for basket each possession down the floor. Tomorrow is my final day at UConn, and I look forward to working with and watching these talented players one last time. - Ryan Smith 

[Sunday] On the final day of the camp, we had the same process of checking out kids as the first session. We moved bags down to the main gym, and the players could pick them up after they were done with their game. I helped with two different games on the main court in Gampel. Fortunately, they were both highly competitive games and they were fun to watch. After, we checked out all the campers and checked out ourselves. Overall, the week was long, but it was packed full of lessons and teaching points that I will take and use throughout my life. I met some really nice staff, coaches, and players that I hope to stay in touch with as I go through my remaining years in college. I was very fortunate to work at this camp and have this opportunity, it will be something that I will never forget.