Former Alabama star Marcus Campbell hosts annual basketball camp
By WVUA Sports Reporter Nathan Brown
Former Alabama basketball star, and Sumter County native, Marcus Campbell continues to have a positive impact his community. This week, his Future Star Basketball Camp turned 21 years old.
The free basketball camp gives children ages 5- 12 the opportunity to learn fundamental skills that will make them successful both on and off the court.
After concluding a successful playing career overseas, Campbell returned to the U.S. to become a successful businessman, politician and role model in the area. He tries to use background in his message to the campers, which he hopes becomes his long-term legacy.
“That’s what it is all about, promoting life skills and that is what it is centered around, ” Campbell said. “We want our youngsters to know that everybody won’t go pro in basketball, but they will go pro in life and whatever career path that they choose and whatever choices that they make they have to make sure that its the right choice and doing what they need to do.”
Campers are coached by distinguished volunteers. Some of the former players helping Campbell this year are New York Knick legend Charles Oakley, former Alabama standout Erwin Dudley, who was SEC Player of the Year in 2002.
Campbell’s former Alabama teammate and former NBA player Marcus Webb also joined the coaching staff this week. He says providing campers an opportunity to learn the game and impacting the next generation of basketball players is inspiring.
“In order to know where you’re going you got to know where you came from. You just can’t wake up one morning saying you’re gonna be a superstar if you never played the game. So I gotta get the basics down and that’s my whole thing is teaching them basics, with blocking out and screening, pick and roll, communication on defense; once you get those down the sky’s the limit on you.”
The Future Star Basketball Camp concludes on Friday afternoon before sending the campers home with new SWAG gear, life lessons and skills.
