Harrisburg kids went hard at Hoop Group Jr. Elite camp.....

Say what you want about this small area, but it produces some quality kids and quality athletes... This was a new experience for most of the kids as this camp was a sleepover camp in the woods.....  We went to Hoop Group Jr. Elite in Stroudsburg, PA which is the Poconos....  With over 100 kids from up and down the East Coast, this was a great opportunity for our kids to see just how good they rally were and how much harder they had to work in order to reach their goals.....
The first of the two days started with kids checking into their cabins and getting situated.....  Once that was done, it was time to hit the courts....   Director Kim Waiters did an excellent job getting the kids organized and then getting into morning exercises and stretches.....

Tim Kater (East Penn 7th grader) and Brian Garner (Susquehanna MS 7th grader)
getting settled in their bunk

Tyreese Smith putting on those size 12's

After that, it was time for the drills....  Most of the Harrisburg kids had a very good understanding of how to do the drills and showed efficiency during all of the drills....  For others, it was a new experience and they learned something new.....

Coach Bob Hurley and Tyrece Little (8th grader)
of Emmanuel Baptist

After Lunch, the kids had the PLEASURE to listen to HALL OF FAME HS COACH BOB HURLEY of St. Anthony's in Jersey City, NJ.....   Coach Hurley was fantastic and delivered a powerful message to the kids....  Coach Hurley is someone they should definitely want to take instruction from as he has helped to get 40 players in the NBA, 150 Division 1 players and has impacted the lives of THOUSANDS.......  He even put some of the kids through warm up drills that they can do at home on their own......

The kids ended up playing 4 games over the two days and each kid competed hard....  They kids entering the 7th grade and under played in the NCAA and kids entering the 8th and 9th grade played in the NBA division....  Here's a breakdown of each kid....

Tyreese Smith (6th grade Susquehanna MS) - Tyreese was one of the younger guys at the camp but he fit in perfectly because of his knowledge of the game...  Did a very good job of being aggressive on the glass and contesting shots...  Scored key buckets for his team in a couple of games.....  He will have to be more confident in his ball handling because a few times he showed that he can handle the ball pretty good...


Tim Kater (7th grade East Pennsboro) - Tim was a monster on the glass at camp....  Averaged a double double in the 4 games he played...  Tim did a very good job of communicating with his team mates and being a team player...  Tim has a very high IQ and makes others better around him....  Team went 4 - 0....

Sean Good (7th grade St. Theresa) - Sean is really starting to come into his own.....  He does a very good job of changing shots with his 6'1 height and 6'5 wing span....  Still a little raw offensively but he's getting better by the week...  Sean could grow to be 6'7 by time it's all said and done....  Team went 4 - 0....

Brian Garner (7th grade Susquehanna MS) - quick and aggressive is the name of his game...  Brian had a very good nose for the ball and always found a way to get the ball in his hands....  Scored a bunch of points in the paint this weekend....  Has to learn to play on the perimeter just in case he doesn't grow to much more...

Justin Henry (8th grade CD East Middle) - Justin was the kid who shocked a lot of people because of his size (or lack of...  lol  just kidding)....  Teams had no idea that this kid could play the way he did...  He applied very good ball pressure but also hit jumpers from all over the court...  He has very good court vision and ran the pg position like a champ....

Julian Jackson (8th grade Swatara MS) - Julian is getting better by the week...  He's learning to attack the glass and contest shots too....  Julian showed a great deal of athleticism as he changed a lot of shots with his long arms...  When he becomes a student of the game, I can see his learning curve increasing rapidly....  He's so raw at the moment, he has no idea how good he can be....

Tito Flemister (8th grade Harrisburg) - Tito did very well at camp this weekend...  He shot the ball well and did a good job running his team....  He was matched up with some tough guards, which is what he wanted, and he competed well...  Tito will have to start working on his conditioning so he can compete at a high level for a longer period of time...  He has the tendency to score 10 straight points, but then take a long break....  He's too talented to take breaks...

Mr. Hustle

Tyrece Little (8th grade Emmanuel Baptist) - Tyrece had a very good weekend offensively and defensively....  Each game he had to match up with either a tough guard or forward, most from the Chester area....  He came through and competed hard....  Showed a variety of moves using both hands well....   Ended up receiving the Mr. Hustle Award for the NBA Division....

Ibrahim Morris-Togans ready to rock!

Ibrahim Morris-Togans (9th grade Sci Tech) - Ibrahim showed some flashes of what he may be able to do with that 6'2 long and athletic frame....  He was intense on defense at times and in his final game, scored about 10 points off of drives to the baskets and pull up jumpers....  Ibrahim just has to be more consistent with his overall effort....  He tends to turn it off and on....  He'll be a much better player once he decides to just leave it on!!!



Overall, a very good weekend....  I'd like to give a personal THANK YOU to Coach Tito and Coach Roger Smith for helping to transport the kids to Stroudsburg....   It takes a village and they stepped up to the plate to make sure ALL of our kids were taken care of.....

On to the next one......

Peace and Blessings,

Coach Little