THE BEST SUMMER CAMP YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF

The competition. The talent. The opportunity to uncover tomorrow’s gems today. Mention the summer basketball scene and hardwood junkies instantly envision the scorching rivalry between the Reebok ABCD and Nike All-America camps. Those sneaker war events are showered with enough hype to pique interest in people who only care about college basketball in March.

Somehow lost in the shadows behind the glare of the big name camps is a hoops haven for the purists. A handful of insiders are privy to another exclusive basketball camp, where the competition is even more intense. The talent is undeniable. And the gems are even closer to glistening in the present. Welcome to the 2004 Junior College All-American Challenge, where play began Thursday, July 8, in Indianapolis.

Almost all junior college phenoms never dream of being junior college phenoms. They grew up sporting Jayhawk hats, Carolina Blue kicks, and hopes of one day being yelled at by Bobby Knight. However, the names currently on the front of their jerseys do not and should not belittle the names on the back. After all, no one can star in the unheralded ranks of two-year ball without having immense skills. Shawn Marion, Kedrick Brown, and Ruben Patterson are the NBA’s examples of what happens when junior college cats pounce on the one ball of string they are all pining for… an opportunity.

Some of the elite players at the JuCo level excelled quietly while in high school, yet many of the 180 JuCo and prep school players at the JC All-American Challenge were among the most highly publicized names in their high school classes.

Unfortunately, for all of their greatness, somewhere along the highway to a Top 20 program, road kill stymied the ride. Though not always the case, poor grades often took the form of the bloody barrier. Just do not mistake a lousy transcript for stupidity. These athletes are not on a mental par with Jessica Simpson, they usually just had lapses of focus or bouts of immaturity.

For this very reason, Michael Mennenga, organizer of the JC All-American Challenge and an assistant coach at the University of Buffalo, stresses the camp’s motto: Education Through Basketball.

“We offer NCAA Rules Education, high caliber competition, and personal development in a team setting,” explains Mennenga, “in addition to the exposure.”

Whether they needed a wake up call or a tutor, regardless of the reason why the players’ plans for advancement are thwarted, everyone at the camp has now made a name for himself and with schools regularly featured on ESPN. This year alone, over 150 Division 1 coaches are in attendance. Between the unfulfilled potential abundant throughout the camp and the remarkable fact that none of the players are committed, coaches would be foolish not to check it out.

“You name the school, they were here last year,” says Mennenga. “Basketball people know how important this is.”

While media outlets punch out thousands of stories about what the future could be like for standouts at the Nike and Reebok showcases, the 2004 Junior College All-American Challenge is a second chance at should have been careers . It is also a second chance for us to take notice.

The following is a list of soon-to-be superstars highlighting this year’s camp:

Sylvester Mayes, a 6'2" point guard at Redlands CC, is a former Top 20 recruit from Ft Wayne, Indiana.  Mayes is the teammate of Ousmane Konate, one of the top Juco big men in the country.

Walter Waters, a beast of a center at 6’10”, 265-pounds, ran a stat line of 45 points, 17 boards, and 12 blocks in a single high school game. He originally committed to Pitt, but then enrolled at Cleveland State. The Detroit native is seeking a grander stage and is now enrolled at Schoolcraft College.

Another center with a world of potential is 7-footer James Davis of Garden City Community College. Although he did not play ball as a high school junior, he was still recruited by Iowa, Louisville, Minnesota, and Purdue during his senior year.

Torre Johnson Jr., a 6’7” forward, is also from Garden City. Johnson was the only freshman to make the Kansas Jayhawk Community College All-Conference 1^st team.

Tyrone Young, a 6’4” guard, is a former member of the Missouri All-State team after averaging over 23 ppg at Raytown South.

A former All-Bronx selection, 6’3’ guard Garfield Johns was the all-time leading scorer at the Wings Academy. Scoring over 26 ppg as a senior, he once dropped 55 points in a playoff game. Maintaining the scoring reputation, he averaged just under 20 ppg for Monroe College last season.

Rodney Edgerson, a 6’6” swing player from Illinois Central College, was highly recruited out of Illinois. As a senior, he joined Los Angeles Clippers point guard Shaun Livingston and Illinois forward Brian Randle as a 1^st Team All-State selection.

A late addition to the camp, Jessan Gray-Ashley, may have been the most impressive. Before being declared academically ineligible, the 6’10” forward played seven games as a redshirt freshman for Indiana University. He wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school because he didn’t reach his current height until he had already joined the Big 10 squad. Since Gray-Ashley was not listed in the camp program, few coaches at the JC Challenge realized who he was… but they were all dying to find out. With his length and seemingly unlimited range, Gray-Ashley is pro potential personified. He is currently looking for a junior college to play for before another major program gives him a shot.