THE curtain will come down on another successful Jeff Rodgers Summer Basketball Camp today with a fun-filled day at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

Before the 37th edition of the camp came to a close, the participants got a real treat last night as a number of international stars, including Bahamian superstar Mychal “Sweet Bells” Thompson, not only shared their basketball experience, but they also participated in the Family Night activities.

Camp organiser Jeff Rodgers, who now resides in the United States, thanked God for bringing him back to continue the camp during his vacation time to give back to the Bahamian community.

“When you look at this camp and see some of the young men and young ladies who come out of this camp and to see where they are today, like Kai Jones and Deandre Ayton, it just makes it easier and better to encourage others to believe in themselves. And so all of that is just a way of giving back to the community,” he added. While basketball would only take the players so far in life, Rodgers said it’s good for them to listen and take the positive vibes that they get from the instructors to take them through life.

“So the discipline part is very important for this basketball camp,” he insisted. “And so we try to prepare you on the court and we try to work with you off the court.”

Rodgers, a former talented basketball player, said he likes what he’s seen in the Bahamian basketball landscape with so many players getting the opportunity to play in the National Basketball Association.

And he said that is why the camp is so important so that they can instruct them to get them in the right direction to be able to excel at the next level.

Thompson, who pioneered the way as the first Bahamian to play in the NBA and was the first foreign born player to be drafted number one in 1978 by the Portland Trailblazers, said he was delighted to be back home to participate in the camp.

“Talking to the kids is one thing. You can tell them about your experience, so it’s so much fun to answer their questions,” said Thompson, whose name was placed on the driveway from Thompson Boulevard leading into the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium in 2015.

The six-feet, 11-inches center, who played with Portland from 1978-1986 before he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs and then to the Lakers in 1978 where won back-to-back NBA titles in 1987-1988, said he was surprised that the players in the camp were so knowledgeable about the game. 

“They have some good, intelligent questions about the game. These kids are very knowledgeable about basketball history,” he said. “The questions they were asking me were very intelligent and very knowledgeable questions.

“And so I was very impressed that they knew about the history of the NBA. So it was fun to answer their questions about the game and tell them about the advantages of playing basketball and how it could really benefit your life.”

At age 70, Thompson is still around the game as a color commentator for the Lakers. He said the Bahamas’ future is in great hands with players such as Jones, Ayton, Buddy Hield, Eric Gordon, his own son, Klay Thompson and now VJ Edgecombe, who became the latest addition as the third pick in the June NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.

“We’re getting better. We’re getting more young kids coming up. You see them right here at the Jeff Rodgers camp,” Thompson pointed out. “So basketball and the future of the Bahamas is great. 

“Just how it was for track and field with Jamaica, we are dominating in basketball.”

At one point, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture hosted the Mychal ‘Sweet Bells’ Thompson and Osborne ‘Goose’ Lockhart Summer Basketball Camp.

That no longer exists, but Thompson said he’s just glad that he can come home and contribute to the Jeff Rodgers Basketball Camp because it’s camps that get things started for the development of the players.

“I started coming here when my boys were babies themselves,” said Thompson, who has three sons, who are all playing at the professional level, whether it’s Mychel and Klay, who play basketball or Trayce in baseball.

  

“And I bring them back and they enjoy coming back and seeing how much the camp has grown and how beneficial it is to young people in the Bahamas, so coming back here is like coming home. You can’t stay away.”

With Ayton, the third Bahamian to play for the Lakers, joining Thompson and Rick Fox, who won three NBA titles in Los Angeles, Thompson said he will definitely be making reference to the Bahamas during his shows.

“We’re going to be talking about the conch fritters and bringing back all of the Bahamian traditions that we enjoyed,” he insisted. “So having DeAndre there representing the Bahamas is great.

“Every time a Bahamian played for the Lakers, they won a championship, so hopefully DeAndre Ayton can carry on that tradition. I expect that his career will definitely elevate now that he is playing in a Laker uniform, even though some people down here like the (Boston) Celtics, I still think the Lakers are the number one team in the Bahamas and now that they have a Bahamian on the team too, that makes it even better.”

As the No.1 one pick in the draft in 2018 by the Phoenix Suns, Thompson said he anticipates that Ayton will have a season, averaging 18 points and 12 rebounds per game as the starting center for the Lakers as they revive their status as one of the top teams in the NBA.

“That’s what his talent demands, DeAndra has All-Star caliber talent and he has to play up to that ability and I think he understands the responsibility of being the Lakers starting center and I think we’re going to see the bet of DeAndre Ayton, the best we’ve ever seen so far from when he was with Phoenix or Portland.

“I think now that he’s playing with Luka (Doncic) and LeBron James, two legendary players like that, I think he;s going to take his game to another level.”

And although he didn’t go to the Lakers, Thompson said it was another special moment to see Edgecombe get drafted by the Sixers and to see the Bahamians in the stands waving the flag.

“It brings a lot of national pride to see the young fellows like VJ and future players to come to get drafted and to represent the Bahamas.”

Also returning to make another appearance at the camp were Shelvin Mack, who played on seven different teams in the NBA from 2011-2019 and Tyrone ‘Muggsy’ Bogues, perhaps the shortest player at 5-3 to play in the NBA from 1987-2001 with four different teams.