USC players, coaches eager to share hoops knowledge
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

The University of Southern California men's basketball squad proved it was a solid team by making the Sweet 16 of the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Now a few Trojan players and coaches are looking to pass on some of their skills to the younger generation.

USC is holding the Southern Cal Hoops Camp June 18-22 at Simi Valley High and June 25-29 at Agoura High.

The camp is for boys and girls from kindergarten through eighth grade. The cost of the full-day camp is $275, while the half-day camp goes for $150.

College, high school and NBA coaches will be in attendance. Last year, former NBA coach Paul Westphal spoke to the youngsters.

"It's an overall good basketball experience," USC assistant coach Gib Arnold said. "We teach the kids using the exact same drills that the players at USC use.

"The intensity level may be a little different because these are firstgraders, not first-round draft picks."

Arnold said the kids leave the program with a workout plan as well as the opportunity to attend a Trojan game next year. They'll also get to tour the USC locker room when they visit, he said.

The camp will have instructors such as Trojan junior forward/ center Keith Wilkinson, who worked the event last year.

"I love working with the kids," Wilkinson said. "Even though I am a big man, I love teaching them all aspects of the game, not just rebounding and scoring."

Agoura resident Tracy Wilson signed up her 12-year-old son Liam again after he enjoyed the experience so much last year.

"We used to have him go to the Michael Jordan camp, but after last year he told me he had so much fun he wanted to go to this camp again," Wilson said.

"He had (USC's) Nick Young as his coach, and a lot of his friends were there. We can't complain at all about the camp. It's wellorganized, and he came out of it feeling great about basketball."

For more information, visit the website www.schoopscamp.com.