INDIANAPOLIS -- One hundred twenty-nine of the world's best high school basketball players convened among banners of Michael Jordan, Ray Allen and other NBA superstars. The players gathered at the National Institute for Fitness and Sports at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis Tuesday through Saturday at the Nike All-American Camp in Indianapolis. The camp has produced hundreds of NBA stars such as Vince Carter, Allen Iverson and Chris Webber, and is considered one of the best in the nation.\n"You will always get the best of the best at the Nike Camp," said Josh Pastner, assistant coach of the Arizona Wildcats. "There are so many good players, and the play is always at a very high level."\nIU men's basketball coach Mike Davis, Georgetown's John Thompson Jr., Florida's Billy Donovan, Arizona's Lute Olson and Iowa coach and former IU great Steve Alford were some of the collegiate coaching royalty in attendance to observe, evaluate and scrutinize the players. \nSome of the teenagers have had numerous scholarships thrown at them, while others were competing for their basketball lives and educational futures as scouts and coaches lined the bleachers with pens and pads in hand. The stress is seldom lost on weary parents, who know the importance of the tournament on their children's future. \n"It does make you a little bit nervous as a parent because your child is really under some pressure," said Tom Rizk, father of Geoffrey Rizk, a 6-foot-1 guard from New Jersey. \nMost of the athletes are accustomed to the pressure.\n"Its not that bad. You get used to it. You just have to think they're just regular people watching you so you can just keep up with your game, and just do what you have to do," said Devin Brennan-McBride, a 6-foot-9 senior to be from Ontario, Canada. "I try to block out the coaches and pretend they're not there."\nThis year the Nike Camp occurred at the same time as the adidas Superstar Camp and Reebok ABCD Camp, which has kept coaches busy, said Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton. \n"With so many players at so many tournaments it is hard to evaluate talent," said Hamilton, who has been to all three major high school tournaments this week. "It's been a busy weekend."
Crowd favorite Liu Xiaoyu, a 16-year-old, 6-foot-2 guard from Guandong, China, dazzled spectators with his creative passing and dribbling. This year's tournament boasted three teenagers from China accompanied by translators. \nKevin Durant, a 6-foot-9 Oak Hill Academy product and Texas commit, thoroughly dominated the tournament, led his team to a divisional championship, and shined in the All Star Game with a steady stroke from the three point line, above average ball handling and incredible athleticism. \nDurant won co-MVP honors at the Saturday All Star game. 5-foot-11 point guard Sherron Collins also made his mark on the week with nifty ball handling and passing, and was the recipient of co-MVP honors at the All Star game, and generated buzz as possibly the best point guard in camp, competing with junior Jerryd Bayless for the honor. \n"The kids have fun and get to play against some of the best competition," said Carl Henry, father of Belgian-born Xavier Henry, the sole eighth grader in the tournament. Jeffrey Jordan, the 6-foot junior guard from Loyola Academy College Prep in Illinois and son of basketball legend on Michael Jordan, was also in attendance at the camp. Jordan, who had to pass a 15-foot image of his father daily to get in and out of the gymnasium, was under inevitable scrutiny, though he was not the starting point guard on his team. \nCoaches have been tight lipped on which players have impressed and surprised them, and even if they wanted to tell, they're keeping their mouths shut. \n"We are not allowed to talk about such things," Hamilton said. "It's against NCAA regulations"
