Coach K basketball camp

[Flyers52]

My son is attending the second session of the Duke Basketball camp, in June.

I've read all the FAQ on the camp website, however I was wondering if others may have additional info as to availability of Coach K, current players, and Alumni, the daily rigors of the camp, and other misc. things that will be available for the parents while the kids are playing.

We're staying at the Washington Duke, and we're going to rent a car and drive around Chapel Hill (which I hear is a very nice looking town, minues the awful color of blue).

I'd appreciate any info and tips - what to see, places to eat, etc. It's going to be my first trip down.

Thanks!

[CA Cameron Crazie]

Here are a couple threads that had similar questions about places to eat, things to see etc. Thought you might find it helpful.

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?24363-First-Duke-Basketball-Game&highlight=elmo%27s

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?18777-Need-restaurant-suggestions&highlight=elmos

[ramdevil]

My son has attended this camp four times. He is not a great basketball players, but he really loves the camp. Especially hearing the players give their talks. Some of the players get more involved than just giving talks (Paulus loved to ref the games). When we pick our son up, he is the Duke Basketball Expert in our house.

Get there early on Saturday, and you can line up to get an autograph, handshake, and photo with Coach K. He spends at least 5 minutes with each family. Also, plan to stay for his talk to the campers. Coach Spatola also gives a talk, and calls each of the individual coaches (there must be more than 50) by name. Impressive. If you are lucky, your son can play a game that day in Cameron. We like to say our son is the only one in our family to have scored a basket in Cameron.

The camp is very well-run. The boys are kept busy - too busy to get in trouble. The games seem pretty even. They will move boys with more advanced skills to different teams, or even up in age, in order to keep things even.

ramdevil (yes, that is a VCU Ram)

[Hancock 4 Duke]

I've gone last year and also in 2009. Coach K usually gives a speech each night, but sometimes is unavailable. When he's not there, he has one of the assistants or one of the available players give a speech about their journey through Duke basketball, and they take questions, etc. There are 3 sets of games 2 times a day, and each age group plays at a different time in each set. So there's 2 games a day, except one game on the first and last day. The meals in the Great Hall are always great, and if you are under 12, you have to sit with your team, otherwise you may sit with whoever. It's always a great time, and the players and coaches are more than happy to sign autographs and take pictures. You also get a free Duke Basketball on the last day. After each drills session and after the game sets, they have free Gatorades sitting outside for the players. During the day, you are allowed to order a pizza from the University Papa John's, and you can pick it up after the last session in Cameron and take it back to your dorm. Also, they announce your name in the morning if you took a charge in a game on the day before (Teaching kids at a young age how to take a charge, I like that). If you are electronic-savvy, the Duke Blue Planet manager is the one that runs the video room when the kids are taken for the highlight station. Some of the stations are hard, and the games are a lot of running up and down, and I promise, he'll have blisters by the end of the first day, you might ant some foot powder just in case. The contests for the kids are a lot of fun, especially the free throw and three point contest. But honestly, the best part is either the Duke Dunk Contest for some of the players, or just the fact of playing basketball in Cameron 8 hours a day! It will be a great time, I'm going again this year on the first session, I hope you're looking forward to it as much as I!

[cspan37421]

My son is attending the second session of the Duke Basketball camp, in June.

I've read all the FAQ on the camp website, however I was wondering if others may have additional info as to availability of Coach K, current players, and Alumni, the daily rigors of the camp, and other misc. things that will be available for the parents while the kids are playing.

We're staying at the Washington Duke, and we're going to rent a car and drive around Chapel Hill (which I hear is a very nice looking town, minues the awful color of blue).

I'd appreciate any info and tips - what to see, places to eat, etc. It's going to be my first trip down.

Thanks!

My son has gone the last 3 years, but may yet take a break this year (he will be at another Duke camp though).

Coach K has typically been around on registration day, armed with a Diet Coke; a separate line forms to meet & greet him. He's very patient for both pictures, autographs, conversation. He practices what he preaches: he will look you in the eye while you are talking with him. He gives you his attention, and listens to your words. He typically gives an opening day talk to the kids before they head out to their stations. It's substantive, heartfelt, often funny, and not the same thing every year. He was even doing this while busy with the Olympic team in 08. He's also around at the close of camp to talk to the campers, and sometimes during the week as well for special signings and so forth. I can't say how much he's around in the core of the camp, but it's not like he's running drill stations.

You can watch most of the camp activities if you want. It's easiest to watch in Cameron if your son is there - just go to the upper level (which in Cameron is still gloriously close). But drills and games take place in several different venues, and not very many others have such relatively comfortable seating. You may have to stand or sit on the floor in some gyms or at the outside courts, for instance. [As an aside, last year my son tweaked his ankle on the last day, and got taped up by the same guy who is shown in some of those videos doing the toe rehab with Kyrie - that's pretty good service for us!]

Current players - several are around, but it's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. Last year both Plumlees were around (Mason should have kept the beard!), but Kyle (who was there the year or two before) was not. Gerald H was around the first year, I recall, and several others here and there (Ryan, Casey, then-current player Greg Paulus - who could not have been more polite and friendly; Andre & Nolan ...). Anyway, I'd say in any given BB Camp session, you should have a min of 3 current players, probably 5-6 milling around in total.

Former players - well, Chris Collins and Wojo are around a lot - they're a big part of the camp. You'll see Carawell and Nate James too, and I think Ricky Price was reffing some of the boys' games. And those are just the guys I saw; I didn't follow my son around all that much, so I'm sure he saw more guys. In fact, I think Jon Scheyer spoke to him and the boys at one of the evening programs, but I wasn't there for that.

Rigors of camp - well, it's hot, the outside courts and Card Gym aren't air conditioned. Cameron, Emily K, and at least one other (IM Building?) are. There's lots of Gatorade etc. for the boys, fortunately, but get a 12+ pk of water at Kroger for your son's dorm room (snacks too). Sunscreen for outdoor games. Foot powder, yes, extra socks. make sure new BB shoes are at least partially broken in. They work the kids hard, but remember, it's only 3 full days plus two half-days. So they'll be worn out, but they'll make it through. FWIW, we have not found the teams to be so balanced, nor have we noticed any roster-juggling to make them balanced. Also, we've also found at least one bad egg kid per hall (once, my son had to suffer through one as a roommate - disrespectful of rules, stealing other kids' snacks/drinks, or even a bit unhinged, ... the camps are run well, but such behavior always seems to creep up, and by and large the few bad eggs tend to get away with it ... perhaps it's too hard to toss them without coaches/counselors witnessing it themselves, but complaints don't tend to go far).

On the positive side, my son attended (from out of state) last year with his best friend, who suffered unexpected and severe homesickness his first night. He looked terrible the next day. I spoke to staff and asked them to give him a little extra positive attention, and I stuck around more often that next day. And staff was very attentive to him; he got over it and had a good time in the end. With the exception of dealing with the few bad eggs (who would have been reported by my son, not me), staff is incredible there - they will drop everything and give you their full attention if there's an issue. A big shout-out to Debbie Savarino, who somehow manages to juggle it all and make you feel that your issue is her #1 priority. She was amazing. Others too - but their faces were a little less recognizable!

What parents can do - other than watch (nothing wrong with that), the campus libraries are open and you can get internet access there. Do a campus tour (esp. the chapel) if you don't know the campus; check a schedule of events in the Chronicle, The Independent, or other free printed periodicals left in bins; American Dance Festival is often going on at Duke at the same time, so you may have a chance to see some performances if you want; at the end of camp, get your son an extra Duke shirt or something other than his camp t-shirt at the campus store or the Duck Shop off East Campus. You might like walking the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. Plan your trip for a part of the day when it's not so hot, you may enjoy yourself a bit more there.

Places to eat - there are good threads for this. For not fancy but really good food, check out Elmo's Diner off east. Chubby's Tacos are pretty good too. Satisfaction Pizza is a great tradition, again, off East. More off West, the Q Shack for BBQ is quite good. And you've got to hit the fast food place called Cookout for one of their 40 awesome milkshake flavors. IMO, Carolina Ale House, off 15-501, is not worthwhile, IMO. It's almost more like an Applebee's - I thought it was more like a brewpub. A better place is Tyler's Taproom, if it's still around in Downtown Durham.

For fancier fixins, people seem to like places like Toast, Rue Cler, Vin Rouge. I've not yet been able to try them. Just google them up from your personal Google machine.

[Flyers52]

Thank you all, it's actually my nephew. My brother in law was having log - in issues, and posted on my name, i guess he should have noted that.

But I'm excited as well, I've only been down once before - to see Duke play Long Beach State in 2006, and I'm hoping to go down again next season.

Go Duke