Sixers Summer Hoops Tour comes to Jamison day camp
By Matt Schickling
Wire Staff Writer
The NBA skillset, according to former Philadelphia 76er World B. Free, is built through a fusion of athleticism, determination, endurance and early-2000s dance moves.
Free and other members of the Sixers organization stopped off in Jamison last Thursday to teach the campers and counselors at Diamond Ridge Camps the basics of basketball and importance of education as part of the Sixers Summer Hoops Tour.
“When playing defense, we don’t hop,” Free said as one of the Hoops Tour Coaches cued up DJ Casper’s line-dance classic, “We slide.”
The “Cha Cha Slide” played as campers got to their feet and shuffled across the court to the music against imaginary offensemen.
Though that moment was meant mostly for a comedic effect, Free and his team of Sixers staffers, which included members of the Flight Squad who often perform during halftime at home games, dished out some practical tips.
They coached the kids in all essential areas of the game like shooting, passing, dribbling, rebounding, endurance and playing defense. The coaches set up stations through the camp’s basketball courts to bring focus to each aspect of the game.
One less practical demonstration was former Harlem Globetrotter Corey Rich’s dribbling showcase. He used his feet, he used his head, he juggled, adding a ball every time he stopped. The finale of his demonstration implemented six basketballs.
The last event was a five-on-five halfcourt game between the camp counselors and the Hoops Tour coaches. It was, however, more of a grudge match — Diamond Ridge won the game during last year’s Summer Hoops Tour. They were the only camp to win throughout the whole tour.
“I believe that we will win,” the campers chanted over and over through the game.
“Well, I believe that we will win this year,” Free answered in support of his team.
Free was right. The Sixers staff won the short, heated game 5–3.
“This is something that the kids definitely look forward to,” Diamond Ridge Camp Director Steven Bernstein said. “They really enjoy it because it’s entertaining, but they also learn something. To keep kids’ attention for almost two hours isn’t easy, but the Sixers do a really good job of that.”
This year is the seventh time the Summer Hoops Tour came to Diamond Ridge Camps since it opened in 2006. The camp is eight weeks long for children and teens ages 4 to 15 from Bucks and Montgomery counties, so it was important for the Sixers organization to teach them about a little more than basketball.
“You can place the tall kid against the short kid and they’re both going to have the same opportunities here,” Free said. “Don’t let anything distract you. Go for it. That’s what we try to tell them.”
Free has been a community ambassador for the 76ers for several years. He does these clinics and other events to teach kids about the basics of basketball and life. He has been the leader of the the Summer Hoops Tour for all seven years it came to Diamond Ridge.
“We’ve been doing this so long now that I had an afro when it started,” Free said, rubbing a hand over his shaved head. “We offer sports first, but that’s just a vehicle for where we want to go — toward education, away from drugs. We want to give these kids the positives.”
