NBA Stars Highlight Hoops Camp

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

When he exited the Palisades High gym Sunday afternoon, Matt Barnes couldn’t help but smile.

The veteran NBA forward has experienced many thrills on the court, but nothing compares to watching kids shoot for prizes at his annual youth basketball camp.

“This was my ninth year doing this and it never gets tired,” Barnes said. “Seeing the laughter and the growth from the first day to the last. A lot of them come every year so I saw familiar faces.”

More than 150 boys and girls ages 6-15 participated in the three-day camp and not one walked away empty handed. Not only did they take home backpacks and certificates for free kids’ meals at Gladstone’s, they also got to meet All-Stars like Chris Paul of the LA Clippers and Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers.

“I know Chris from when I was with the Clippers and I’ve been a mentor to Damian,” Barnes said. “It’s awesome to have two of the top three points guards in the league come talk to the kids.”   

Barnes currently plays for the Sacramento Kings, so he was ecstatic when the Kings defeated the Lakers to win the NBA Division (grades 7-9) on Sunday.

“That’s huge!” he exclaimed. “I hope we can do the same in the NBA next season!”

After a stellar college career at UCLA, where he became the 43rd player in Bruins history to top 1,000 points, Barnes turned pro in 2002 with the Fayetteville Patriots of the D-League.

He played for the Long Beach Jam of the ABA in 2003-04 and played in Sacramento, New York, Philadelphia, Golden State, Phoenix and Orlando before joining the LA Lakers in 2010, where he spent two years. He played three years for the Clippers before being traded to Memphis last season.

Assisting Barnes at the camp were Steiv Boyd (who played at Dominican College), current Brentwood School boys coach Ryan “Moose” Bailey, Pali High head coach Donzell Hayes and Kris Johnson, who is leaning towards returning to Palisades after serving as the Dolphins’ associate coach last winter.

“I hosted Matt on his visit to UCLA and he was a groomsman at my wedding so yeah we go way back,” said Bailey, who played three seasons for the Bruins. “The things we try to emphasize here are character and work ethic.”

Another UCLA alum, Jamaal Wilkes (who went on to win three NBA titles with the 1980s “Showtime” Lakers) came to camp Saturday along with Paul, who talked about being relegated to JV his first two years in high school.

“If I had quit I wouldn’t be here today,” said Paul, nicknamed CP3. “I eventually became a McDonald’s All-American.”

Lillard showed up Sunday and told his attentive audience he wasn’t recruited, played for a low-level AAU team and was “under the radar” in high school.

“I had to prove myself then,” he said. “To this day, I always play like I have something to prove.”

Imani Alegra won the Coach’s Award in the NBA, Austin Ito won the Hot Shot Award, Jeffrey Johnson won the free throw contest and Sione Lose was MVP.

In the ACC (grades 1-3), Miami won the title, Bishop Thompkins won the Coach’s Award and  Barnes’ 7-year-old twins Carter and Isaiah won the Hot Shot and MVP, respectively, and cousin Bodie was the free throw champ.

In the Pac-12 (grades 4-6), Mac Bailey won the Hot Shot, Gaby Watters won the Coach’s Award and Alejandro Golub was the free throw champ and MVP.

“I liked playing with my teammates,” said Golub,  who graduated from Marquez Elementary and plays guard in the Palisades Recreation Center league.