PSoTD

Oh, Sacramento Kings, first Reggie Theus, and now picking a nonathletic center with the first round pick... a little deja vu is okay, but this is a bit much...

I liked Julian Wright with this pick. I guess we'll see...

Thank you.

Our daughter just completed the week of Kanaskie Girls Basketball Camp, held at Cumberland Valley High School. She loved it - and from what I can tell from the other parents, so did the rest of the girls. Great week, I just wish they held another one at the end of summer - I'm sure our daughter would want to do that also.

So, in honor of the past week, here's a bit of "basketball camp bloggin..."

In Pursuit of Strange

I’ve been traveling a lot lately and spent some time at a youth basketball camp at a big-time university. This particular school has a major college basketball program and the players are very active in the camp.

It was inspiring to see these athletes giving something back, working so attentively and patiently with the kids and teaching them the game.

Bob & Sandra's Place

Today is Katie's last day of basketball camp. She's been coming home every day from it exhausted, but she's ready to go back each morning. I think she has enjoyed it. Sandra left work early today to go up to the school and watch Katie play.

Taylor Coppenrath

Summer is officially here and what better way to celebrate and combat summertime boredom than with a treasure hunt? Beginning June 28th Professional Basketball player, Taylor Coppenrath will be located at area attractions and offering clues to his whereabouts on his blog (taylorcoppenrath.blogspot.com). When you’ve figured out his location you can meet him there for an evening of fun! Kids (and adults) across the state can participate in four separate treasure hunts with one huge prize- - free admission to Taylor Coppenrath’s Summer Slam Basketball Camp. Not to mention four opportunities to hang out with Vermont’s favorite basketball player! Each child who successfully finds Taylor will be entered to win a free week at his basketball camp.

Glen Woods

I turned the lights out. I put the balls away. The echoes of cheering, squeaking shoes and bouncing balls resonated in my memory. Alone I stood, gazing across the darkened, empty gymnasium. The boys and girls had gone home, but the images of their hard work remained. I smiled. I remembered. I remember. I smile. Joyful sadness has a poignant flavor of hope, helping me to realize that soon I will see the children again. I also hope that those who were new to our church will have opportunity to take part in Power Club Kids.

Contentment in a week well spent is a satisfying conclusion to four evenings of intense coaching. The laughter, smiles, frustration and aches and pains give way to a certainty that life lessons found fertile soil in the imaginations of the participants. Friendships were forged by our brief time together. Latent talents were discovered. New opportunities are now being considered for the days to come.

Jeanette's Corner

Kaitlyn has been attending basketball camp this week. It runs Monday through Thursday in the afternoons. It’s for girls ages 9 to 15 years of age and let me tell you, she can keep up with the big girls. Funny enough, the camp is held at Corona del Sol, my alma mater. So strange it was to walk through the gym again. Back then it seemed so big and looking at it now it seems so small.

Yep, it's all good stuff.

I think one of the best things about choosing Reggie Theus as coach of the Sacramento Kings is that it gives the Kings a chance to build upon their history in the community. Reggie was the first fan favorite on the team, even though he wasn't in Sacramento long. He was stuck on some horrible teams - do you remember Joe Kleine, Brook Steppe, Othell Wilson, Joe Arlauckas? Reggie Theus probably does - he played with them in Sacramento.

It was pretty surprising to me how the Kings - and their losing ways - would fill up the old Arco Arena in the 1980s. We had season tickets, and the big appeal was that they were great seats to watch Jordan, Magic, Larry Bird, and all the other league's superstars. But after a while, we realized that we had a pretty snazzy scorer in town with Reggie.

And now he's back. I think it will be good for the Kings.

Oh my God, Sacramento, for the good of the franchise don't do it...

I am rooting for your team, sorta, or perhaps I'm really rooting against the favorite San Antonio Spurs, but you really lost some of my enthusiasm with that horrible pre-game player introduction production you foisted on viewers last night.

Now, I will admit, I usually don't watch player introductions, and on the occasions I have, I have noticed that they are getting more and more overproduced - who's idea was it to have players run through dry ice clouds at football player introductions, anyways - but that was really bad last night. It's not worth describing, but if you saw it, didn't you sense that the players were a little lost... and embarrassed... with the whole getup?

I see that The Great Elsewhere has some thoughts about it, also.

A Representative in the Pennsylvania House wants to get rid of metal bats from organized baseball in the state:

Many 21st-century baseball players see a new pitch to ban metal bats from their youth leagues as a threat to the game they know.

"I prefer metal bats," said Colton Kirkpatrick, 14, a Middlesex Twp. resident and baseball player as he took in a recent Cumberland Valley High School playoff game. "With metal it goes farther, just on contact. It's not as thrilling when you hit with wood."

Rep. Mike Carroll, a Democrat from Luzerne County who coaches in his son's Little League, plans to introduce a bill this week to ban nonwood bats from organized age-group and high school baseball in Pennsylvania.

There's a lot of churn on this around the country, but having such a law in Pennsylvania could have much wider implications nationally and internationally, because the Little League World Series is played here. Teams and players would not want to play and practice under one equipment rule just to have to change if they succeed.

Of course, the alternative if such a law would be passed, if Little Leagues around the world didn't want to quit using metal bats, would be to move the Little League World Series. Not a good thing for Pennsylvania.

So... this isn't likely to go anywhere.

Jeez. It looks to me like Billy Donovan made a mistake by signing his contract with the NBA's Orlando Magic, regretted it almost immediately, and then decided to go back to his former employer. Frankly, I think it's a better thing for Donovan and the sport for him to return to Florida to coach basketball - after all, he did sell students on coming to Florida because he was coaching there, and to leave before fulfilling that promise seemed less than fair.

And I don't think anyone should make any bones about it - Billy Donovan is a great basketball coach. Any NBA team should want him - as should any college team. Orlando was right to want him. But take a look at Orlando - they've had how many coaches in the past 10 years? Six.

But what about Ken Davis, the writer of this story? Hope he never leaves his job for another, and then realizes he made a mistake, because by his judgment, he shouldn't be allowed to return. Is he serious, that by doing this Donovan has hurt his NBA chances? Did Chuck Daly help his reputation by agreeing to coach Orlando in the 90s? I don't think so. There's no guarantee that spending a couple of years coaching the Orlando Magic wouldn't have hurt Donovan's chances more.