Let’s Get Ready Basketball Camp 2: Recap
The Let’s Get Ready 2 Basketball Camp tipped off last weekend. It featured players from grades 9-12 from all over the state including Saginaw, Flint, Midland, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Bay City, and Detroit. The camp was ran by its founder and one of the top up and coming trainers, Coach Dell Johnson.
The first day of the Let’s Get Ready Camp started with Coach Dell Johnson leading a strenuous warmup of stretching, sprints, 3 man waves, and 3-on2 and 2-on-1 fastbreak drills. The players were then split up into three groups for drill work. Every 15 minutes the buzzer would sound off and the groups would rotate. The the drill stations consisted of a focus on ball handling and dribble drives, defensive sliding, positioning, and defensive sets, and the third worked on shooting and ball movement. Each drill station was very intensive and all three coaches were sure to correct mistakes.
The Lets Get Ready Camp then moved on to a King Of The Hill contest which consists of campers playing each other one-on-one. In the end, the winner was Carmelo Harris, a freshman from Flint Beecher. The guard had a smooth game, allowing himself to slide into scoring positions and create shot opportunities. Harris was showing an array of moves and hitting tough shots from everywhere on the floor.
The contest was followed with live game play. There were two courts set up, one as a winner’s court, the other as a loser’s court. If you win, you stay on the winner’s court and if you lose, you go to the loser’s court. The action was intense with a high level of play. Deondre Bonaparte, Freddie McIntosh, Jaylon Hodges, and Jacob Tomsich were some of the top performers from day one. All four of these players were high energy athletes who were finding buckets. These four were also chosen to be captains for day two. Other standout players from day one included Chris Smith, Justus Drabik, Brady Titus, and Mar’kel Martin.
Day two of the Let’s Get Ready Basketball Camp started off with Deondre Bonaparte volunteering to run the warmups, showing his leadership skills. A highlight of the day was the three point contest, which was a battle. At least 5 campers made 18 out 25 threes in the semifinals. However in the end, Midland Dow’s Jacob Tomsich took home the title. As the winner for the second year in a row, the junior guard made 22 out of 25 threes. Josh Elliott, a freshman from Freeland High School, had 18 in the finals.
The second day of game play had the top four players from day one draft their respective teams. Day 2 was even more competitive as the intensity picked up. The sensational freshman Derrick Voltz, just coming off his first varsity football season, was slicing up the defense with extraordinary quickness and touch around the rim. Freddie McIntosh, a junior from Saginaw High School, was a beast all weekend. His strength and shooting ability allowed him to do whatever he wanted. Jacob Tomsich was bombing threes from everywhere and was showing off his improved ball handling. Carmelo Harris was doing work, and everyone should be on the lookout for the kid in the years to come. The same can be said for Brady Titus. The freshman from Grand Rapids and Tri Unity Christian was showing superior handles and basketball IQ, and didn’t commit a turnover all weekend. The kid is tough and is going to be special. Other players such Mar’kel Martin and Jovante Jones from Carrollton (freshman and sophmore) showed that they are up and coming prospects.
However at the end of the weekend, the show belonged to Deondre Bonaparte. The senior from Ecorse High School showed that he is one of the top players in the state. With his power, ball handling and big shot ability, he led his team both days with the most wins and hit a 40 foot buzzer beater. Bonaparte showed maturity and leadership ability that should make him a Division 2, or even Division 1, level prospect. He was named the Let’s Get Ready Basketball Camp Most Outstanding Player.
This camp was a huge success, as prizes were given out, friendships were made, and had memories that will last forever. Coach Dell did an outstanding job putting together this camp with help from his sponsors.