Hoops Camp Invests In Future Players

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In Hawaii girls high school basketball, champions may be crowned in February, but the months of June and July rate equally high in Mililani head coach Patrick Basilio’s mind.

“Last season, it was real evident how valuable the summer was for us,” said Basilio. “I don’t think many people outside of our team expected us to go 10-2 (in the OIA Red West Conference). We’d lost a lot of firepower (to graduation), but the work we put in really showed.”

While he will demand another strong effort from his varsity girls in the upcoming months, there’s another group of hopefuls he’s actively courting in the community as his popular summer basketball clinics return - beginners.

While many camps don’t start kids in basketball until grades 4 or 5, Mililani accepts children of all ages for its camp, which begins June 2. It runs from 4 to 5:30 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday through July 26. The camp, which began four years ago, officially caters to girls up to 12th grade. Boys can participate up to sixth grade.

“A big goal is to generate interest among the little ones,” Basilio said. “A lot of them can’t reach the basket. For them, we put a target up on the bleachers, and they shoot at that. We’re looking at getting a basket we can hang off of the one (of regulation height) already there. We do a lot of stuff with the little ones - practice on dribbling, footwork and hand-eye coordination.”

Mastery of the fundamentals is priority for all campers, he added.

“Fundamentals are the building block. I don’t think kids always realize how important they are until they get into their (winter) season and those skills become second nature. We can work out the kinks from there (if fundamentals are in place).

“The biggest benefit at the camp is the repetition in fundamentals, if you want to get better.”

Mililani’s weekly basketball camps allow the staff familiarity with up-and-coming talent in the community, and prospective players get acquainted with the coaches’ ways.

“It gives us a handle on the sixth-graders and up - the kids who feed into Mililani High. We keep in close contact with (teacher and coach)

Chris Justin of Mililani Middle School. A lot of the kids who look like they could have an impact, he pushes them to come out early to the clinics.

“For the older ones, it’s more fundamentals - dribbling, passing, getting their shot down.”

In addition to a large coaching staff, members of Mililani’s girls varsity team also help with the younger kids. Mililani accepts a $45 donation to the athletic department as admission for the camps. For more information, call 372-5184.