Livingston to host annual Marcus Campbell basketball camp

Published 11:00 pm Monday, June 26, 2017

For the 17th year in a row, Livingston, Ala., will host the annual Marcus Campbell Future Star basketball camp.

The camp, which will instruct girls and boys at both Sumter Central High School and Livingston Junior High School, will begin registering children between grades five and 12 from 8-9 a.m. Tuesday at Sumter Central. Once campers are registered, they will be divided into age groups, with one remaining at Sumter Central and the other going to Livingston Junior High. The camp will take place Tuesday and Wednesday.

Thanks to several generous sponsors, the camp is free of charge and will include food and drinks, as well as goodie bags and bottles.

“It’s rewarding,” Campbell, a former University of Alabama men’s basketball player, said of hosting the camp for it’s 17th year. “It’s a great feeling being able to do this. It’s been special ever since the first one. Each and every year it gets more exciting, and I’m so grateful to God for allowing it to grow as long as it’s been going.”

Campers will do stretching drills each day before breaking up into different activity stations to work on basketball skills like dribbling, passing, shooting, free throws and rebounding. Campbell will be assisted by former NBA All-Star Charles Oakley, former Alabama men’s basketball player Erwin Dudley and others. The camp will also feature guest speakers from various professions to expose children to potential career opportunities outside of basketball. 

“It’s not just about basketball, it’s a life skills camp,” Campbell explained. “We’ll have speakers and people from all walks of life and professions.”

Campbell said the camp will be a bittersweet one, as his former camp administrator, Jacki Moss Jackson, died in the last year.

“She was the heart and soul of the camp,” Campbell said. “It’s kind of tough, but we’ll do everything we can to make sure this is the best one ever, in memory of her. As long as the camp goes on, we’ll always remember her. She’s gone, but not forgotten.”

The camp will also feature 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 competitions, and an award ceremony will take place at the end of the camp on Wednesday.