LIVINGSTON, Ala. — Charles Oakley’s mother is from Alabama, so a trip to the Heart of Dixie is a chance to catch up with relatives for the former University of Alabama and NBA standout.

“I come down four to five times a year,” Oakley said. “I was born in Cleveland, but my mom is from Alabama, so it’s basically like coming down to another family.”

But Oakley did much more than mingle with family Wednesday and Thursday, as he served as an instruction at the 15th annual Marcus Campbell Future Star Basketball Camp at Sumter Central High School.

“This is a chance for kids to get away from their parents in the summer time, because some kids don’t get a chance to go anywhere but school and home,” Oakley explained. “They can come here and meet new kids before they have to go back to school and maybe exchange numbers and become close to them. You never know who you might meet. It’s also good to enforce to kids that you have to start now (developing your basketball game), not later, because later might be too late.”

Campers at the two-day camp got a mixture of basketball instruction, team play and motivational training sessions. Christopher Spencer, co-coordinator for the camp with Campbell, said the goal is to send kids away with much more than basketball instructions.

“It’s really a life skills and character education opportunity for our kids,” Spencer said. “We had sponsors from Waste Management come in, as well as coaches from Pell City teaching kids about basketball, and local ministers and other non-profits took their time to let our children know they matter down here in the Black Belt.”

Campbell said he hopes the campers are able to take the information they gain at camp and apply it toward basketball and life at home. From what he’s seen, the children are eager to learn.

“They have taken to the coaching very well,” said Campbell, a former University of Alabama standout. “Of course, we have to do some discipline things like threaten to have them get down and do pushups, or make them run, but for the most part, they’ve paid attention. They were told up front what was expected, and they have paid attention to what they need to do.”

Campbell’s daughter, Macy Campbell, participated in the camp and said her dad and the other instructors were teaching them plenty of valuable things.

“We’re learning drills, how to do jump shots, play defense and dribbling,” Macy Campbell said. “You get a lot of different things here about basketball.”

The camp has gotten so big in recent years that Marcus Campbell had to split the participants between two campuses: Sumter Central and Livingston Junior High School. It forces Marcus Campbell to travel between the schools a lot, but it’s something he doesn’t mind, since it means more children are able to participate.

“It’s just rewarding to drive from one location to the next one, and I’m hoping we’ll have a third one soon,” Campbell said. “When you have the love of kids in your heart, you want that to happen. We want it to keep growing, because touching lives is what it’s all about.”

The camp relies on sponsors to fund it so participants won’t be charged, which Spencer said provides Sumter County and surrounding communities a chance for children to learn for free what they might otherwise be charged for.

“Most kids go to large colleges to learn fundamentals and that sort of thing, but you have to pay $350 to $400,” Spencer said. “Most kids in the Black Belt can’t afford that, so Marcus gives out scholarships, and our sponsors kick in and help.”