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1B June 15, 2011
MP Baseball Camp Info 2B
Terry Johnson 2B
King LeBron’s
rank abdication
If I had one word to describe the 2010-11 NBA Finals, it
wouldn't be spectacular, though it often was; it wouldn't be
satisfying, though it may have been.
No, the adjective I would choose is
stupefying.
If I was requested to use the word
in a contextual sentence like the
kids do on the National Spelling
Bee, it would undoubtedly go some
thing like this: LeBron James's
pathetic NBA Finals effort was the
most stupefying thing I have
ever seen in my 20 or so years
of watching sports.
About a year ago, I took
LeBron James to task in this
same column for being an ego
tistical traitor for leaving the fans in Cleveland who loved
him to "take his talents to South Beach." As I wrote then, I
took James's exit hard because at the time I thought the
self-described "Chosen One" understood the impact he
made on the local community, as well as the immense chal
lenge of winning an NBA title in his hometown. I was
clearly wrong.
Less than a year later, I have no idea who James is, what
he stands for, what he was "chosen" for, or what he is the
"king" of. I'm not even sure what kind of "talents" he took
to South Beach because he evidently forgot to lug them
over from his mansion to American Airlines Arena for
Game 6 Sunday night.
There was a time, say January 2010, when I watched
James, in amazement, rap the lyrics to the well-known
Drake and Eminem collaboration, "Forever" in the waning
moments of perhaps his Cleveland team's biggest regular-
season game against the defending champion Lakers. If
you're a basketball fan, and you've never seen the clip, I
suggest you look it up on YouTube. It's truly mindboggling.
James had so much bravado, or confidence, or whatever it
was, to continue rapping as the referee hands him the ball
to inbound with less than 30 seconds left in a two-point
game.
I'm not even much of a rap fan, but at that moment, I
thought James had reached iconic global star status. But
more importantly, as a basketball fan, I thought James had
the highest ceiling of any player that has ever picked up a
basketball, in large part, due to his extreme confidence.
"Last name ever, first name greatest" is how Drake's
lyrics go. And it seemed both LeBron and I believed things
were headed that way.
Three months later, James, seemingly the most confident
athlete alive not named Tiger, curled up in a corner as he
watched his Cleveland Cavaliers get thumped by the rival
Boston Celtics. Every basketball observer knows the rest of
the story. James made a strange "Decision" to join up with
another superstar Dwyane Wade, and his new team, the
Miami Heat, became perhaps the most-hated team in pro
basketball history.
But James was slowly growing into his role as co-super
star and by the 2011 playoffs, one could argue he was play
ing as well as anyone in the league. In the Eastern
Conference Finals against the Chicago Bulls, James took
on the difficult challenge of guarding the reigning MVP,
Bulls point guard Derrick Rose. James stopped Rose in his
tracks defensively while also continuing to score at the
other end in a 4-1 Heat series beatdown of the Bulls. NBA
legend Michael Jordan's former teammate Scottie Pippen
even went so far to say that James might be better than
Jordan.
I don't think at that point that many people agreed with
Pippen, but it certainly gave James credibility. Surely,
James would soon own his first championship ring, and he
would at least reenter the discussion of greatest of all time.
Which takes me back to that word: stupefying.
How is it that someone with so much confidence, someone
who either completely lacks self-awareness or has so large
an ego, appear so completely terrified against the
Mavericks in last week's Finals?
Anyone who is reading this column now has surely seen
the footage, so I won't rehash the series, but James aver
aged a preposterous three points a game during the fourth
quarter of Finals' games. He also scored less than 20 points
in three consecutive games during the finals, something he
hadn't done since he was a 19-year-old rookie in 2004. In
one particularly grisly performance, he scored a whopping
eight points in Game 4, which was really the game that
cost the Heat the championship. Had James been one
shade above embarrassing in that game, the Heat would
have taken a virtually insurmountable three games-to-one
lead in the series.
Even worse than the stats was James's habit of running
away from the ball, his failure to attack off the dribble or
even to probe the defense, and worst of all, his seeming
lack of interest in the whole proceedings.
The whole thing was, yep, there's that word again, stupe
fying.
In one year, or even two weeks if you watched the Bulls
series, James went from the best basketball player alive to
someone who looked like the best hot potato or four-square
player alive in his ability to redirect the ball.
All the while, James showed up at press conferences and
said he felt fine.
Sunday night, after a season-ending home loss that would
have gutted most stars (especially stars that don't already
own a championship ring), James instead in effect suggest
ed that he's not worried about his critics because his life is
still better than theirs.
Is that what LeBron James is all about: a comfortable
lifestyle?
That's fine with me. But I didn't lay the ground rules for
James's success. He did, when he began referring to him
self as "King James," when he was still just a teenager.
And a king by definition must rule over his subjects.
It's good he didn't call himself "Emperor James" because
well Hans Christian Andersen can tell you the rest.
MP golf stars sign letters of intent
Recent graduates Camp, Johns to play together tor Gordon College
MP golfers Lauren Camp and Paige Johns (left) each signed letters of intent Friday to play golf at Gordon College for
head coach Todd Davis. The two MP golf stars will room together in the athletic dorm during their careers. MP head
coach Ronnie Shipman said of the signings: “I am so proud of these two girls as their hard work paid off. I cannot wait to
watch these girls play next season at the college ranks. These two girls are my first college signees since I took over the
program.” Camp, who finished in eighth overall in Class AAA, was recently named to the All-Middle Georgia first team by
The Telegraph. Anchored by its two senior stars, the MP team also finished eighth overall in the state in 2010-11. MP
boys golfers Matt Epps and Tom Dent made honorable mention on the Alll-Region team. (Special to the Reporter)
Local children
have fun at city
hoops camp
The City of Forsyth held
its 2011 youth summer
basketball camp last
week at the Monroe
County Recreation
Department.
Former MP head boys
basketball coach Prelvis
Paster and former MP
and University of
Tennessee girls basket
ball standout LaToya
Davis served as coaches
for the five-day camp,
which featured second
through fifth graders..
Davis said, "The pur
pose of this camp is to
focus on what they need
to as student athletes."
Free sack lunches were
provided for the campers.
Campers said the coach
es teach them dribbling
skills, the correct way to
shoot, defensive moves
Camp counselor LaToya Davis and particpants Galen Mumford, Cameron
Holden, Kendarius Berry, Dee Morton and Keri Brown enjoy a pickup
game at the conclusion of camp. (Photo/Laura Corley)
and foot
work.
"We are
teaching
them the
fundamen
tals of the
game,"
Davis said.
Once the
kids have
gotten bet
ter at the
individual
skills, the
coaches let
them play
three-on-
three
games.
Davis,
who graduated with a
psychology degree from
Tennessee after playing
for legendary Vols head
coach Pat Summitt, said
of the campers: "I'm just
like a big sister to them
really. We just keep them
busy."
Another city basketball
camp for second through
fifth graders will be held
from July 11-15 at the
Rec Department. Times
for the camp will be
either 10 a.m. to noon or
3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
summer camp schedule
Forsyth
Here’s a list of the sum
mer camps coming up:
Cheerleader Camp
(Monroe County Youth
Center)
• June 20-23 (Noon to 2
p.m.) Grades 2-5
Music Camp (Forsyth
Methodist Church)
• June 27-July 1 (9 a.m.
to 11:30 a.m.) Grades K-5
Dance/Baton Camp
(Monroe County Youth
Center)
• July 11-14 (4 p.m. to 5
p.m.) Grades K-5
Arts and Crafts Camp
(Monroe County Youth
Center)
• July 18-21 (10 a.m. to
Noon) Ages 5-12
Golf Camp (Monroe
County Recreation
Department)
• July 18-22 (10 a.m. to
11:30 a.m.) Ages 4-14
Hip Hop Dance Camp
(Monroe County Youth
Center)
• July 25-29 (3 p.m. to
4:30 p.m.) Ages 6-up
Mercer football camp is next week
While the official first game of
intercollegiate football since the
announcement of the sport’s rein
statement at Mercer University is
still more than two years away, the
Macon campus will get its first
taste of the gridiron within the
next few weeks.
That’s because MU head coach
Bobby Lamb will welcome more
than 300 high school age players to
his annual football camp on the
Macon campus from June 19-22,
along with his one-day Elite Senior
Camp on July 23.
Lamb’s camp has become nation
ally-recognized over the years and
has annually brought in big num
bers. This will be the first year the
camp has been held in Macon.
The week-long camp specializes
in quarterbacks and receivers, as
well as offensive line play, and is
geared for grades 8-12. The typical
daily schedule will feature three-a-
day on-field sessions, as well as
evening video/lecture sessions.
Campers will utilize Mercer’s dor
mitories and dining hall, as well as
athletics facilities.
The Elite day camp is for “rising
seniors” on the high school level.
“It is exciting to be able to bring
my camp to Macon and start to
spread that ‘football feel’ to the
campus,” said Lamb. “My camp is
built on individual instruction with
maximum repetitions. The camp
will also allow all of these young
men — as well as their families — to
experience the Mercer campus and
Macon community, as well.
Some spots still remain for the
camp. To receive information,
please visit the camp web site
atbobbylambfootballcamp.com, or
call (864) 430-2030 with questions.