Next T-Mac, Kobe known?

SUWANEE, Georgia - The next Tracy McGrady or Kobe Bryant could be known in the next few days, as the adidas Superstar Camp gets underway in earnest at the Suwanee Sports Academy here.

Over two hundred of the best high school basketball players flew in Wednesday to take part in the annual training program that discovered NBA All-Stars Tracy McGrady of the Houston Rockets and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. This batch includes three players from China, one from Brazil, and one from France.

All of Wednesday, the players were given jerseys with their individual numbers on them (to make it easier for college scouts to identify them), and assessed by the more than two dozen coaches. The players were divided into large groups for drills, and smaller groups to scrimmage against each other on the seven full courts here.

"This is a great opportunity for these youngsters to receive some of the best training they could ever get," Sascha Janzen, head of indoor sports and athlete service for adidas’ global sports marketing group told The STAR. "We have made it possible for the players to know just how good they are against players of their generation."

Players range in size from 5’6" to 6’11" and will further be split up according to position. Beginning yesterday, they were assigned teams to further evaluate their play in game situations. In addition, they will be given classroom lectures about sports marketing, life after basketball, and how to survive being student-athletes should they be recruited by NCAA schools. Guest lecturers include former NBA All-Star and coach John Lucas, Big Man Camp trainor Pete Newell, and former NBA coach and ABC commentator George Karl.

"We have to caution these kids against coming out too early," Karl told The Star in an exclusive interview. "Sure, some of them have succeeded, like T-Mac, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. But it’s not all about the money. You may have four or five future NBA players here, but you’ll also have about 100 or so NCAA Division 1 players who’ll never make it to the pros. Through this camp, we make sure that they aren’t set up to fail."

On Saturday evening (Sunday morning, Manila time), the most outstanding players will play in the freshmen and seniors All-Star Games in front of dozens of college and pro coaches and scouts. The STAR will be covering the adidas Superstar Camp until its conclusion.