Carlos Boozer Sr. watched his son, Carlos Jr., blossom from a raw but talented player into one of the best basketball players to hail from Alaska.
As a leading member of the two-time state champion Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears, Boozer gained lots of attention. But Boozer, now a freshman forward at Duke, gained the attention of college scouts while playing in the Lower 48.
Boozer Sr. thinks the same opportunity given his son - a shot at playing college basketball - can happen with other players from Alaska, they just need exposure. That's why he and wife Renee Boozer teamed up with Darren Matsubara of the Fresno-based Elite Basketball Organization to bring two camps back to Juneau for the second straight year.
One - the Super Showcase Basketball Camp - focuses on teaching and evaluating high-school aged boys and girls for play in college. The other - the School of Basketball Camp - teaches fundamentals for boys and girls grades 4-8. The Super Showcase Camp runs from Oct. 16-19 at the high school; the School of Basketball Camp is Oct. 26-29 at Dzantik'i Heeni Middle School.
The goals of the Super Showcase are the same as last year's - to give high school players an idea of what's required at the college level. To help, Clark Francis of Hoop Scoop, a Louisville, Ky.-based college recruiting service, will attend to give unbiased evaluations of each player.
"Francis is very well-known and respected, it's an honor to have him here," Matsubara said. "It's also kind of scary. Honesty sometimes hurts. But it's the only way to improve."
"It's to give them college-level skills," Boozer Sr. said of the camps's goals. "To give (recruiters) the opportunity to see what Alaska has. To just get more exposure for Alaska basketball."
To that end, 12 players will be selected to form a travel team to hit camps and tournaments this summer. The itinerary is still in the works, but Matsubara said a camp at Duke University is planned, along with tournaments such as the Memorial Tournament in Fresno, formerly the adidas Hoop Summit.
Both Carlos Sr. and Renee Boozer said part of their motivation in putting on the camp is to give back to the community for its support of their son.
"We couldn't have gone as far as we did if it wasn't for the people of Alaska," Boozer said. "They helped us through the hard times."
They also just want to put Alaska hoops on the map. Renee recalled a camp Carlos attended in eighth grade with very few Alaska players.
"No one was there except Chuck White and East (Anchorage) players. I got really offended that Alaska wasn't more represented. All the kids came from California or Washington."
Juneau head boys coach George Houston, along with head girls coach Jim Hamey, will help out at the camp along with their staffs.
Houston said he expects players from Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg to attend, as well as his own players.
"I'm hopeful to get as many kids from around Southeast," Houston said. "I think it'll be a good experience playing against other good players this early in the season to see where they're at."
Boozer said he's sent invitations all over the state in hopes of making the travel squad truly representative of Alaska's talent.
"All of Southeast is invited," Boozer said. "From Anchorage to Fairbanks to Sitka, all the way to Nome. We want to get the best players we can put together."
