The Jordan Brand has been the most recognizable basketball brand since it was founded in 1984. The company’s first major move came when Nike signed Michael Jordan to endorse their Air Jordans. With that endorsement, the brand became a household name and continues to be one of the most popular brands globally today.
The patrick ewing magic is a basketball camp that was created by Patrick Ewing. It has had many NBA legends attend the camp, including Michael Jordan and other greats.
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Basketball is one of the most popular spectator sports in the United States. The NBA’s biggest players began their careers in college, particularly with the introduction of athletic scholarships. While today’s procedure is very rigorous, it wasn’t always so. Basketball camps were only being started in the 1960s and 1970s as a way for college coaches and sports directors to attract high school prodigies. And one summer basketball camp rose to the top of the heap, earning the title of Five Star.
We got a look into the camp’s inner workings thanks to a recent article by The Athletic. Some of the greatest high school basketball players in the nation have come out of Five Star Basketball Camp. These camps have seen the likes of Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin participate. During that time, top high school prospects from throughout the country would go to Pennsylvania to demonstrate their abilities. But they had no idea that as a thin 17-year-old, they would be hosting one of the best players to ever play this game.
The camp was not a five-star resort. Players would have to pay for their stay by bussing tables, and accommodations would frequently be bare-bones. But it was all worth it to them in order to impress some scouts and coaches and get an opportunity to play college ball. According to Patrick Ewing, the guys who did the grunt labor were often the greatest players at these camps.
“Grief? Who was going to cause us any problems? …We were the greatest players because we were the waiters.’ (With thanks to The Athletic)
A teenage Michael Jordan was invited to a camp at North Carolina State University in the summer of 1980. Jordan drew the attention of Roy Williams, then Dean Smith’s assistant coach, during the camp. While some had their concerns, Williams was adamant in his support for Jordan. During the camp, Williams was blown away by Jordan’s talent, telling another assistant coach that Jordan is the best player his size. Jordan started to turn heads at the camp after making the remark, which was met with skepticism at first.
The next step was for Roy to seize a chance for MJ. Williams persuaded Tom Konchalski, a well-known recruitment analyst with connections to Five Star, to take a risk on MJ and bring him to Five Star. Future NBA head coach Brendan Malone requested Konchalski to choose his draft selection while he was out on personal business during the camp.
When Malone returned, though, he was surprised to see that Konchalski had been swept away by Michael Jordan after seeing him play. He ultimately chose Michael Jordan, much to the dismay of Malone, who exclaimed, “Who the f—- is Michael Jordan?” Jordan took the whole camp by storm, and his anger soon turned to exhilaration. While there isn’t a detailed description of what Michael Jordan did to wow everyone there, Roy Williams did mention that he won all of the awards that were given out during his week there.
Since then, collegiate recruitment has altered dramatically. Because of the increased funding in large school sports programs, scouts are now able to travel throughout the nation on behalf of colleges, bringing them some of the finest chances in the world. And, although this method has produced some of the greatest players in the world, it is difficult to claim that it is ineffective. The NBA’s best era was highlighted by the caliber of players that came out of the Five Star basketball camp.
Ewing went on to become one of the NBA’s best players. After a great career at Georgetown, he was selected first overall by the New York Knicks in 1985. Despite his outstanding performance in the NBA, Ewing was unable to win a title. His only blunder was playing at a period when Michael Jordan dominated the NBA.
Jordan’s performance in the camp was impressive, but it wasn’t the vehicle for his success. His performance at a North Carolina basketball camp earlier this summer earned him a scholarship to the institution. Jordan was a key part of North Carolina State’s success, even guiding them to a historic national title. His collegiate performances drew a lot of attention from across the country. Jordan ultimately entered the NBA Draft in 1984 and was selected third overall. As they say, the rest is history.
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