30th Jeff Rodgers camp closes with 'Family Fun Night'

Mon, Aug 14th 2017, 09:29 AM

The 30th edition of the Jeff Rodgers Summer Basketball Camp closed out with a bang on Saturday night at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium.
Basketball fans around the island got the chance to see some of the top players in the world go up against the camp's instructors during the annual Family Fun Night, which was highlighted by the Celebrity All-Star game.
Eric Gordon of the Houston Rockets and Shelvin Mack of the Orlando Magic led the celebrity squad, while the local team featured pros including Zane Knowles and Quentin Demeritte.
The teams traded leads throughout the game and ended up tied at the end of regulation. In the overtime session, Knowles scored four straight points to lead the local team to victory. It was the first time in over five years that the local team defeated the celebrity team.
Knowles scored 27 points in the win, while Demeritte chipped in with 12. Gordon had 24 in the loss and Mack added 15.
Following the game, Rodgers expressed how grateful he was for the support he's received from the local public over the past three decades.
"I am thankful for the 30 years that I have had the chance to work with over 11,000 kids since beginning the program many years ago," said Rodgers. "I want to thank the friends and families that chose to believe in this camp and our mission to implant good values and character in young kids. A lot of our instructors used to be campers at one point and they have all turned out to be productive young men and women.
"This year was extremely challenging for the fact that the Commonwealth Youth Games was being held in the gym at the time we normally use it. We had to push the dates back, and I even thought about cancelling the camp this year. However, I said to myself that I have to be consistent, so we did what we had to do to make things work, and I'm glad that I did."
Along with participating in the celebrity game, Gordon, Mack, and Bahamian legend Mychal "Sweet Bells" Thompson also visited the camp earlier this week to talk to the campers about the importance of building good habits.

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