Diego California. This camp is consisted of 50 of the top college basketball players in the nation. As I am still in shock about the news I quickly called my parents and reveal the good news. My parents were extremely proud and even left work early just so they can drop me off at the airport. I didn't even know what to pack, I just put two pairs of basketball sneakers, slippers, and a bunch of shorts, tank tops, boxer briefs, and shirts. I have never been on a plane alone so made my mom help me check in and make sure I was going to the right place. I first landed in Arizona then took off to California. Traveling alone actually isn't bad after all, I was more aware of what was going on around me and conversed with a few people who asked where I was going. Due to flight delays I didn't get into Cali until 11pm and I was the last player to arrive. As I walked to my luggage I see a man in a tux holding a sign up with my name on it. I walked up to him and said "hey that's me" he responded "great lets get your things and let's go". as he is carrying my luggage to the car I am thinking to myself "man I feel like a king". He even opened the car door for me as if I was some celebrity. When I got to the hotel I checked in and to the left of me was the adidas nations check in. They knew exactly who I was and handed me a HUGE adidas duffle bad with gear in it. When I got to my room I knocked on the door because I had too many bags to reach my key. As the door opened I automatically recognized who it was. It was Isaiah whitehead who I played against multiple times in high school because he is from Brooklyn New York who now has declared for the 2016 NBA draft. I didn't know him to well which is why it was awkward at first. As a few hours go by we started to make conversation and he is great person who I am still friends with today. The next day we get woken up at 7 am for breakfast the head to the gym to play games. I'm putting uniform and shoes on then I take a second to look around and see who is here. First of all, there are hundreds of NBA scouts present and secondly, I was literally surrounded by elite players who are in the NBA now or sure will be. I felt so blessed to be in the same gym as them for the same reason they are, because we are considered college basketball's top players and I never thought I would be in such position. My coach for the camp is the assistant for the Los angeles clippers and once I figured out he was I immediately knew I had to bring my A game. As the game is about to begin I noticed that Buddy Hield is on my team who won national player of the year this year. I notice he is very humble and he respects me just as much as I respect him. I was put in the starting lineup and as the game is about to tip off I was so nervous. My match up was Brice Johnson who is the best power forward in the country and I accepted the challenge. He was bigger and taller but in my eyes he wasn't better than me he just had more publicity. I had a really great game, I finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. I realized that I am one of the better players and I belong on the same court as any elite player and that's what got me through that game. I did things that I didn't know I was capable of doing. All of the coaches saw major potential in me and gave me great advice. This camp was a great experience for me and I hope to go back this august when I am fully recovered from my knee injury.
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