July 20, 2001

Matt Brann
GoldandBlack.com

Amazingly, however, six players in attendance were from the same high school. Narbonne, located in Harbor City, Calif., proved why it was named the high school national champions by USA Today the past two seasons with the six representatives. Additionally, Narbonne's coach, James Anderson, was a coach at the camp.

"It makes a great statement for us to have six kids of the top 80 at the NIKE Camp," Anderson told Gold & Black Illustrated. "It says a lot about our program. We've won the last two national championships and been ranked in the top 10 the last six years. NIKE has been a great camp, and to have six players here makes a statement that our program is one of the top in the country."

Anderson actually had two of his high school players on his NIKE squad. Both Jamie Funn and Willnett Crockett benefitted by playing for a familiar head coach.

"It's kind of cool that I've got all my teammates from high school and my coach is also my coach here," said Crockett, a 6-foot-3 senior center being recruited heavily by Purdue. "We're traveling in a group, and people have asked, 'Why are they all together?' But we're meeting new people as well."

"It's good because it gives me a chance to work on some things with Jamie and Willnett," Anderson said. "It also gives them a chance to work with other players. It's like a microcosm of college almost because of the different players here. I was actually shocked I had two of my players on my team here, but I'm glad I did because they work hard."

Joining Crockett and Funn, a 6-2 junior, from Narbonne were 5-4 sophomore Camille Lenoir, 6-2 junior Indi Johnson, 5-10 senior Lisa Willis and 5-11 senior Amber Pruitt.

Anderson said the biggest benefit of having six players at the camp is that they have close friends who are supportive when things aren't going someone's way on the court.

"It makes a big difference. If you have a kid get down on themself and feel they're not playing well, her teammates can pick her up just like if it was back at home," Anderson said. "You have others who know what you're going through. You definitely have a support system here."

UNDERCLASSMAN STEALS THE SHOW

Arguably the best player at the camp also happened to be one of the youngest. Candace Parker, a 6-foot-3 sophomore from Naperville, Ill., was by far one of the most athletically gifted and talented players on the court. She displayed the ability to play all five positions equally as well at the camp, has tremendous athleticism and is extremely fluid at penetrating to the hoop.

Parker was a freshman All-American and a first-team all-state selection after averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds a game as a high school rookie. Parker, who scored the winning hoop in a sudden death overtime game Tuesday afternoon, was excited to be one of the young players invited to NIKE Camp.

"It's a great experience meeting all the people I'll hopefully be going against in college," said Parker, who should expect to be recruited by nearly all of the nation's top colleges, including Purdue. "I'll be able to see them as they grow and as I grow as a player. It's great that I'll see some of these people for the rest of my basketball career.

"I know my strengths and weaknesses and this camp has helped me identify those. My strengths are I can get to the basket well and can create. When teams put a big man on me I can come outside on the wing, and when they put a smaller man on me I can go inside on the post. I think I left my jump shot back in Illinois, but hopefully I can find it soon."

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

- The Hoosier state was well represented at the camp, with seven players from Indiana participating. The campers from Indiana were Amber Johnson (Ben Davis), Ashley Mays (Warren Central), Reicina Russell (Terre Haute South), Missy Taylor (Connersville), Sharika Webb (Cathedral), Jessica Wright (Cathedral) and Shanna Zolman (Wawasee).

- While Purdue head coach Kristy Curry and assistant Kerry Cremeans were in attendance, there was also a variety of high school and AAU coaches on hand with connections to Purdue recruits.

The family of Mays, a Purdue commitment, was on hand along with her former prep and current AAU coach, Kevin Merriweather. Dawn McNew, the coach of Gearlds at Beech Grove, was also on hand, as was William Stovall, who coaches Barbara Turner at East Tech in Cleveland. In addition, former Boilermaker Mo-nique Langston was on hand Tuesday afternoon.

- Two high-profile players missed some or all of the NIKE Camp due to injuries. Gillian Goring, a 6-7 center whose interest in Purdue is waning, played only the first day before sustaining a foot injury.

Fellow senior Caitlin Howe, a 5-10 shooting guard, missed the entire camp after coming off knee surgery. Howe, being courted heavily by Connecticutt, took the opportunity to showcase her outstanding shooting ability by working out individually on a side court while UConn's coaches and reporters looked on.

- Due in part to the Adidas Camp running simultaneously in Pittsburgh, NIKE officials have been forced to dip into the underclassmen ranks to fill its pool with talent.

This year, 11 of the 80 players were sophomores. Only three sophomores attended the camp in 1999, and six sophomores were invited in 2000 (plus one freshman).

The underclassmen, however, proved to be just as talented if not more so than their elders. Among the sophomores impressing Gold & Black Illustrated were: Lenoir; Parker; 5-7 Sharnee Zoll of Morganville, N.J.; 5-10 Alexis Hornbuckle of Dunbar, W.Va.; 6-1 Laura Kurz of Lower Gwynedd, Pa.; 6-2 Natasha Humphrey of Buford, Ga.; and 5-10 Candice Wiggins of Poway, Calif.

Some of the top juniors included: Gearlds; Russell; 5-10 Meg Bulger of Pittsburgh, Pa.; 5-11 Noelle Quinn of Los Angeles; 6-2 Erin Lawless of Berwyn, Ill.; and 6-3 Brittany Hunter of Columbus, Ohio. GBI will have more on Hunter in the future.