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Welcome to Philly Point Guard Camp, a basketball camp that will turn campers into basketball players.  Our main focus will be on making your elementary school, middle school or junior high school-aged son or daughter a smarter basketball player on Friday than he or she was on Monday. We will teach your young athletes all about fundamentals, teamwork and sportmanship during each of our eight one-week sessions. We will be at eight different sites throughout the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area, making it convenient for everyone in the area to attend. We will be holding camp Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and we will be offering the best group of guest speakers in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Please check our speaker list for updates to see when one of your favorite basketball personalities will be appearing at our camp.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call the camp office at 215-806-7757 or email us at campinfo@phillypointguardcamp.com.

Hope to see you soon.

PHILLY POINT GUARD CAMP:

Home of the Winners

Congratulations to state champion Penn Wood and to RPI and Rory Perner

March Madness has its heroes and Philly Point Guard camp is no different. Our coaches, our players and our guest speakers enjoyed tremendous success over the past three weeks and we couldn't be prouder.

The heroics actually began on Feb. 28 when Rory Perner, who has been one of our coaches since Day 1, helped lead Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute into the NCAA Division III basketball tournament. Despite playing all of 20 minutes as a junior, Rory, at this time last year, had two goals: to be RPI's starting point guard and to help lead the Red Hawks into the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1996. He accomplished both and we at Philly Point Guard Camp couldn't be more proud. Though RPI lost in the first round of the tournament, it did so while playing extremely well against eventual national finalist Richard Stockton College.

On Saturday, March 21, Penn Wood High School fulfilled its mission. Led by our very own coach Clyde Jones, the Patriots disposed of York High 72-53 to win their very first PIAA Class AAAA boys championship. All summer long, the Patriots were reminded that we at Philly Point Guard Camp were expecting a state championship. And like the true champions that they are, they came through in flying colors. And these fine young men did it with class and with dignity and we couldn't be more proud.

We hope to see Duane, Chris, Shawn, DeDe, Thomas, Mark, Will, David, Tyree and Aaron helping out the youngsters again this summer and showing off their brand new gold medals!

Of course, we would be remiss if we didn't mention Penn Wood Athletic Director Rap Curry, who IS Mr. Basketball at Penn Wood. It was unbelievable watching Rap hold the state championship trophy that eluded him during his tremendous high school basketball career at Penn Wood. And, of course, our camp wouldn't be what it is without Penn Wood assistant assistant Matt Lindeman, who makes us look good every week with his professionalism and eye for detail, and Patriots assistant coach Derek Jones, who will not be outworked during conditioning drills!

Congratulations everyone on their tremendous accomplishments.

As for our guest speakers, Siena College was well-represented at our camp with head coach Fran McCaffery and assistant coaches Mitch Buonaguro and Andrew Francis attending last summer. All the Saints did was open the NCAA Tournament with a surprise win over Ohio State of the Big Ten. And they were leading top-seeded Louisville late in the second half before losing their second-round game. Last year, the Saints knocked off heavily favored Vanderbilt of the powerful SEC in the first round.

Fran Dunphy, who has spoken at our camp in each of our first three years, guided Temple through an improbable run to the Atlantic 10 tournament championship and the Owls' second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

On the women's side, Drexel University women, with associated head coach  Amy Mallon on the bench, made it to the NCAA Tournament for the very first time.

RPI and Rory Perner going to The Dance

CANTON, N.Y. -- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, with our own Rory Perner starting at point guard, upset top-seed St. Lawrence University 72-65 Saturday afternoon (Feb. 28, 2009) on its home court to win its first-ever Liberty League championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament.

The Red Hawks, picked to finish sixth in the eight-team Liberty League, went into the tournament as the third seed and began their quest for a title with an upset win of second-seeded Hamilton, 64-55, on Friday night.

On Saturday, Liberty League Player of the Year and tournament MVP Sam Simmons scored a game-high 20 points with nine rebounds to lead Rensselaer to its first NCAA appearance since 1996, when it reached the Sweet 16.

The Red Hawks, who took their first lead at 3-2 on a 3-pointer by Rory, trailed 39-32 edge at the break and the lead would swell to 48-39 with 14:59 to go in the second half. But RPI shut down the Saints offense and capitalized on a four-minute SLU scoring drought to pull within 48-47, with 11:58 to play in regulation. The teams exchanged shots from beyond the perimeter and a layup from Bela Vonnak gave St. Lawrence a three-point edge with 9:47 left. RPI fought back to earn the third tie of the game, 53-53, off a 3-pointer from Eric Anderson before Tim Rupp knocked in a jumper from inside the paint for RPI's first lead since the opening half. Despite two more ties down the stretch, Rensselaer used clutch free throw opportunities and 3-pointers to clinch the title and a ticket to the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

St. Lawrence shot 43 percent from the field in the first half, but was contained to only 26.5 percent in the second, while Rensselaer shot 65 percent from the floor, including 5-for-8 from 3-point range, and 90 percent from the free throw line to seal the victory.

Our Nancy Lieberman makes history

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Detroit Shock came up with a way to distract some attention away from their skirmish earlier this week.

For one game at least.

"It's really a one-game deal," Lieberman said in a telephone interview. "My motivation stems from the fact that I love this game and I never stopped playing it whether it's a pickup game with Deion Sanders and Tony Romo at a church or at a park with my son [TJ]."

She became the oldest player in WNBA history at 39 while playing for the Phoenix Mercury in 1997, the league's inaugural season.

Shock coach Bill Laimbeer says Lieberman, an ESPN analyst, was impressive during drills during last year's WNBA All-Star Game.

"This is not a gimmick," Laimbeer insisted. "I talked to her last year about this and again two weeks ago. This opportunity probably would've happened if we didn't have the incident the other night."

A spot opened up for Lieberman when standout forward Cheryl Ford suffered a season-ending knee injury Tuesday night when the Shock, assistant coach Rick Mahorn and the Los Angeles Sparks were involved in a skirmish.

Lieberman was the general manager and coach of the Shock from 1998-2000. During her professional playing career, she averaged 15.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists.

She played at Old Dominion University from 1976-80, helping the school win two national titles, and played for the U.S. Olympic team in 1976 and 1980.

Lieberman was the first woman to play professionally with men as part of the USBL's Springfield Fame in 1986.

She was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame three years later.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Congratulations to Coach Rap Curry on being inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame

By Dick Jerardi

Of the Philadelphia Daily News

WATCH MORE THAN two decades of Big 5 basketball and there are bound to be a few "what-if" players.

For me, Rap Curry was always a "what-if" player. Just elected into the Big 5 Hall of Fame with La Salle's very deserving Donnie Carr (one of his school's amazing six 2,000-point scorers) and Penn's James Salters (a junior on the 1979 Final Four team), Curry was a big point guard with every skill and leadership ability that could not be taught.

His college numbers were very good - 1,372 points, 580 assists and 195 steals. Curry was much more than numbers. He was a great leader for teams that had almost no luck. Key player after key player kept getting injured. That whole St. Joe's era was "what if."

It was all so promising after Curry and Bernard Blunt's freshman season (1990-91). The Hawks finished strong, getting to the Atlantic 10 semifinals after upsetting Rutgers in the quarters.

Then in the final seconds of the seventh game of the next season, with the Hawks about to be 5-2, Curry tore an anterior cruciate ligament as he came to a stop just over! halfcourt at Fordham.

He came back later that season, but physically was never the same. He never took a redshirt season. He played with great will and had moments, including a huge role in a memorable upset of then-No. 10 Massachusetts on Hawk Hill late in his senior season.

If Rap ever felt sorry for himself, I never saw it or heard it. He just dealt with it. If he doesn't get hurt, I have to believe he would have played in the NBA. Thus, the "what if."

Rap was always open and honest. He was there in good times and bad, willing to ponder every question and formulate articulate, thoughtful answers.

I have covered hundreds of players in this city. One of the neat things about college sports is that you can really get to know people as more than only players wearing a number and accumulating statistics.

You can always tell a lot about people by how they react in situations that could be uncomfortable. And how much they are willing to let you kn! ow who they really are.

By that measure, my personal top three o f players I have covered would be, in no particular order, Doug Overton (La Salle), Malik Allen (Villanova) and Curry. Hall of Fame players and people.

Coach Jones has Penn Wood High off and running

By Keith Pompey

Philadelphia  Inquirer Staff Writer

Few people wondered whether Clyde Jones, an accomplished coach, would have success at Penn Wood.

But most did not expect him to have success in just his second season with an inexperienced team.

Let's just say the Patriots are ahead of schedule.

The team with just two seniors on its roster is 12-4 overall and 3-1 against Del-Val American Division opponents.

The Patriots have tied last season's overall win total. They also are technically still in contention for the division title.

That's not bad, considering that Penn Wood starts mistake-prone sophomores Tyree Johnson and Dequan Pelzer in the backcourt.

Johnson, a point guard, averages 11.5 points, 4.3 assists and 4.3 steals. Pelzer averages 4.7 points, 2.6 assists and 2.0 steals.

"I can't get upset with them," Jones said, "because I know they haven't been in these experiences before. So they are struggling with decision-making. But they're gamers, man. Both of them are gamers."

So is junior Duane Johnson.

When on his game, the 6-foot-5 swingman is one of Southeaste! rn Pennsylvania's most exciting players. Johnson averages 17.9 points, 9.8 rebounds 2.1 steals and 1.3 assists.

"Duane has been there for us all year," Jones said of last season's role player. "This is new for him. He's our leading scorer and leading rebounder. I've called on him to do a lot more than he has done before. . . . It's really great to see how he is growing."

With those kinds of players, Jones may be able to duplicate the success he had at Harriton.

After two seasons as the Rams' junior-varsity coach, he took over the varsity in 2000 and soon brought respect to a team that had long struggled in the Del-Val.

That first season under Jones, Harriton went 20-5. At the time, the Rams set a single-season school victory record. In his six seasons as the varsity coach, he compiled a 111-56 record and won a district title.