Dreams Can Come True At Abcd Camp

Seattle Times reporter Percy Allen spent the week with some of the top high-school basketball players in the nation at the Adidas basketball camp in Hackensack, N.J., and is filing several reports.

HIGH-SCHOOL basketball players attend the ABCD Camp in hopes of becoming the next Tracy McGrady, the latest player to go straight from the preps to the press.

TEANECK, N.J. - Tracy McGrady, the newest high-school-to-NBA star, was born here.

In this small residential town. In a small arena, the Rothman Center, at a small college, Fairleigh Dickinson University, on a basketball court in front of 400 or so spectators.

His birth certificate might say otherwise, but McGrady's NBA life can be traced to the ABCD Camp, a summer gathering for the nation's best prep basketball players. It's attended by boys with dreams of playing college basketball and coaches able to make those dreams come true.

Before the camp, only hardcore basketball fans knew of McGrady, a local star in Florida. Friends called him Pumpkinhead because his body seemed much too small to support his head. He was one of many can't-miss kids headed toward college.

The headliners were Schea Cotton and Lamar Odom. However, in a span of four days, McGrady became a national star. He did things no one else did. He outplayed everyone and won the tournament's MVP award.

A year later, he is a basketball icon. The fourth NBA player in the past three years to skip college and go straight to the pros. And he won't be the last.

At last week's ABCD camp as many as three teenagers said they were considering declaring themselves for the NBA draft. One of the youngsters, Demarr Johnson, will be a high-school junior this fall in Maryland.

"I plan to go to college in two years if I feel I can't make it in the NBA," he said. "I'm hoping that two more years of high school and I'll be ready (for the pros). I know it's a dream, but it's my dream. I'm aiming high. And if I don't make it, I want to play one or two years in college."

Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves cleared the path for Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O'Neal and McGrady. Two years after his senior prom, he played in the 1997 NBA All-Star Game.

"It started with Kevin," said Sonny Vaccaro, who has run the camp the past 13 years. "If he hadn't been successful, then you wouldn't have these kids leaving like they are now."

However, McGrady has expanded Garnett's influence.

Every one of the 240 players at the ABCD camp know McGrady and his story. The players call him the Lottery Kid. The one who came here a year ago with $26 in his pocket and last month signed a $12 million endorsement deal with Adidas before being drafted ninth by Toronto.

He is their Tiger Woods. He is them. Their hopes and their dreams.

"It can happen," said Vincent Yarbrough, a 6-foot-6 forward from Cleveland, Tenn., who is one of the most heralded players in the country.

Tuesday, Yarbrough will announce his college choice from a list that includes Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee. However, he hasn't ruled out the NBA.

"We'll see how the rest of the summer goes, and it all depends on what happens this next year (in high school)," Yarbrough said. "If I turn out like Tracy did, and if somebody says they'll draft me, well, then that's hard to turn down."

The players use McGrady as a measuring stick. They retell his stories.

The best one involves a moment in the camp all-star game. McGrady had the ball on a fast break, and only one player blocked his path. McGrady cupped the ball, sailed over the player and threw down a windmill dunk.

"I was here 2 1/2 days last year, so I got to see a few of his games," Washington Coach Bob Bender said. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone dominate quite like he did. Every time he was on the court, he dominated. Literally, he took over the show every day, every period. . . .

"At the time, I don't think anybody knew he would go into the NBA right away, but you knew you were watching something special."

McGrady's go-for-the-spectacular attitude permeates the camp. The simple play just won't do here. The extraordinary is expected.

"It's so hard to stay fundamentally focused because there's so much one-on-one stuff going on," Chelan forward Phil Cullen said. "Pretty soon you're doing stuff you'd never do in a (high-school) game. But that's what gets you noticed."

On the last day of the camp, as many as a half-dozen NBA scouts were spotted in the stands during the all-star game. Earlier in the week, Sonic Coach George Karl and Portland Coach Mike Dunleavy (his son Michael was a participant) attended, although they have spoken out against drafting high-school players.

Vaccaro smiles when he listens to the critics. He didn't create summer basketball camps, but he turned them into national affairs.

He doesn't apologize for helping influence "kids" to skip college for the pros.

"You tell me that I hurt Kobe or that Tracy McGrady is not better off?" Vaccaro said. "In less than a year, he became set for life. A year ago, he was a kid who didn't have two nickels to rub together. It's had to have been the greatest year in his life."

Happy birthday, Tracy.