It promises to be the premier middle school event in the nation and will be the place where the up-and-coming star of tomorrow can get a head start on the future while playing against the top competition in the country. We’re talking about The HOOP SCOOP All-American Camp, which is being officially announced today in a variety of different venues. The camp will be held at HOOPS in Louisville, KY on July 2nd-4th, 2012 and will feature players in the Class of 2016, Class of 2017, Class of 2018, and Class of 2019. That’s current 5th, 6th, 7th, & 8th Graders, who, at the time of the camp, will be rising 6th, 7th, 8th, & 9th Graders. The Camp Executive Director is yours truly (HOOP SCOOP Editor & Publisher Clark Francis) and I have been the one national scout that has paid attention to these age groups in recent years. Van Coleman will be the Camp Operations Director and he has plenty of experience in this department dating back to the days when he was running the Future Stars Basketball Camps like a well oiled machine. The Camp Director of Scouting will be Brick Oettinger, who not only is the guy who discovered Michael Jordan, but also has been second to none as a talent evaluator dating back to when he broke into the business in 1977 as a recruiting analyst and columnist for the ACC Sports Journal. And this is important, because the three of us have been in this business for a combined total of over 100 years. We also each have a vote for the McDonald’s All-American Team and have an incredible amount of insight and perspective with regards to recruiting, grassroots basketball, and evaluating and ranking players. I also have lined up three more of my favorite people in the business to help recruit players and be the head coach for three of the four above mentioned age groups. We’re talking about Rick Lewis, who runs the North Carolina Phenom 150 Camp and now is making a name for himself in the business with his Phenom Hoop Report; Rick Bolus, who has been in the business for 33 years with the Blue Chip Basketball Camp and for 39 years with the High Potential Scouting Service; and Horace Neysmith, who is the co-owner of AllMetroSports.com,the head coach of the Atlanta Celtics 15-Under Team, a valuable contributor to the HOOP SCOOP, and the brains behind all of the Elite Hoops Showcases throughout the South. We’re also are excited about the fact that our own Ron Naclerio will be one of the instructors and will provide the campers with top individual development drills (i.e. ball handling, dribbling, passing, & shooting). Patrick Stanwood also is on board and his vast array of contacts in the business and great gift for public relations should be invaluable. We also have a number of other surprises that we plan to announce as time goes on. In other words, we’re going to take middle school basketball and getting a head start on the future to a whole new level, as this promise to be “The Camp to End All Camps – For the Superstars of Tomorrow.” Obviously the talent level at this camp will be at a very high level and, as a result, it is by “invitation only.” However, we also have made it easy to apply for an invitation with an application that can be found by going to our new HOOP SCOOP All-American Camp web site. We also want to stress the importance of signing up early, as the criteria necessary to get an invitation will become much more stringent as time goes on and spots fill up. And, this too is important, because getting a head start on the future at a camp like this will provide those in attendance with a huge advantage as they make the transition from middle school to enter high school and, soon thereafter, really start the recruiting process. Van Coleman also adds some important perspective” “In my over 30 years of evaluating talent and 20 years of running basketball camps and events, I have found three areas that can maximize a player’s improvement both individually and as a team player. These areas are ball handling, shooting and physical development. These are the areas that we’ll concentrate on at Hoop Scoop All-American Camp. We will teach players how these skills affect their game, what it takes to improve, and then provide them with a workout program to continue that improvement once they leave camp.”