Top 5 Players in ABCD Camp History
Words. Casey Mack
After a summer where the AAU scene has been more controlled than ever, there is speculation that legendary high school power broker Sonny Vaccaro may come back to the grassroots basketball landscape.
According to Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com, Vaccaro will possibly join his fourth sneaker company upon his return. Sonny declined to name which company, but Li Ning, the Chinese sneaker giant that has endorsement deals with Baron Davis and Evan Turner, is reportedly supposed to meet with Vaccaro at some point after Labor Day.
With Sonny back in the fold, this could mean the return of ABCD camp. Once upon a time, ABCD was a rite of passage for the future of the NBA. Many of today’s stars made their name at the legendary camp, which took place each summer in New Jersey. With all the history created at the event, we look back at the top five players who made a name for themselves at Vaccaro’s camp:
Brandon Jennings — Well before his 55-point game, Jennings was killing players older than him at the ’06 ABCD camp. Displaying his flashy passing and high-level scoring ability, Jennings was the last true star born before ABCD camp shut down due to Vaccaro’s retirement.
O.J. Mayo — As an All-State player in three states throughout his high school career, Mayo used the ABCD stage to defend his title as the best in the country for four summers. By facing the nation’s top prospects year after year in a loaded class that also featured Eric Gordon, Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose and Kevin Love, Mayo’s game developed pretty nicely at Vaccaro’s annual event.
Tracy McGrady — After staring for three years at Auburndale H.S. in Florida, Tracy was set to transfer to Mount Zion Christian Academy (N.C.) to raise his stock among D-1 coaches. And at the ’96 camp, McGrady made a name for himself in a big way. After windmill dunking on other blue chippers and winning the camp’s MVP, McGrady used the momentum of the ’96 camp to become the No. 9 pick in the ’97 draft.
Kobe Bryant — After watching Kevin Garnett get drafted in the first round out of high school in ’95, Kobe made up his mind that he wanted to try to do the same. After averaging over 30 points per game in his junior season at Lower Merion H.S. (Pa.), scouts still rated him below Tim Thomas in the national class. Kobe went into ’95 ABCD camp to prove he was the best. At the end of the week, Kobe left with the Senior MVP title and a realistic shot of making the jump.
LeBron James — After winning “Mr. Basketball” in Ohio as a sophomore, everyone was curious to see if the “Chosen One” was the real deal. Pitted against the best high school player in the country at the time, Lenny Cooke, James outscored the rising senior 24-9. The LeBron hype was born on that summer day in 2001. A Sports Illustrated cover came shortly after, and the rest is history.
