Basketball Camp at Mississippi College Attracts 330 High School Players

Mississippi College Lady Choctaws head basketball coach Paul Duke and MC guard Jaianah Matthew of Texarkana, Arkansas are pictured at summer hoops camp on the Clinton campus.

Shooting three-pointers, diving for loose balls and snagging rebounds, 330 high school girls brought their “A game” to summer hoops camp at Mississippi College.

Players from as far away as Olive Branch and as nearby as Raymond, Madison and Jackson spent three days in June developing their skills on the Clinton campus.

“I love this camp,” said McComb Lady Tigers coach Charlton Grey during a break in the action on June 11. “It gives our kids time to be noticed. That’s one of the best things.”

The McComb Lady Tigers finished the 2014-15 season with a 14-11 record. But summer camps like this plus one more coming at LSU in Baton Rouge will help his team improve next season. “We will do a lot better,” Grey said.

McComb battled teams like West Lincoln, Raymond, Poplarville, Murrah and Jim Hill during a marathon of games at Alumni Gym, the Baptist Healthplex and A.E. Wood Coliseum.

As the NBA Finals played out before millions of TV viewers, fan bases were far smaller at MC’s hoops camp. But intensity levels of the players and coaches on the Clinton campus remained pretty high. It’s also a nice training ground for 55 visiting referees.

MC Lady Choctaws hoops coach Paul Duke, his staff and players are overseeing the June 11-13 camp and that’s been the case for more than two decades.

There were plenty of satisfied customers rating the Mississippi College girls team camp one of the best in the region.

“I love the facilities and the competition and the fact that you can play multiple games,” says Jacqueline Ross, head coach of the Jim Hill Lady Tigers. Considering the short drive to her school in Jackson and the affordability, she said, “you can’t beat it.”

The Jim Hill Lady Tigers finished last season with a 22-8 record and that’s impressive in the tough Jackson Public Schools District.

Coming to MC can only make her girls better, she says. The Clinton campus is a familiar spot for the Jim Hill coach. Years ago, Ross traveled to face Mississippi College as a player on the Tougaloo College basketball team.

Mississippi College’s summer camp for girls continues to grow in popularity.

MC is more attractive to players, coaches say, as the 5,000-student university transitions to NCAA Division II and rejoins the Gulf South Conference against rivals like Delta State and North Alabama. They note that MC now offers athletic scholarships in Division II.

“MC recruited one of our girls last year,” said East Webster High girls coach Michael Seger. “This gives girls more of an incentive to do well.”

Back for a 5^th consecutive year, McLaurin High Lady Tigers coach Jed Kanengiser gives the MC girls basketball camp high marks for its facilities, cost, location, and high-quality opponents.

Located near Florence, McLaurin opened camp with games against Pisgah, Poplarville, East Webster and Raymond. The big test, though, comes Saturday when McLaurin, led by point guard Mary Maxwell, faces Olive Branch, last season’s No. 2 ranked team in 6A.

A total of 22 teams competed in the MC camp. Coach Duke and his Lady Choctaws assistants will welcome high school girls to an overnight basketball camp the final week of June. It’s designed to give players one on one instruction to improve their fundamentals on the hardwood.