When you’re 6’9" and 240 pounds, people tend to notice when you enter a room. When you’re a Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year award winner, NBA Rookie of the Year, 6-time NBA All-Star, Olympic gold medalist and former NBA MVP, the whole room stops when you walk in.
Kevin Durant brought the Fightin’ Irish Basketball Camp to a screeching halt on June 23 when he dropped by for a surprise visit. The Thunder star was in town on a Nike promotional tour, visiting various youth basketball camps and tournaments around the Bay Area and Los Angeles this week.
After the kids picked their jaws up off the court, Durant led the Nike-affiliated basketball camp (Oakland Soldiers) in a few drills, knocked down the five-straight three-pointers he took and then gathered the kids together for a few words of encouragement and inspiration.
The superstar talked to the kids about the importance of setting goals for themselves and the value of hard work - perhaps harder than they ever thought they could work - in achieving those goals.
SHC’s boys and girls basketball coaches, Darrell Barbour and LyRyan Russell ’97, were both present to greet Durant, along with dozens of other star-struck summer campers, faculty and staff and several members of the CCS Open Division champion Fightin’ Irish girls basketball team.
The visit was short and sweet, but it was a memory that those young men will likely never forget. It’s not too often that a future Hall of Famer drops by your high school gym to say hi!
Durant stopped by to shoot around in the Pavilion.
He shared some inspirational words for the Nike basketball campers of the AAU Oakland Soldiers
Director of Enrollment Management John Gumina ’91 with Durant
SHC girls varsity basketball coach LyRyan Russell ’97 with Durant
Associate Director of Admission Jonathan Lim stopped Durant to take a selfie with him.
SHC students stopped Durant for another photo on Ellis St. before he headed out of town.
Were you there? Email sbergen@shcp.edu to add your photos or videos to this blog post!
SHC students stopped Durant for another photo on Ellis St. before he headed out of town.