Passing the ball

The New Orleans Hornets are wrapping up their Hoop Dreams camp today at Crossgates Athletic Club in Slidell.

The clinic, which had nearly 60 participants ages 5-13, focused on learning and having fun with the game of basketball.

“We want to keep it very fundamental,” said Hornets assistant coach Charlie Parker, who is running the camp. “We’re teaching kids how to play the game with some basic fundamentals, fun contests and some games at the end.”

Parker added how essential he feels it is for the Hornets to come to the Northshore.

“It’s very important because this is a large base. They don’t show the games out here (on TV). It’s important for us to get the Hornets name out here as much as possible whether it’s camp, advertising, wherever it is, we need to let people know that we’re here in the community,” Parker said.

Parker said the camp is giving out awards donated by the Hornets. Parker also said starting guard Maurice Peterson is scheduled to show up today, and former Hornet Robert Pack was also slated to make an appearance at the camp.

The clinic started with Parker talking to the campers. Then the participants broke up into groups and went to stations to learn about ball handling, defense, passing, rebounding and shooting. The drills are followed by contests and then 5-on-5 games.

Eleven-year-old Peyton Welch, a Northlake Christian School student, said he likes the way the camp is run and added he was excited when he found out about it.

“They really train you to work on your ball handling, layups and stuff. I like it. I think it’ll make you a better basketball player,” Welch said.

“I had already met coach Parker. When I found out about the camp, I was ready to sign up.”

Welch said his favorite part about the camp is the defensive shuffle, which is a drill where the players get into the defensive position. The coach in charge of the drill points in different directions telling the participants which way to slide their feet.

The Hornets made it to the second round of the NBA playoffs this year before falling in seven games to the San Antonio Spurs. After such an exciting season, Parker said he is excited about next year.

“We feel very good. We didn’t have a draft pick, so we’re saving the money for a free agent,” Parker said. “We’re (going for) a quality free agent, a guy that can come in and help us immediately whereas with a rookie, there are a lot of questions. We want to win right away. We want to win a championship next year.”

Parker added that with the core group coming back, the Hornets are looking to strengthen the bench.