ISU basketball greats to host summer camp

Courtesy of georgescamp.com
Lyndsey Fennelly and Georges Niang will be hosting a basketball camp on June 20. 

Luke Manderfeld
April 6, 2016

Two of Iowa State’s greatest basketball minds are putting their heads and skills together to host a basketball camp this summer. 

Former ISU basketball players Lyndsey Fennelly and Georges Niang will host a camp June 20 for boys entering third grade through senior year in high school. The camp has a $200 entry fee and will go from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

College, high school and youth basketball coaches in the area along with other former ISU players will also help out with the camp. 

“I was so eager to give back to a community that gave so much to me and give me an opportunity that I could only dreamed of,” Niang said. “I’m eager to go out and work with the kids.”

The idea for a camp spawned last summer, Fennelly said, when Niang worked with her at some of her summer sessions. She threw out the idea to Niang about hosting a camp in his name when he finished playing basketball at Iowa State.

After Niang finished his last game as a Cyclone, the talks picked up and they got into details. Fennelly was the mastermind behind the camp, getting the administrative details in order and setting up the website.

“I know he understands his legacy,” Fennelly said. “He always is giving back to kids. He fully understands the impact that a full-day camp would have over the kids in the summer. That led me to believe that it would be fun to partner with him on this.” 

After they ironed out the details, the two promoted the camp on social media. Niang shot a tweet to Fennelly, saying he wanted to give out some lessons on his “old man game.” The exchange went back and forth and a website was posted 24 hours later. 

“I thought it would be a unique way to post on social media and get some excitement about it before we just post it,” Fennelly said. “I’d say it worked.”

Fennelly said 50 percent of the camp was filled on the first day, which is “unheard of.”

The schedule for the camp starts at 8 a.m., when attendees can check in and interact with Niang. Each person will get a 5-by-9 foot autographed photo with Niang.

But after that hour, the camp will commence. 

“At 9:01, Georges is a normal human being that will be walking around and helping the kids,” Fennelly said. “The ‘Wow’ factor of Georges ends at 9:01, and then it’s time to get to work and have a great full day of hoops.”

As for the focus in the camp, Niang and Fennelly said they want to work on all-around skills, not just particular ones. Niang also said he wants to “relay his messages about working hard.” 

“I feel like that’s the problem with basketball development now,” Niang said. “They label people a big man or a point guard. I really want kids to try things and be different and work on your dribbling and work on your shooting.”

There is a $75 fee for people who want to watch the camp. Lunch will be provided. The fee is to prevent a “circus” in the fieldhouse for people who want to see Niang and not have a hand in the camp, Fennelly said. 

“For $75, people are more than welcome to come by,” Fennelly said. “My brother, [former ISU receiver] Brett Medders, is going to be the muscle at the door. We need to respect Georges’ time and space and not having people lined up in front of the fieldhouse waiting to get in.”

There will also be Niang Notebooks with 31 of Niang’s favorite quotes and 31 of his favorite drills that will be sold for $75. It can be mailed to non-attendees for $100. 

Although the camp is $200, Niang said the goal is to keep out basketball players who are there just to see him.

“We’re doing that in a way that it’s really worth your time, and I’m going to be there the whole time and it’s going to be really hands on,” Niang said. “I think the biggest thing is we just want to weed out people who are going to be distractions or really aren’t there for the right reasons.”

Overall, the excitement for the camp has been positive. Niang said he received some feedback from people who wanted a larger age range so they could participate.

“I’m really excited to be running it with someone who is just as excited about it as I am,” Niang said. “It’s just awesome. I’m really excited to do that.”

Registration details and more information can be found at georgescamp.com.