Writing home about it

Camp Darryl does basketball right

By Jared Field

14 August 2007

greatlakeshoops.com

(Cover shot: Darryl Matthews and Sean Romsek)

The summer basketball circuit in Michigan needs a shot in the arm.

This is not to say that my first foray into summer ball in our great state wasn’t rewarding—it most certainly was.

That being said, it is clear that the circuit is largely bereft of the loyalty that exists with respect to high school teams, conferences, coaches, communities, et cetera.

It’s a whole different ball game.

Luckily there are grassroots programs like Common Bond, CBDA and the West Michigan Lakers who do things the right way.

I recently caught up with Darryl Matthews, the namesake of the Camp Darryl Basketball Academy in Kalamazoo, in Lansing during the final summer tournament of the season in Lansing.

Darryl is an energetic guy who has a love for mentoring young players that matches his love for the game. What he has done with his program over the last few years is a case study in diligence and, in truth, a lot of tongue-biting.

But, after a long season, Darryl seemed eager to get a few things off his chest.

Great Lakes Hoops: First, how would you assess the state of summer basketball in Michigan currently and what fixes do you think need to be put in place?

Darryl Mathews: Michigan is very rich in basketball talent. We have several clubs and organizations that are very competitive on the regional and national circuit. But, the fixes that are needed will probably never take place. For one, the team ‘jumping’ that goes on. You wrote in a story on your site in May about kids who were playing on different teams for a particular weekend because their team was off. It would be nice if kids made their (team) choices in March and lived with them. Second, the Michigan teams should all play each other. We played the Houston Swoosh in Vegas and their schedule showed 12 tournaments...Vegas was the only time that they left Texas! Their coach said that in Texas all of the major and grassroots programs face off at in-state events. 11 events in your own state? Wow!

GLH: Why do you think the top programs head out-of-state for much of the summer?

DM: There is a feeling among the Michigan ‘grassroots’ programs that the major teams in our state don't want to risk getting beat by a Grand Rapids Storm or Common Bond type teams. Both of those teams are strong year in and year out. We're competitive and we enjoy playing any of the ‘big three’. But, the feeling is that the ‘big three’ are supposed to be better than the grassroots teams and when we have good players, the players are ‘contacted’ by them. So...we have to ‘recruit our own’ to keep them. Tournament-wise,the best events in the state are all on the westside. The Storm Classic, Camp Darryl/Bankhoops.com Classic, and the WM Lakers' Tulip Tip-off are 11, six, and two years old. Our trick is that we hold our events on the same weekend year after year. This makes easy scheduling for many teams who participate. With an event or two on the Eastside, or with the Mustangs having more participation in their July event, we could be more like Texas-if everyone just would play...

GLH: How do you feel about the ‘win at any cost’ mentality that seems to pervade the summer basketball circuit and how, as a competitor, do you keep your integrity intact in spite of it?

DM: That mentality seems to prevail more with sponsored programs. It’s kind of like the Yankees. At times it's ridiculous to see a kid with the Mustangs one week and the Hurricanes the next, or vice-versa. The Michigan Select/Roadrunners player switches seemed to occur weekly. I feel that it's always going be there because you have to win to keep the sponsorship money; you have to have the so-called top ranked players. This gets you an invite to certain tournaments like the Bob Gibbons tournament that a lot of us can't buy our way into. We roll with the guys who were selected for our teams as a result of our tryout. Sure, we could always leave a spot or two open for a disgruntled player who's upset with his role on another team, but is that fair to the kids who chose to tryout for us? At Camp Darryl, we want kids who want to play in our program. We deal with it by being fair and loyal to our kids who are loyal to us.

GLH: What makes your organization different than others in the state and around the country?

DM: I can only tell you how we run our organization. I don't know much about any other's except for the occasional free shoes or free travel. At Camp Darryl, every player pays the same fee to participate regardless of their playing time. We don’t generally receive any financial support outside of the player fees. We look at it as if our parents run things, as they do, with us being totally funded by a check from them. We make our schedule for practices and tournaments available before we have tryouts. We stay true to our word as much as we can in regards to keeping our schedule. We promote a family environment, stressing unity amongst players and parents in our program regardless of the team that they're on. I guess that's the ‘camp’ part. I guess you could say our program is like a five month long summer camp.

GLH: Would you take money from companies like Adidas or Reebok?

DM: Heck yes, we'd love a shoe contract or some kind of sponsorship, who wouldn't? If that day comes, I would like for our program to maintain its integrity and continue to be what it is at this time. We don't have a patent on our method; it came about by seeing how other organizations failed in certain areas. We just attempted to build a better mousetrap. We like to think that we are one of the best programs in Michigan and we take pride in that.

GLH: What are some of the difficulties that go along with maintaining grassroots organizations like CDBA?

DM: A lot of the difficulties were explained earlier. The financial matters are becoming more difficult each year. Gym time for practice, tournament entry fees, uniforms, etc., are the major financial matters. We charged $495 per player this year and it wasn't enough. We've lost players over the years who've joined sponsored teams just like many other programs. We've also lost players because the drive to Kalamazoo for practice was a bit much, or because they've felt that ‘Camp Darryl didn't win enough’. Our only fundraiser has been our hosting our own tournament and we don't make enough to jump up and down about after our expenses.

GLH: After losing a hard fought game to a shoe company-sponsored program in the finals of the Summer Showcase this week, you shared an emotional moment with your players. What was so special about this particular team?

DM: We made it to the final with only two regular starters, Joe Powers (right) and Sean Romsek. The other five guys hadn't played as much during the spring and summer as they'd probably hoped. This was a time for them to get major minutes in an NCAA Certified event. I was proud of guys like Burnell Granderson, Blake Jones, Nick VanWerden, Andrew Laur, and Rashawn Molden. That was the special part.

GLH: The loss seemed especially tough on you. Why?

DM: The emotional moment totally had to do with Sean and Joe. In 2001, when we decided that the Camp Darryl program needed to play around the state, the place to go was Aim High in Lansing. Everybody played there every weekend in those days. I mean everybody—Mustangs, Hurricanes, and the Family. We had a team made up of the only kids who showed up at tryouts, and we weren't very good. Powers and Romsek played on Larry Burton's Aim High house team. We'd get our butts kicked by 25 or more every time we played them, and we somehow played them 2-3 times each weekend. I was in awe of how those guys played compared to our guys who were the same age. Over those early years, I befriended those guys and developed a relationship with them. Often I'd joke with them about it taking me less than 1 hour and 15 minutes to drive from Kalamazoo to Aim High and that they could make the same trip to play for me. I actually never thought that they would! Mrs. Romsek said to me that Sean wanted to play somewhere else to compete against better competition, and that he wanted to play with Camp Darryl. I was flattered, but at the same time stayed ‘PC’ and mentioned that the drive would be very long. Mrs. Romsek said that Grandpa Romsek had retired and agreed to drive Sean wherever he wanted for basketball, and boy did he ever! Joe rode with the Romseks as well. They just seemed to want it more than other kids. I always thought it was the long drives to get to our 3 hour practices that made them that way. They practiced hard and participated in drills as if they'd be cut the moment that they let up! Fast forward to 2007 and they still outworked everyone at practice and played that ‘Capital area’ brand of ball. For ten tournaments they played as hard as they could play and led by example.

GLH: What was it about Sean Romsek and Joe Powers that made them the face of your organization?

DM: They were my personal link to the ‘old days’ of Camp Darryl. Back when they'd tear us up weekly playing for Aim High, Camp Darryl was nothing but a funny name. With those guys on our side, we became a program that is known for the hardnosed play that they brought to us. We don't boast win totals that will make you fear us, but you have to play hard to beat us. Sean wore a ‘C’ on his uniform this year that designated him as the captain of the Camp Darryl Basketball Academy—the whole program from 11 to 17. He earned it and Joe Powers was our Secretary of Defense. They kept everyone in line with their desire and work ethic. They never had to raise their voices much, they just worked their rear ends off everyday and everyone who had a desire to become better followed their lead. Those were real tears as I hugged those two after our loss to the Mustangs. Damn, I'm gonna miss them...