Author: Monojit Mandal
NBA veteran Thomas Bryant wants to stay in touch with the Rochester community. When his annual Thomas Bryant basketball camp wrapped up Friday at the YMCA of Greater Rochester’s Chester F. Carlson Metrocenter, where the former Bishop Kearney star honed his talents while growing up in the neighborhood, kids seemed to use the 6-foot-10 center like a gymnasium.
Bryant grew up watching the Rochester RazorSharks of the American Basketball Association and begging his mother for Harlem Globetrotters subscriptions before winning an NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets. Bryant liked all of Rochester’s professional sports teams, but wished he had a connection with a local NBA star.
“I wish I could touch children the way those guys touched me. It’s a very bizarre experience. Being able to share something like this with these children who may not have that chance means a lot to me, because I never had that opportunity when I was younger” said Bryant, who signed with the Miami Heat this summer.“So for an NBA player to return to a place that was once dubbed ‘never produced anything’… to give back to my community, to the people I grew up with means so much more.“
Bryant autographed basketballs for all the Camper of the Week award winners at the end of the week-long program.
Thomas Bryant’s basketball camp was held from Monday, August 21 to Friday, August 25. It was free for students in the 12th grade and below. Bryant’s mother was present as he took selfies with all the campers who had a smartphone. They asked Bryant who his favorite NBA coach is, what it was like to be LeBron James’ teammate when he broke the scoring record and what it was like to win a championship with Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Leah Dukes, a seventh-grader from Fairport, appreciated Bryant’s advice on court presence, shot blocking and work ethic.