Gary Payton brings hoops camp to MI for second straight year

Published 11:02 am Tuesday, September 1, 2015

David Hudson remembers being a young camper attending Gary Payton’s youth basketball camp as a child and the lasting effect Payton’s camp left with him.

“He was my favorite player growing up,” Hudson said, adding he was able to attend with scholarship help from Payton. “I do what I do because of my experiences at his camp.”

A former standout at Rainier Beach and a University of Washington walk-on, Hudson now tries to pass on everything that made basketball camp special to him to younger generations of basketball players.

The owner and operator of Elite Youth Camps, Hudson partnered with Payton two years ago to lead The Glove’s four-day Youth Skills Academy, which last week, came to the Mercer Island Community and Event Center for the second straight year. Targeted for basketball players ages 5-17, the camp offers skill development under the supervision of the Sonics legend and NBA Hall of Famer.

Last year, the camp had roughly 40 campers. This year, attendance grew to 115.

“We came to Mercer Island because of the people out here wanting to do it,” Payton said. “This group right here, they want more basketball right now and we’re trying to give it to them.”

Though Hudson primarily leads the drills, Payton is ever-present, with campers getting plenty of opportunities for autographs and pictures with the nine-time NBA All-Star.

“Whenever he wants to chime in, he chimes in,” Hudson said of Payton. “I’m usually speaking in front, but he jumps in. If drills are going on, he’s walking around and very hands-on.”

Hudson, who also works with professional basketball players including Damian Lillard and Nerlens Noel, leads over 30 camps during the summer, the last being Payton’s. Both Payton and Hudson said their goal is to teach campers about more than basketball.

“I try to do for kids what camp did for me: spark an interest and just teach work ethics, discipline and all the skills you got to have in life no matter what you want to do,” Hudson said. “Even if you are a doctor or a librarian, you have to know when to be quiet, know to project yourself when you speak and work hard at whatever you do. We want to teach life lessons that are bigger than basketball.”

Payton isn’t the only high-profile basketball player camp-goers get to share the court with. Last year, Nate Robinson, Jamal Crawford, Shawn Kemp, Spencer Hawes and Isaiah Thomas all made appearances. This year, on the camp’s third day, campers were treated to a talk from former Sonics forward Sam Perkins.

Payton said by holding camps like his and bringing NBA players through town, he aimed to help provide the NBA experience to Seattle-area fans who want it but can’t have it right now.

“To have camps like this for the kids keeps [basketball] on their mind,” Payton said. “I think this city deserves a basketball team. They’re motivated to have that, so these camps will keep their hope alive.”

And for Hudson, his final camp of the summer with Payton rings slightly different than the rest.

“This camp is most special to me because I come from the Gary Payton camp,” Hudson said. “It’s a full circle.”

For more on Hudson’s basketball camps, visit www.eliteyouthcamps.com.

Six-year-old Benny Shleifer prepares to shoot during a game of “Poison” at Gary Payton’s Youth Skills Academy basketball camp (Joe Livarchik/Mercer Island Reporter).

Former Sonics forward Sam Perkins talks to campers about the most important aspects of basketball during the camp’s third day (Joe Livarchik/Mercer Island Reporter).