The Nike Elite Youth Basketball summer schedule is out and the big news is the LeBron James Academy in Akron, Ohio from July 5-7 is closed to college coaches.
In past years, all the college coaches convened at the University of Akron to watch many of the top players drill and compete in games.
This year’s event is open to the media but closed to coaches. Instead, college coaches will have to wait until the King James Classic July 8-9 at nearby Cleveland State University to watch the kids play.
The Reebok All-American Camp, held July 6-10 in Philly, will allow college coaches in for the last three days.
The other change is that there will no longer be a Steve Nash Point Guard Academy in New Jersey.
Too bad, because it was always convenient from New York City to interview the 20 top point guards in high school and 10 of the top college guards. Last year’s Nash camp featured Lance Stephenson and John Wall.
This year Deron Williams will host a Point Guard Academy in Dallas instead.
Vince Carter, Paul Pierce and Amare Stoudemire will continue to host academies leading up to the LeBron James Academy.
By then, LeBron could be an NBA champ…or not.
See the full schedule below.
2009 NIKE Elite Youth Summer Schedule
NIKE Hoop Jamboree (Closed to college coaches)
Top 100 underclassmen
St. Louis, MO • St. Louis University (Simon Recreation Center) • June 11-14
Closed to Media
Deron Williams Skills Academy (Closed to college coaches)
Top 20 High School Point Guards / Top 10 College Point Guards
Dallas, TX (Location not released to public) • June 23-25
Open to Media on June 25th Only (12-6 pm)
Vince Carter Skills Academy (Closed to college coaches)
Top 20 High School Wing Forwards / Top 10 College Wing Forwards
Orlando, FL (Location not released to public) • June 23-25
Open to Media on June 25th Only (12-6 pm)
Paul Pierce Skills Academy (Closed to college coaches)
Top 20 High School Shooting Guards / Top 10 College Shooting Guards
Boston, MA (Location not released to public) • June 28-30
Open to Media on June 30th Only (12-6 pm)
Amar’e Stoudemire Skills Academy (Closed to college coaches)
Top 20 High School Big Men / Top 10 College Big Men
Phoenix, AZ (Location not released to public) • June 28-30
Open to Media on June 30th Only (12-6 pm)
LeBron James Skills Academy (Closed to college coaches)
Top 80 High School Overall Players / Top 20 College Overall Players
Akron, OH • University of Akron (James A. Rhodes Arena) • July 5-7
Open to Media
King City Classic – OPEN to College Coaches
Team Tournament featuring Top 90 Overall Players
Cleveland, OH • Cleveland State University (Wolstein Center) • July 8-9
Open to Media
NIKE Peach Jam – OPEN to College Coaches
Team Tournament featuring Top 24 17-U and Top 16 16-U travel teams
N. Augusta, SC • Riverview Park Activities Center • July 12-15
Open to Media
NIKE Global Challenge (Closed to college coaches)
Eight-Team Tournament featuring Top 30 U.S. players and five International teams
Hillsboro, OR • Liberty High School • August 7-9
Open to Media
