Lakewood – Coaching 450 kids is hard enough. Corralling 450 kids into a line for pizza is a major accomplishment.
But organizers cleared even that hurdle the first day of Carmelo Anthony’s inaugural basketball camp at the Gold Crown Field House. After scrapping plans for a camp last year so he could join the U.S. Olympic team, the Nuggets’ small forward said he was shocked by Monday’s turnout.
“It’s a great feeling to have something like that, something I can make annual,” he said of the kids ages 8-18, which included about 50 scholarship players.
A group of area high school coaches and college players ran the kids through drills while Anthony floated from station to station. He also treated them to celebrity guests – teammate Greg Buckner and New Orleans rookie Chris Paul, formerly of Wake Forest.
In a brief speech, Buckner teased Anthony while making a point about relying on teammates.
“He can’t play defense like I can,” Buckner said, then adding after a pause, “but I can’t score like Melo can.”
Paul met Anthony through Demon Deacons teammate Justin Gray, who was Anthony’s roommate at Oak Hill Academy in Maryland. Paul said he wants his first visit to Denver to include a tour of Anthony’s mansion, recently profiled on MTV.
“I’m going to check out his batting cage and all that stuff I’ve seen on ‘Cribs,”‘ Paul said.
Anthony said he has been working much of the summer. These days he runs stairs at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, followed by training at the Pepsi Center with assistant coach John Welch. He said he would like to shed a few more pounds, but at 231 pounds, he is well ahead of last year, when he said he arrived at camp at about 248.
“I’m just working on my conditioning right now, trying to get in top-notch shape,” he said.
Guard question lingers
Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe met with a BDA Sports representative Monday in Los Angeles to discuss their client, Marko Jaric, the Los Angeles Clippers’ restricted free- agent guard. His agent, Bill Duffy, also had a phone conversation Monday with Vandeweghe. Jaric visited the Nuggets and the Cleveland Cavaliers last week.
Duffy said he had a productive conversation with Vandeweghe, but no offer has been made from the Nuggets or any other team.
“We had a great conversation,” Duffy said. “We’re supposed to talk again (today). There seems to be a lot of interest.”
Anthony thinks the Nuggets need to re-sign Buckner, and also pondered the team with Michael Finley, whom Dallas could release under the league’s amnesty clause by Aug. 15.
Buckner’s situation has not been resolved. Vandeweghe said he met with Buckner’s agent, Steve Kauffman, over the weekend and was expecting to talk again Monday night.
Footnote
The Nuggets have received more than 2,000 messages off a link to their website, nuggets.com, wishing George Karl a quick return to health. The coach had prostate cancer surgery Thursday.
Staff writer Marc J. Spears contributed to this report.
Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
