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Troy University’s men’s basketball program will be hosting its annual Team Camp June 7-8 with 70 high school teams from Alabama and surrounding states converging on Troy.

High schools from Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Florida will be competing in games against one another in the two-day camp, which Troy Basketball does every year. This year, though, is the biggest ever. Troy Basketball has gone from 20 teams two years ago to more than 40 last year and 70 this season.

“This is a neat opportunity for these high school teams to start their summer basketball and be able to prepare for next season and also get to be seen by a college coaching staff,” Troy assistant coach Larry Cordaro said. “Teams can play both days or just one day and have the opportunity for their high school teams to work against other teams, get some experience for the younger players and also some of their talented players will have that opportunity to be seen by college coaches and players.

“Another benefit of these team camps is that it gives the schools a different opportunity to meet at a middle ground to play some competition they might not normally see in their region of the state. It also is an opportunity for athletes to get onto a college campus. I have memories from when I was a high school player myself bonding with teammates on trips like this.”

Troy Head Coach Scott Cross said that these team camps are a solid recruiting tool for the Trojans.

“The first time I saw Thomas Dowd was at our first team camp we ever had,” Cross said. “It’s a great deal. We also saw Kerrington Kiel at a camp. There are a lot of benefits of having this many teams on campus.”

Cordaro echoed Cross’ feelings on the recruiting benefit.

“Some of our current players have even played in this team camp,” Cordaro said. “It’s a neat recruiting tool for us. It’s a chance for us to be able to watch and evaluate high school players from all classifications and from freshmen all the way to incoming seniors. We get to see them in our gym and in their element and are able to evaluate them. It can come down to an opportunity for some of these guys to earn a scholarship. They’ll come in hungry to play some ball this weekend and I’m excited for it.”

Cross also pointed to the benefits that it should bring to the Troy community. Bus loads full of athletes from 70 different high schools – from various states – will all need places to eat, fuel up, shop and possibly even stay over night.

“I would assume the businesses in Troy will also benefit from it,” said Cross. “We have 70 teams with 15 players each, they have to eat somewhere. I would think it will definitely help the community out, as well as benefits our team and the high school teams that are coming.”

The camp also gives players from some of the smaller schools in the state a chance to be seen by a Division I coaching staff that they may not have gotten otherwise.

“Every single game there should be at least one person from our staff in the gym watching,” Cross emphasized. “We also have a grad assistant and student assistant and our coaches will be there to put eyes on every game. Our players will also be there and they know talent and if they see someone they’ll call us, or text us, and tell us to check out someone. It’s a great opportunity for kids that may have not been seen otherwise.”

Team Camps have been a forte for Cordaro, who has been the organizer of team camps at virtually all of his coaching stops, including when he was a head coach at LSU-Alexandria.

“Not many NAIA schools have a team camp and we were able to host it every year we could outside of COVID,” Cordaro said. “It’s something that was on my job list when I started here with Coach Cross. We did one when I got here and then had 12 months to prepare for this one and make it bigger and better and we almost doubled it. So, our numbers have really grown this year. I think it speaks really well about Troy Basketball and the staff we have here.”

Troy’s players will be working the scoreboards throughout the camp and will also pick a Player of the Game for each game played.

The teams from the local area that will be competing in this year’s team camp include Charles Henderson, Pike County, Pike Liberal Arts School, Enterprise, Pike Road, Dothan, Headland, GW Long, Headland, Carroll, Luverne, Straughn and Eufaula. Games will be played at Trojan Arena, the Troy Recreation Center, Charles Henderson High School and Charles Henderson Middle School.