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Scoonie organizes Buckeye Legends for hoops camp[/FONT]
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News file photo
Former Ohio State University point guard Scoonie Penn has joined with former coach Rick Boyages to put on the Buckeye Legends Hoop Camp, which will be July 31 through Aug. 4 at Columbus Academy. [/FONT]
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By JONATHAN KNIGHT[/FONT]
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For one week this summer, Columbus Academy will serve as the center of the Ohio State basketball universe.[/FONT]
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From July 31 though Aug. 4, the Gahanna private school will host the first Buckeye Legends Hoop Camp, organized by former OSU men's basketball assistant coach Rick Boyages and former point guard Scoonie Penn. [/FONT]
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Designed for boys and girls ages 9 through 15, the camp will feature a smorgasbord of former Buckeye players who will work with youngsters and teach them the fundamentals of the game.[/FONT]
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Michael Redd, Terrence Dials, Brian Brown, George Reece, Kenny Johnson and Brent Darby are all expected to appear and orchestrate sessions on individual skills training, instruction of 3-on-3 concepts, and 5-on-5 scrimmaging. Additionally, there will be skill competitions and speeches. [/FONT]
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"I'm excited about it," said Penn, who has been playing professionally in Europe since leaving Ohio State. "I've wanted to do it for a while, but I haven't had much time. It's going to be annually, and maybe we can even have it where it can be done two times a summer."[/FONT]
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Boyages, now the associate commissioner overseeing men's basketball in the Mid-American Conference, said the Legends camp has been a year in the making.[/FONT]
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"We started talking with Columbus Academy a year ago," he said. "I have a good relationship with the headmaster and we talked for a while. We got together with Scoonie Penn and decided we could do a couple things: have a camp for kids at a great location and a great school, and also recruit a lot of former players and teammates to come back."[/FONT]
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It will also mark the first time Academy has ever hosted an open-to-the-public athletic camp.[/FONT]
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"We both thought it was a good idea," said CA athletics director Dominic Facciolla.[/FONT]
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Boyages said Academy is an ideal location for the camp, with two gymnasiums and four outdoor basketball courts, as well as a large lobby in the athletic wing for registration and access to the school cafeteria.[/FONT]
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"The way our campus is set up, it's really conducive to this kind of thing," Facciolla said. "This is a new avenue for us, so we're taking a look and seeing if it's a way we want to go."[/FONT]
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Facciolla said they're looking at a maximum of about 200 campers.[/FONT]
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"It will be fun for the kids," Facciolla said, "but also well-executed."[/FONT]
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Which is exactly what both Boyages and Penn want.[/FONT]
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"We all love working with little kids and teaching fundamentals," Boyages said. "Over the course of a week, the combination of working with the kids and seeing all the old teammates will be great."[/FONT]
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"I want them to come and learn something," Penn said. "I remember how precious it was for me to go to camp when I was young and I'd take things from the camp and put them into my game.[/FONT]
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"I like to teach kids. I look at it like I'm a student of the game. I get a kick out of that kind of thing."[/FONT]
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Penn will lead the parade of former Buckeye standouts, fresh off his best professional season in Europe, playing for leagues in Italy and Croatia. Penn hopes to land a spot on an NBA roster this summer.[/FONT]
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Meanwhile, the camp also allows Boyages to scratch a coaching itch he's felt since he moved into an administrative position with the OSU athletic department following head coach Jim O'Brien's resignation in 2004. Boyages began his collegiate coaching career as the head coach at Bates College in Maine, then joined O'Brien as an assistant at Boston College and followed him to Columbus. [/FONT]
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Boyages also served as William & Mary's head coach for three years from 2000 to 2003 and has conducted hundreds of summer camps and clinics throughout the United States and Europe.[/FONT]
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He now lives in Upper Arlington and drives to the MAC offices in Cleveland for a few days each week.[/FONT]
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"I miss the coaching at times," Boyages said. "I don't miss the recruiting or the stress of coaching, but that's why doing camps and clinics gets my fix for me. I do enjoy being around basketball and being constantly in touch with the coaches and the issues."[/FONT]
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The camp will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day. The cost is $295 per camper. [/FONT]
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Lunch will not be provided, but water will be readily available to all campers and sports drinks will be available for purchase.[/FONT]
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There will be a closing award ceremony at 3 p.m. on Aug. 4.[/FONT]