Bennedict Mathurin offers elite camp experience to local youth

Over 70 Central Indiana 12-14 year old boys and girls were treated to a special hoops experience.

Coach Benn instructed a group of kids at his camp.

Are you paying attention?

Pacers second-year guard, Bennedict Mathurin asked this question several times to different local 12-14 year old boys and girls as they cycled through his skill station at the basketball camp he put on at the Boys & Girls Club in Noblesville. Mathurin’s sister Jenn organized the event which included six skill stations with different coaches.

Mathurin had his groups doing a dribble hand-off into a floater finish in the lane — a skill Mathurin continually works on to help him score over bigger defenders in the lane. How to run the drill was just one thing the kids had to pay attention to as the drill was explained. Mathurin also wanted to kids to communicate and vocalize the makes in and effort for the group to get to 20.

When the kids weren’t paying attention to the details of the drill, including calling out the number of makes, Mathurin would single out the slacking player to run and up and back in eight seconds. A lot of kids ran thanks to the smiling tough love Benn was delivering.

You have to pay attention.

Coach Benn preps a camper to run an up and back.

The kids had their chance at revenge. When they made one of two possible free throws, then it was Coach Benn’s turn to run, much to the delight of the campers.

This was just one of the refreshing observations from Mathurin’s basketball camp at the Noblesville gym where I have spent many, many hours watching and waiting to watch AAU games in the spring, summer and fall.

In fact, this gym has hosted games with many elite players over the years along with elite showcase events like the Prep Hoops Top 250 workouts.

But not last Saturday morning.

Well, there may have been a couple of potential elite players among the 70-plus boys and girls in attendance, but the goal of Mathurin’s camp was to provide an elite basketball experience for kids who love the game but don’t have the opportunity to play AAU or attend a showcase event. Not everyone can afford those opportunities and only the extreme elite are given a chance without paying their way.

“You forget about the ones that are not that good. Not making the AAU teams. So, I contacted some of the Boys & Girls Clubs in the area so they can have first dibs on this. I contacted an all girls basketball group and asked for some players who would follow the other criteria I had and then 75 turned out,” Jenn Mathurin explained when discussing her role in putting the event together. Along with kids from different Boys & Girls Clubs and the girls groups, there were kids from the Haitian Association of Indiana.

The event did have a PR element to it with the media invited and Mathurin showing off his new logo, developed with Adidas. All of the camps wore practice jerseys with the logo along with a pair of shoes.

Mathurin sporting his new logo.

But the focus of the camp was on the kids and fundamentals like listening and communicating. Skills that will serve the young hoopers well on and off the court.

The other refreshing aspect of the camp was that there were no parents in the gym.

Like, none.

It was almost bizarre. When I pulled into the lot and saw so few cars, I was concerned the camp was going to be lightly attended. Then I entered the gym and all three courts were full of kids putting in work. No parents filming every rep or offering cringy moral support. It was spectacular!

I admittedly give off heavy dad vibes, so when I entered the back gym to see Jenn Mathurin working out kids at her station, she initially turned and gave me a solid mama bear glare. Eventually, she confirmed that I was with the media, but I know what she was thinking and I was close to getting tossed. Ha! I love it!

Andrew Nembhard and Kendall Brown were up early on Saturday morning to help out their draft classmate make an impact on the kids while each coached one of the stations. Coaches Lloyd Pierce, Mike Weinar and Mo Baker were also on hand, roaming around to offer tips to the kids.

It was a true Mathurin family affair which included their adopted Pacers family in Indiana. Here’s a great recap video of the camp from Pacers.com.