Former SU players Devendorf, Joseph coming to basketball camp in Lyons
Tim Stone had some time to himself during his bout with COVID-19 earlier this year, so he found himself cruising social media.
On Sunday, the Lyons resident will be cruising the Lyons Community Center with former Syracuse University basketball players Eric Devendorf and Kris Joseph.
The chance encounters via social media led to the former Orange duo coming to Lyons for a basketball camp the Center is calling “Shooting With the Stars.” It was an unexpected result of an unexpected encounter, but Stone and the Lyons residents he worked with to pull it all together are thrilled.
“It’s an opportunity to let the youth of our community know that there are adults out there who care about them,” said Stone.
The camp will have two sessions. Players in grade 7 through 12 will be with Devendorf and Joseph from 9 a.m. to noon and kids in grades 3 through 6 go from 12:15 to 2:30 p.m.
Joining them will be former Lyons coach and district Hall of Fame inductee Dean Schott I. Also coming are Lyons graduates Justice Smith, who just transferred from Mansfield to Division I East Tennessee State and Collier Drayton, another district Hall of Famer who played NCAA basketball at Northwestern.
Cesar Ortiz, director of the Lyons Community Center, is excited not only for the camp, but also for the way the area came together to make this event happen for the Lyons youth while also keeping the cost of the camp to a minimal $15.
Ortiz pointed to several area sponsors along with the cooperation of the Community Center, the Lyons school district and several community members.
“To be able to bring players of this magnitude to show these kids what life is like at the next level is huge,” said Ortiz. “A lot of these kids come from single-parent homes and have had some trouble so for them to hear some success stories is amazing.”
It wasn’t a hard sell to Devendorf and Joseph to come to Lyons, the hometown of Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. Stone said both have been fantastic in the planning stages leading up to Sunday and there is plenty of excitement.
“For the kids to have the opportunity to do something like this in our community is awesome,” said Ortiz. “You don’t see things like this in small communities like ours.”
Devendorf played at SU from 2005-2009 as a 6-foot-4 shooting guard and averaged 15.7 points a game. Kris Joseph, a 6-7 forward, played for the Orange from 2008-2012 and was drafted in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft.
This article originally appeared on MPNnow: Former SU players Devendorf, Joseph coming to basketball camp in Lyons
