NBA Rookie Coaches Elementary Players In Jenks

Lots of NBA basketball teams are using the summer off-season to work on the fundamentals, but Friday in Jenks, the Hornets spent the day teaching the fundamentals. <br/><br/>Cedric Simmons has been a

Friday, July 21st 2006, 10:24 am

By: News On 6

Lots of NBA basketball teams are using the summer off-season to work on the fundamentals, but Friday in Jenks, the Hornets spent the day teaching the fundamentals.

Cedric Simmons has been a Hornet for less than a month. He was selected in the first round of the NBA draft. Simmons spent the day in Jenks, working with dozens of aspiring athletes.

The kids, some as young as 7-years-old, took tips from the pros on dribbling, passing, and shooting. Simmons also talked to the kids about staying in school, obeying their parents, and never giving up. 9-year-old Hornets fanatic Grant Oder says hearing from the NBA rookie was even better than the basketball. "Work hard and the harder you work, you might just keep on making it farther, and try and even make his dream."

Cedric Simmons: "I met one kid today and he said it was his first time to meet a pro athlete and so that was shocking to me, and it made me really see what kind of impact I can have on a young kid's life."

Simmons says he started dreaming of an NBA career when he was about the same age.

This entire camp was for charity. The only registration fee was five canned goods, or a $5 donation to the Tulsa Food Bank.