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Trent Meacham speaks at Unity basketball camp
TOLONO — Campers at the Unity Rockets summer basketball camp got a special treat last Wednesday when Illinois star and Centennial graduate Trent Meacham came to camp to assist in fundamental drills.
Meacham played for Unity coach Jarrett Brown when both were at Centennial in 2001, and Brown said having a player of Meacham’s caliber attend the Rockets’ camp was quite a thrill.
“The kids are just awestruck to see a player of his caliber; and they really listened to him,” Brown said. “He’s such a great influence for them.”
Meacham finished his collegiate career at Illinois in March when the Illini were beaten by Western Kentucky in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
During three seasons with the Illini, Meacham averaged 8.4 points and 2.7 assists a game, and his 178 3-pointers are good for ninth on Illinois’ all-time list.
Brown said those are kind of credentials to motivate any youngster.
“There’s no better representative of an athlete and a person than him,” Brown said. “He’s just so good as a clinician and what he can bring to the table with his dribbling routine.”
During his time at camp, Meacham stressed the importance of ball handling and the ability to control the ball with both hands.
The Illini guard then displayed his shooting stroke for the campers, giving out pointers on the best ways for shooters to train.
Brown said his Unity varsity athletes gained as much from watching Meacham as the younger campers did.
“Our players are looking at him with the same awestruck feeling as the young kids, because of the things that he can do,” he said. “The kids with a passion for the game will try some of those things and hopefully improve.”
The Unity youth summer basketball camp was organized by Unity’s coaches, and ran from June 8 to June 12 at the Rocket Center.
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