Second-year head coach James Dickey enjoys teaching campers the importance of hard word on the basketball court, but between coaching drills, he also likes to show off his 3-point shot by taking on and defeating his campers at HORSE. | Joshua Siegel/The Daily Cougar
During the offseason, head coach James Dickey can still be found on the hardwood at Hofheinz Pavilion, except instead of barking at 6’7 student-athletes, he is teaching the game to middle and high schoolers.
Dickey held the annual camp last summer before his first season as head coach of the Cougars. During the three camps this summer, Dickey and his staff work with players ranging from first grade through high school seniors.
When the summer ends, the teaching won’t end for Dickey as he will welcome eight new players to the UH roster in the fall.
Q: What do you enjoy most about putting on these summer camps and working with the campers?
A: I love summer camps for a couple of reasons. One, it allows us to be in the gym teaching basketball. Two, we get an opportunity to have all of these young people on our campus. Not all of them are going to be basketball players at the next level, but they could all be possible students at the University of Houston. We want to give them a great experience about Cougar basketball and the University of Houston. We have three simple goals for our camp. One, I want their health and safety – that’s the paramount.
We’re going to keep them as safe as we possibly can. There’s always a few bruises, scrapes and bloody noses, but I want to keep them safe. Second, we want to teach them some basketball. We want to teach them the game. And third, we want them to have fun being here in Hofheinz, this historic building, being on campus at the University.
Q: How do you approach coaching and teaching differently with the campers than your players?
A: I’m a big proponent of, if you’re in the gym, coaching is coaching. There are different levels. Obviously the NBA is the highest level – they have the greatest coaches in the world. There are great college coaches. Certainly the talent level is different. Teaching basketball and seeing those guys improve makes you like being in the gym. You like teaching the game, but obviously there is a difference in talent.
Q: What is the one quality that your try to impress upon the campers the most?
A: Work habits. I tell them three things. If you want to help your team win next year, you play harder than anybody else on the court. Two, you can defend if you want to. And if you learn how to shoot the ball correctly and put it in the hole, you can help your team win. But if you can’t score, you better be able to play hard and you better be able to defend.
Q: How many of these kids will be walking on for you in the fall?
A: You always hope that someone comes through your camp, but there aren’t any seniors here this year. You always hope, but not this summer.
