TONY ALLEN HOLDS GRIT & GRIND BASKETBALL CAMP AT MAJOR ADAMS YOUTH CENTER

Tony Allen, guard for the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team, returned to his old neighborhood to hold a free youth basketball camp at Major Adams Youth Center, 125 North Hoyne in West Haven. Allen is a proud graduate of Crane High School and grew up just blocks from the Major Adams Center. This is the first time Allen has sponsored a basketball camp and he says it is his way of giving back to the community that made him successful.
Allen says his camp also gives him the chance to talk to local young people and let them know there is more to life than basketball and they have to be preparing themselves. He notes that he earned a BA from Oklahoma State University.
Tony told teenagers that he knows he has a reputation for being wild, but he has a serious side, too. He emphasizes that he takes the game of basketball very seriously because it is his profession. He also recognizes that it is a business and he is a part of that business. He told the youths that they need to get their educations and learn about the business side of their lives.
He says he is ready for the opening of the basketball season and stays in good condition all year long. When it comes to the labor negotiations threatening the coming season, Allen says he isn’t involved in that and leaves the business affairs of the NBA to the experts. But, he says he does believe that the team owners are making good money.
Allen says he is looking forward to an exciting year with the emergence of teams that were written off last year but were contenders in the playoffs – teams like his Grizzlies and the Oklahoma Thunder, who surprised everyone.
Johnny Harris, Executive Director of the Major Adams Center, hosted the week-long camp, arranged and promoted with the assistance of Christi With An Eye Public Relations.