BEL AIR, Md. — The court at The John Carroll High School in Bel Air is filled with boys and girls chasing their basketball dreams.
WATCH: NBA player and Havre de Grace native hosts youth basketball camp
And they need to look no further than to homegrown NBA star Immanuel Quickley, who is hosting his annual Basketball I.Q. Camp.
“I was once that kid that was kinda looking for direction,” says the pro point guard, “and basketball was an outlet for me. And being able to be a role model for the younger generation, younger kids, is always something that I look forward to doing.”
The Havre de Grace native played basketball at John Carroll, graduating in 2018. And he's been living his hoop dreams ever since, being drafted in the NBA in 2020.
Yet, he hasn't forgotten about home.
“It's pretty cool to just say that I'm from Havre de Grace,” he says, “something that not a lot of kids can say. And I think it's something that I take great pride. The city of Havre de Grace is behind me. I'm a Harford County kid.”
Quickley, who now plays for the Toronto Raptors, says his goal is to help the kids grow on and off the court.
“Obviously, get better at the game of basketball and teach them,” he says. “But also give them kind of an outlet because all of them won't be NBA players, so trying to show there's other ways to affect business, community, and just give them good character qualities that they'll have later in life.”
And he's made quite an impression on the kids here, like sixth grader Bryson Ladnese.
“It's crazy 'cause he's from the same town as me,” Bryson says. “A NBA superstar in your same area.”
This is Zyree Berry's third year at the camp. He says he's learned an important lesson from Quickley.
“I got to just work hard,” Zyree says. “A lot of people trying to make it to other sports and playing basketball, so I just gotta be willing to do what those other people aren’t willing to do.”
Quickley has also created a scholarship fund to provide four-year scholarships to John Carroll basketball players. Just like the one he received.
“Everybody's not going to be an NBA player,” he emphasizes, “but giving them the chance to come to a school like John Carroll, where they can learn academics and time management. They can learn about history and things like that, is something I enjoy doing.”
