The inaugural national Rising Senior Academy was held at Ben Davis High School in July 2013.
This event was created by the National High School Basketball Coaches Association and supported by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The purpose of this event was to bring some of the top players in the nation together to develop leadership and basketball skills. The following six states participated – Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio and Wisconsin.
During this three-day event, the teams participated in five games utilizing a round-robin format. The players heard presentations related to leadership, the recruiting process, social media and the student-athlete, and reaching one’s full potential as a person and player.
These speakers addressed the players: David Ginsberg, NHSBCA, Executive Director; Ira Childress, Childress Sports Consulting; Bob Lovell, Indiana Sports Talk host, former college coach, author; Clark Kellogg, former NBA player, CBS college basketball analyst and Indiana Pacers vice president.
NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and junior college coaches were in attendance to observe the event.
In 2014, the event again will be hosted in Indiana at Ben Davis High School on July 13, 14 and 15. Girls’ teams from various states will be included in the 2014 edition in addition to boys’ teams. It is expected that there will be an increase in number of states represented in this event in 2014.
Clark Kellogg addresses the group of players
Indiana team in 2013 Rising Senior Academy event