SPARTANBURG, SC (FOX Carolina) – Former Spartanburg Day School and now New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson hosted a free basketball camp for kids in his Upstate hometown on Saturday.
Nearly 200 children gave Zion a hero’s welcome as he entered the Upward Star Center for the first camp he hosted in Spartanburg.
During his first visit home in two years, he explained how important it was to host the camp.
“Because this is where the world learned about Zion. The world learned about Zion in my penultimate year of high school, but the city of Spartanburg learned about Zion in my ninth year of high school,” he said. “They embraced me, they adopted me in a way. It’s only right that I return the love and give back to the community.”
The camp sold out within 15 minutes of the announcement, and there was a similar excitement to when Zion’s Spartanburg Day School teams won three consecutive state titles and he was unanimously named national player of the year.
Zion said liberating the camp was the key.
“Originally we had a $100 or $200 fee,” he said. “But two or three days later we thought, ‘We don’t have to charge anyone.’ So we just made it free so people could come and have fun.”
Shawntelle Abrams, a mother from Spartanburg, said she originally couldn’t afford to send her three children to the camp, but when spots became free, she immediately enrolled them all.
“It was great that it was free,” Abrams said. “It’s hard for a single parent or someone who has multiple children to pay $150. I’m just grateful to him for coming back to Spartanburg County and getting back involved in his community.”
Shawntelle’s son Connor said it has been inspiring to follow Zion’s journey.
“It’s a big deal for him to go from a small community to a big star,” Connor said.
Winter Gardner, a 12-year-old camper from Gaffney, said she remembers watching Zion electrify high school gyms across the state at Spartanburg Day.
“I can learn something from him,” Gardner said. “He always gave everything he had and I can incorporate that into my game.”
Zion took photos with children and adults, signed autographs, and even held a question-and-answer session with the campers.
He said his favorite teammates were CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy III of the Pelicans and joked that he didn’t know who the North Carolina Tarheels were since he went to Duke.
Some of the campers questioned Zion’s dunking skills, to which he responded that he would happily dunk over any of the kids and that he doesn’t take it easy on anyone.
In addition to the jokes, campers also enjoyed an inspiring day meeting a local hero at the first-ever Zion Williamson Basketball Camp in Spartanburg.
“The turnout is great,” said Zion. “Hopefully I can keep it up.”
All rights reserved.
