Sahuarita´s Shumpert makes Lute Olson´s All Star squad

By Nick Prevenas
Tuesday, June 27, 2006 10:19 PM PDT

University of Arizona head coach Lute Olson´s annual basketball camp is Southern Arizona´s best opportunity to showcase its best basketball talent against some of the best players in the nation.

Last week, Darnell Shumpert, a 6-foot-7-inch junior at Sahuarita High School, showed he has the skills to compete against the nation´s elite.

Shumpert, along with fellow Mustang Jordan Page, was named to the camp´s All Star squad on Thursday.

In fact, Shumpert impressed enough people to receive an invitation to the exclusive Pennsylvania Five-Star camp, recognized by many basketball insiders as one of the country´s top amateur camps.

"Coach Olson´s camp was so much fun and I got to play against a lot of great out-of-state talent," Shumpert said. "Miles Simon and Reggie Geary were both there helping everybody."

From June 18-22, nearly 400 high school basketball players converged on the McKale Center to sharpen their fundamentals and play in three games per day.

"I worked with a shooting coach who really helped me with my stroke," Shumpert said. "One game, I scored 21 points almost entirely on perimeter shots."

During Shumpert´s sophomore year with the Mustangs,  he helped the Mustangs jump out to a 19-5 summer record.

Shumpert began playing basketball as soon as he was old enough to take his first jump shot. The sport continued to come naturally as his height skyrocketed.

While he lived in California, Shumpert was a member of the Merced All Stars, one of the state´s strongest AAU teams.

Since moving to Sahuarita nearly two years ago, Shumpert has had to give up his AAU team, but has focused his energy on helping the Mustangs win a state championship.

"If everyone stays healthy and academically eligible, I think we definitely have a shot this year, especially with how well we´ve been playing this summer," Shumpert said.

Not only have the Mustangs been competing against tough 4A and 5A teams, they have beat most of them.

Since Shumpert stands almost four inches taller than many 3A teams´ tallest players, he is asked to play the center spot. However, Shumpert said his biggest strength is his ability to beat his opponents off the dribble.

"Coach Boyter has been pulling me out to the forward spot so I can handle the ball more, which is where I feel the most comfortable," Shumpert said.

Once Shumpert wraps up his high school career, he has his sights set on a college basketball scholarship.

"We are open to any school willing to offer Darnell a scholarship," said Shumpert´s mother, Vicki Watson. "We need the scholarship just to pay for Darnell´s size 17 shoes."

The Mustangs next tournament takes place over the Fourth of July weekend in Benson.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747