Tracy McGrady bets on history with return of legendary basketball camp

History of the legendary basketball camp

Before Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League and the Peach Jam tournament, ABDC, hosted at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, was the main stage for young talent. The camp closed in 2006 after multiple revival attempts fell through despite interest from shoe sponsors.

The camp was also featured in the 2013 documentary "Lenny Cooke," which told the story of the former No. 1-ranked high school prospect who in 2001 was ranked ahead of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. The film highlighted the infamous ABDC game where James, then an unknown sophomore from Akron, Ohio, hit a game-winning shot over Cooke’s team in the final contest of the camp. That single performance boosted James’ stock while raising doubts about Cooke’s ability to succeed at the next level. Scouts quickly lost interest in Cooke, and he ultimately never reached the NBA.

Is it a good time to bring back ABDC?

Although ABDC carries deep significance and history, its revival enters a crowded landscape. Premier basketball camps already have NBA players and veterans behind them, such as the CP3 Elite Guard Camp created by Chris Paul, the SC30 “Curry Camp” created by Stephen Curry, the Allen Iverson Roundball Classic, known as the Iverson Classic, and the NBA-backed Top 100 Basketball Camp.

With a wide variety of camps, Pro-Am tournaments and NBA players hosting pickup runs, prospects already have access to elite environments. Carmelo Anthony and his longtime trainer Chris Brickley hold the well-known Black Ops runs in New York, while development coach Rico Hines runs his staple UCLA sessions in Los Angeles. These platforms allow young players to get on the floor with current NBA stars and gain exposure at the highest level.

This raises the question: Is the revival of ABDC coming too late? 

Could bringing back such a legendary tournament risk being a waste of resources, time and attention that might otherwise go toward other areas of youth basketball development? If so, the effort could drown out and overshadow any momentum the camp hopes to build in today’s basketball space.

While the high school basketball landscape has changed, enthusiasts will be watching to see if ABDC can once again develop elite prospects and capture public attention. Will the camp return to prominence, or will it remain a shell of its former self, a relic of basketball’s past living only in the memory of yesterday’s enthusiasts?