‘Elite Camp’ to draw top prep prospects

Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self will bring some of the top high school prospects in the country to Allen Fieldhouse next month.

His first-annual “Elite Camp” for ninth- to 12th-graders will be held June 8-9 in Allen Fieldhouse. Names of attendees are not yet available.

Suffice it to say Self, his KU coaching staff and current players who will be allowed to work the camp, are hoping some future KU signees will attend.

“It’s not a trend. Schools have been doing it for years. We did one at Illinois,” Self said. “It should be (a boost to recruiting) if guys you are recruiting want to attend.”

Self said KU signees Cole Aldrich, Tyrel Reed and Conner Teahan would be allowed to sign up for the camp, which costs $75 per player.

“It’s a short camp, but an elite camp,” Self said. Check in will be 4-5 p.m. Friday, June 8, with the camp to be finished by 5 p.m. June 9. “You bring in 20 to 30 guys, do it properly and it’s a great camp.”

Self will hold two sessions of summer camp for 8- to 18-year-olds from June 10-14 and 17-21. The parent-child camp (which is full) will be June 16-17, and high school team camp will be June 22-24.

Information on camps is available at billselfbasketballcamp.com.

¢Self said he was enthused KU would be playing in its own Jayhawk Invitational basketball tournament this November, a five-team round robin event highlighted by the KU-Arizona game Nov. 25.

KU will play three mid-major teams in a two-week span in Allen Fieldhouse. Arizona also will play three teams in Tucson, Ariz.

The mid-majors will play each other at their own sites.

“I like it a lot. The home team keeps the gate. The additional home games will do a lot for our budget,” Self said.

The field has not yet been set. KU will play in the College Basketball Experience preseason tournament November of 2008 in Kansas City, Mo.