Published: June 27, 2009 02:14 pm      

Sweet summer

Good vibes about Navarro hoops carries over to youth camp

The Navarro basketball team had an unforgettable spring. That has been well documented with the Runnin’ Bulldogs reaching the NJCAA national tournament for the first time in school history.

That good karma has carried over to the summer.

Coach Johnny Estelle was a court coach for Team USA U19 at the 2009 trials last week in Colorado Springs. Assistant coach Eric Colbert will be an instructor at the prestigious Mullens/College Coaches Network Top 120 camp next month in Tulsa.

Graduating sophomore DeAndre Brown, who is headed to Louisiana Tech, was a first-team NABC All-American and the Texas Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Year.

So as the Runnin’ Bulldogs get ready to host their Bulldog Basketball Camp on July 6-9 at the Corsicana YMCA, there is a good feeling around the basketball program.

“It feels like things are going in the right direction,” Colbert said. “People are starting to recognize what Navarro has been doing for years, getting student-athletes to graduate and running a great program.”

The Bulldogs Basketball Camp is limited to the first 100 campers and runs from 8 a.m. to noon each day. There will be skills learning sessions, games and a guest speaker. The camp is $60.

“Every kid will get individual instruction from college coaches,” Colbert said. “They’ll get to step up their games to add on to what they’ve already been taught from the good coaches around the area.”

The Bulldogs have signed eight players for next season, including three from California. The incoming freshmen are point guard Sam Ferguson from Mayfair High School in Lynwood, Calif.; 6-2 combo guard Kenny Sharpe from Destiny Academy in Philadelphia, Penn.; 5-10 point guard Brian Talley from Southern University (Duncanville); 6-4 wing Kierre Beverly from Millikan High School in Long Beach, Calif.; 6-9 center Leon Gibson from Sierra High School in Gardena, Calif.; 6-3 guard Jason Ross from Mansfield; 6-5 wing Cortrel Eskridge from Jacksonville (Ark.) High School; and 6-7 forward Aaron Plunkett from San Antonio Stevens.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs appear to have capitalized on their regional title. Ferguson and Beverly are top players from the West Coast.

“It puts your name out,” Colbert said of making the national tournament. “We’re able to go to states and find players who have never heard of Navarro.

“We were on the national stage.”

Briefly...: All four sophomores from last season earned their degrees and scholarships: Brown (Louisiana Tech); Paul Crosby (Binghamton); Charleston Flemming (Southeastern Missouri); and Nathan Murray (Cameron University)...The overall team GPA for 2009 was 2.92.