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Irvine Press Box: Austin Daye's camp and Angels honor champs
Also, info about two Foothill lacrosse players competing in a prestigious weekend tournament.
An NBA lockout isn't keeping Detroit Pistons' third-year player Austin Daye from planning his second annual basketball camp in Irvine.
Daye, the former Woodbridge star, will hold the camp Aug. 1-4 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Irvine High. The camp is for boys and girls ages 5-14.
"It should be a pretty good camp," said Daye, who was named to the Register's all-county team in 2007 after averaging 30.9 points and 12.4 rebounds. "I had a pretty good response from my first camp. It was a lot of fun. This one should be a lot more active with a lot more things to do.
"We have a lot more sponsors and we had a lot more time with this camp, so it should be pretty good."
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Daye, like many other NBA players, has been keeping his eye on the labor negotiations. No progress was reported Thursday with a lockout expected later tonight.
"It's kind of hard to speak on. It's a tough situation because you don't have a whole lot of information on it," he said. "I hope it will be (settled). I don't have enough information to say for sure."
Daye, the Pistons' first-round pick out of Gonzaga in 2009, has been trying to stay in shape this summer playing in the Los Angeles Drew League.
Daye is hoping to keep progressing as a player as he enters this third year. Last season, he averaged 7.5 points and 3.8 rebounds.
"It was really good, I had an opportunity to play a lot of minutes and this year I'm looking to hopefully come in and start at my position and win some games, more than we did last year.
"The playing time in general helps any player. Playing is the most important thing. The more you play, the more experience you're going to get and the smarter the player you're going to be."
Daye continues to enjoy playing in the NBA.
"I love it, I get paid as much as I do to do my job and the job that I love and I've always wanted," he said. ""It's really a blessing."
Daye will try and inspire many of the youngsters at his camp.
"Anything is possible," he said. "I would definitely be able to tell them that. I came from not the most talented, not the best, not the strongest and I made it because of my will and I think anybody with will and anybody who dedicates themselves to something, they can get that done.
"Also, I would definitely let them know that school is the No. 1 thing that they have to do and that's the No. 1 thing that will get them by."
He's looking forward to the camp.
"Everything you need to know is on the web site. Hopefully as many people will sign up as they can and I'll do my job to help the kids get better and help them mentally and physically in basketball."
Players can sign up for either morning or afternoon sessions or an all-day session for $295, which includes lunch and snacks. Campers will receive a Nike T-shirt, a carrying bag and an autographed picture of Daye.
Daye said his father, Darren, a former NBA player, will be among the speakers at the camp.
More information is available by going to the camp web site at austindayebasketballcamp.com.
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