NBA’s Kenneth Lofton Jr. returns to Port Arthur with basketball camp
Published 12:12 am Saturday, July 29, 2023
Kenneth Lofton Jr. meets with campers Friday at Memorial High School. (Mary Meaux/The News)
A few of the coaches at the Kenneth Lofton Jr. Basketball Camp, T.J. Atwood, left, Avery Sullivan, Zach Urbanus and Davaughn Thomas. (Mary Meaux/The News)
A group of coaches prepare to lead the camp Friday. (Mary Meaux/The News)
Youth take part in drills during the basketball camp Friday. (Mary Meaux/The News)
Coach Basil Brown, right, directs youth during the camp. (Mary Meaux/The News)
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Port Arthur native and Memphis Grizzlies player Kenneth Lofton Jr. was back in Port Arthur Friday, bringing coaches and athletes with him for a daylong basketball camp.
Lofton said coming back to Port Arthur is a great experience.
“I just want to give back to the kids and people in Port Arthur to show I support them, I love them and I want to show them the route through basketball,” Lofton said.
Beaumont native T.J. Atwood, who plays professionally in the U.K. for the Plymouth Patriots, was one of the pros coaching the camp.
Atwood said he wants to give back to the city and has always tried to pay it forward in life.
“Hopefully, the young guys coming up after me can do the same,” Atwood said.
Lamar University basketball player Avery Sullivan, who also plays in Germany for Rhondorf Dragons, took part in the camp as a way to inspire the next generation of youth.
“I think it is big for us being at the level we’re at, to help them know that there’s a way for them to work hard and get to where we’re at. I think it’s really a vital part of our journey,” Sullivan said.
Zach Urbanus is in player development and worked with the coaches and kids at the camp.
“As part of Junior’s circle and his group, we just want to support him and his endeavors,” Urbanus said. “This is really important for him having his first camp in his hometown and we’re going to do anything to support that.”
The camp was held in the Memorial High School gym, where students went station to station honing their skills.
Earlier this year Lofton Jr. was named the 2022-23 KIA NBA G League Rookie of the Year.
Undrafted out of Louisiana Tech in the 2022 NBA Draft, Lofton signed a Two-Way contract with the Memphis Grizzlies on July 2, 2022.
