Ryan Hampton is bringing a free basketball camp to Lexington next month, and the future Kentucky Wildcat is making it open to boys and girls who want a chance to work with one of the top recruits in the country.
The youth ProCamp is set for October 10 at the Lexington Ice Center & Sports Complex, located at 560 Eureka Springs Drive. It runs from 9 to 11:30 a.m.
ET and is open to kids in grades 1 through 8, no matter their skill level. The best part for families: there’s no cost to attend.
The camp description says Hampton and the coaches will work through lectures, fundamental skill stations, contests and non-contact games in a high-energy setting. Campers will be grouped by age to keep instruction focused, with a 10:1 maximum camper-to-coach ratio. The event also promises individual and team awards in each age group, with the goal of giving every child “the experience of a lifetime.”
Each camper will also receive a souvenir autograph from Ryan Hampton, a group photo with him and a limited-edition Ryan Hampton Basketball ProCamp T-shirt. Outside items won’t be allowed for autographs.
Hampton’s father, Rod, told KSR the decision to host the camp in Lexington fits the family’s approach to giving back - and Ryan’s personality.
“Man, Ryan is a big, big kid at heart. He loves kids,” Hampton told KSR.
“I mean, he has a nephew, and it’s almost like his kid. I mean, he comes to visit and Ryan kind of smothers him.
So Ryan’s a big kid at heart, and we’re a family of giving back. That’s how you receive your blessings.
“We’re not in it to get anything. We just like to give back.
And that’s with basketball, that’s with life, that’s with mentorship. And Ryan wants to be that kind of guy off the court.”
Rod Hampton also said the camp is a way to help Big Blue Nation get to know Ryan before he arrives in Lexington next summer and starts his college career in 2027-28.
“You just want to let Big Blue Nation kind of grasp him early. That’s who he is,” he continued.
“So they can get behind him and support him whatever he does, not just as a basketball player. So coming to Lexington and doing this is a big deal for our family.
We had a chance to do it here in Dallas - which we are going to do one, but when they presented it that we can also do one in Lexington, we said, ‘Let’s do that first because, Big Blue Nation, that’s his family now.’
“We’re coming and working hard and want to do everything we can to be the best basketball player. Ryan’s a great kid.
He’s a great human, great individual, and he just loves giving back. And you’ll see the smile on his face as he puts smiles on those kids’ faces.”
Hampton himself said the camp should be a fun one, but not a lazy one. He expects to teach and push the kids while keeping the day upbeat.
“It’s going to be fun,” Hampton told KSR. “I mean, he’s been coached hard his whole life, so I think this is just going to be a camp where he is around the kids and he’s going to make it really fun for them, but he’s going to teach them the fundamentals of the game. It’s going to be a lot of instruction and a lot of good teaching, but I think this is just going to be fun for everyone involved.”
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