Intern of the Week

What's been the best part?
Oh, traveling! Going to different universities. I get to go meet all of the coaches there and see a bunch of different cities that I have not been to. I'm also one of the only girls here, which is fun. I get all the attention.

Where have you been so far?
Tallahassee, Philadelphia, the Bronx and Pittsburgh.

Any other perks?
Food is taken care of, and so is room and board, flights and rental cars. Also, the connections and the relationships I build with everyone.

Have you met any famous people?
Yes. I met Vince Carter, Ron Artest, and Tim Hardaway. Vince Carter came to speak at Pittsburgh. Ron Artest was in Homesdale, Penn. and he was actually playing and coaching. And Tim Hardaway was there just watching his son and interacting with everyone. They were all previous campers back in the day. Also, there have been some famous coaches, too. Pete Gillen (he coached at Virginia) and John Calipari, the coach from Memphis, spoke here last year. Howard Garfinkle is here all the time. He brings all the coaches in to watch during the live period. He really started the scouting in the East Coast. Basically if you want to know how good of a player someone is, then call him.

What's been the toughest part?
The toughest part is the long hours because your body gets weary and it's hard to perform. Going to bed at 2 a.m. and waking up at 7:30 a.m. to go to breakfast by 8 a.m. It's tough.

Biggest downside?
Sometimes it's unorganized. There's new staff at every site and they do it differently. The routine changes: dorm rules, dinner, check-in places. Basically it's new management wherever we go so we can't get used to things being done in a certain way.

What is most unique about your job?
I'm a girl coaching men's teams. It's really never been done at Five-Star. Like two weeks ago, they needed a coach for the 8th grade and freshman team, and they didn't have anyone else. So they chose me and my team ended up winning the championship and then I coached the All-Star game.

Is this something you want to do in the future? If not, what do you want to pursue?
My dream job is to be a D-I head basketball coach or to be the first girl to be a D-I men's assistant. I want to start my own basketball camp for girls. There's nothing like the ABCD Reebok Camp for girls.

Any funny stories from your experiences so far?
A few weeks ago, there was a kid from the Dominican Republic who idolizes Kobe. He didn't speak any English. The only word he said was Kobe. So I'm referring his game and the whole time he's trying to yell at me to call fouls but he's using all these hand motions. He's lipping at me what he was trying to say because he couldn't complain in English.

Also, one of the counselors is old and he has false teeth and every dinner and lunch he takes them off and places them on his tray. Everyone gets disgusted. It's hilarious. He just pops them out in front of us.