Pro-Am Brings Out Top Talent 07.05.11 - 11:57am

When Jerry Stackhouse co-founded the S.J.G. Greater NC Pro-Am, he must have envisioned something like this.

The best young talent in basketball made its way to Durham, North Carolina this week to form a fun and competitive summer league environment amongst their peers. Four years after its creation, the Pro-Am is a magnet for some of the game's budding stars from the NBA and college hoops.

"A lot of guys are going to be looking for places to play and work out, not so much worried about having to try and protect themselves for the season," Stack told the News Observer last week. "So I think we're going to see a lot of guys looking to stay in shape."

Last season's No. 1 NBA draft pick John Wall will take part in the league for the second straight year and this year's No. 1 choice, Kyrie Irving, will join him.

"I know he is anxious about starting his professional career," Stack said of Irving. "But with that being on hold, here's a place where he can showcase his talent and show everyone why he was the number one pick."

League director Chuck Jones believes that the cancellation of the NBA's annual Las Vegas Summer League will contribute to an increased turnout at the Pro-Am.

"We're going to have a lot of those guys over here this year," he said. "So we are expecting it to be pretty good."

Phillip Hoover of IndyWeek.com recently wrote about what makes the Pro-Am so special year-in and year-out:

The league is the brainchild of Jerry Stackhouse, Donyell Bryant and Chuck Jones, native North Carolinians and childhood friends who decided to start a competitive summer recreational basketball league for area players. N.C. Central agreed to host the event, and the idea took off quickly with help from Stackhouse's NBA notoriety and the bevy of local college and high school talent of the area.

The talent alone makes the Pro-Am well worth attending on a hot, potentially aimless summer night. But the real reason this league is so unique and interesting is that, for all the talent on display, it's really just a rec league. Admission is free, and the intimate confines of NCCU's McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium, which seats 3,000, is perfectly suited for the diverse fans who show up. These conditions make for one of the best, most competitive summer leagues in the country.

If a great crowd for the league opener last Thursday is any indication, it's going to be a jam-packed summer in Durham.

"To have this type of turnout on opening night, we are excited about it," Jerry told The Herald-Sun. "The city of Durham has been great to us. This community has accepted us and embraced us well. Every year is a negotiation with why it works for us and works for them, but we would like to have it at Central as long as we can. It also gives the kids in the community an outlet to come here, so we see it as a win-win for both of us."

The Pro-Am continues this Thursday night with five games, including a wheelchair game, a women's game and a men's tripleheader. For more on the S.J.G. Greater NC Pro-Am, click here.

RELATED STORIES

• Having fun at the Pro-Am (News Observer, July 1, 2011)
• Pro-Am brings hoops talent to Durham (The Herald-Sun, July 1, 2011)
• Pro-Am Time (Duke Basketball Report, July 1, 2011)
• Real basketball for die-hard hoop-heads (IndyWeek.com, July 1, 2011)