WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Besides getting to learn from several members of the 2010 Lycoming College NCAA Division III Tournament men’s basketball team, the nearly 100 campers at the Guy Rancourt Basketball Camp got a special treat on Wednesday afternoon when former NBA player and 2007 Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year Stephane Lasme and former NBA Development League head coach Bob MacKinnon stopped by camp at Lamade Gymnasium.
MacKinnon, who won the 2008-09 NBA D-League Championship with the Colorado 14ers, has spent the last two years as a D-League head coach. A longtime friend of Lycoming College head coach Guy Rancourt, MacKinnon, who has served as an assistant coach at several D-I programs, including George Washington, Notre Dame and North Carolina, brought Lasme, the first NBA player from the African country of Gabon, to Lycoming to run him through several shooting workouts while Lasme recovers from a broken foot.
MacKinnon took center stage at the camp to talk to the campers about the dedication that Lasme, a second round pick of the Golden State Warriors in the 2007 NBA draft, needs to show while working out during his rehab from the foot injury suffered while playing in Israel’s pro basketball league.
MacKinnon, who has led Lasme’s workouts since he was cleared to start shooting this week, had Lasme go through the beginning of the workout, shooting one-handed from three feet away from the hoop until he hit three shots before backing up. As Lasme went through the routine, MacKinnon talked to the campers about how Lasme, a 6-8 power forward, was working on his perimeter shooting so that the former University of Massachusetts star could become more valuable as he developed wing player skills.
Before Lasme wrapped the beginning parts of his shooting routine after 10 minutes, MacKinnon explained that Lasme, who played with the Miami Heat in 2007-08, was going through three 90-minute shooting workouts a day to get back in shape for pro basketball.
After the talk, Lasme, who is currently weighing several professional contract offers, signed autographs for each camper before heading downstairs to the Recreation Center for a weightlifting workout.
Besides the NBA players, the basketball camp also has several counselors from the 2009-10 Warriors, who finished 21-7 overall and earned second-year coach Rancourt his first trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament as a head coach.
