HAMPTON, VA (WTKR)- Growing up in the Strothers household, basketball seemed as routine as waking up in the morning.
"That's all I know, really," Allen Strothers said of the game. "I've had a ball in my hand since I was five years old, maybe younger. It's shaped me into the person I am today."
"It has taken me so far," added Adria Strothers, Allen's sister. "It has taken me so many places, I've met so many people, just had plenty of opportunities with that little orange ball."
Hoops has given the family plenty of opportunities. It's also strengthened a family bond that was already tight.
"It was easy," noted Allen. "Everybody had the same interest. If we wanted to go the gym, everybody was going to the gym. It just made us become closer as a family."
"Playing together, because I have a sister that played on the same team as me in high school and AAU, then watching [my brothers] play and supporting them definitely just brought us closer as a family unit for sure." Adria said.
Ever since their early days of basketball, Allen, Adria and their siblings have taken the floor at their father's camps, including the Lamont Strothers Summer Program. The elder Strothers is a Suffolk native who is well-known in the basketball community. A Christopher Newport legend, he was the highest player ever selected in the NBA Draft from a Division III program, spending time in the NBA and overseas. Also a former high school coach, Lamont Strothers started the camp to give back to the Peninsula Community.
"This is where it started," smiled Allen. "I've been in the camp since I was four years old."
"Every summer, every spring, every Christmas break- camp, camp, camp, camp," Adria laughed.
This year's edition of the camp has a little bit of a different flavor. In year 21 of the program, Lamont has passed the reins to his kids. Allen, Adria and their younger brother, Etienne, all have Division I playing experience. Allen, who has taken over as the camp's director, recently graduated from East Tennessee State. Adria played at Hampton, while Etienne currently suits up for the Pirates.
"It warms my heart that we have the opportunity to give my dad a break," Adria said. "Just watching him work constantly- long nights, early mornings, sleepless nights."
"I take it as a seriously as he did," pointed out Allen. "I come in here with the intention to get these kids better and show them what I've learned and hopefully that can help their game."
The family is continuing Lamont's legacy of helping their community. They're passing down skills and lessons, teaching the next generation that if they want to shine in the spotlight, they have to put in hours of hard work on the hardwood.
"I want them to have that in their minds so that when these tough times come in their path to be wherever they want to go that it's already wired that it's just another day of work," Allen said.
"I notice that a lot of these kids don't have a lot of confidence within themselves," added Adria, who is a coach for Heritage High School's JV team. "If I can pour into them to help them build that confidence, because that is a big part of playing basketball, that's something I would love for them to take away from this camp."
The Lamont Strothers Basketball Camp is for kids in grades 1-9 and takes place at Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton.
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