Former Hoosier Jordan Hulls returned to Bloomington this past week for his third annual Basketball Skills Academy.
The three-day basketball camp was an opportunity for Hulls to help out the kids in Bloomington, a town where Hulls grew up.
“I have always been pretty passionate about giving back and trying to help kids grow in the game of basketball because my dad trains kids and he trained me growing up,” Hulls said. “It’s great to be able to relay what I’ve learned.”
The camp is named Dream Big because it’s the value Hulls learned growing up and what helped him become the No. 26 all-time scorer at IU.
“I think I can relate to a lot kids because of my story,” Hulls said. “I’m not the biggest or the strongest or the fastest or anything like that. But I was still able have success in basketball.”
Hulls said he learned a lot from his parents and they helped teach him about dreaming big and working hard. Those core values are things he said he wants to impart to campers.
“If you don’t dream big, what do have to look forward to and to work toward?” Hulls said. “That’s something my parents and a lot of people around me encouraged me to do, and it got me to where I am today.”
Hulls said it was important to give back to Bloomington and the kids because of the effect these camps had on him when he was growing up, even though he didn’t go to many.
“It’s something that I looked forward to when I was a young kid,” Hulls said. “Whenever someone was willing to give back, I saw how much of an impact it had on me.”
Hulls said seeing the example of his parents who gave back to community volunteering for different places inspired him to do so when he had a chance.
Giving back also was what inspired Hulls to start Never Lose Hoop, a foundation that helps kids affected by cancer.
Hulls has seen the camp grow and develop during the past two years, and this year’s camp is the third time he’s done one on his own.
“The first year was the first time I’ve done my own camp,” Hulls said. “After high school, I did a camp at the YMCA, but I had a lot of help with it. This was started from scratch and I had to come up with all the drills and the layout.”
Hulls said the first year of the camp was a test run that went well and he said he’s tried to use to feedback from the campers’ parents and the staff to help improve the camp.
The staff was made up of people Hulls knew well or was familiar with that also shared his passion for giving back.
“I want the coaches to know basketball, love to help the kids and also be to teach the kids,” Hulls said.
He’s had his sister, ex-high school teammates and ex-IU managers help coach. This year, IU alumni Tom Pritchard and Austin Etherington helped out with the camp.
“Each year, I’m trying to add more things to make the camp more fun and keep people coming back,” Hulls said.
