NBA players and their reps let Lil Big Man Camp down

Nate Robinson of the Golden State Warriors and Isaiah Thomas of the Sacramento Kings want to set things right with Hawaii, according to their representatives.

And that is in process, as full $200 refunds have begun to appear in the accounts of people who paid for three days of youth basketball instruction from the NBA players last week at Farrington High School but got just one.

Good. The proof is in the ledgers.

Here’s what led to this: Local event organizer Sean Carney got a call Tuesday, a few minutes before the start of the Lil Big Man Camp’s second day’s session, informing him Robinson and Thomas were out of here.

"When I got the phone call they were on the plane," Carney said. "There was nothing I could do."

David Hudson of Elite Sports Camps, which staged the event, said the small turnout of 23 campers wasn’t the reason the players left. He and Alonzo Weatherby, who is Thomas’ business agent, told me on Friday they would have the players call me to explain why they left.

Neither did, so we’re left with apologies and comments from their reps.

They said the players wanted to go home because they’d been on the road more than a week (they had an event on Maui the previous weekend).

"I’ll have to take the majority of the blame," Hudson said. "I overbooked them; the trip was eight days long. Both of them have young children and I should have taken that into consideration. Nate’s child had a graduation coming up he didn’t want to miss. They could’ve been a little more vocal about it ahead of time, but I gotta take the blame."

"It was definitely not done intentionally," Weatherby said.

Carney said he received a "heartfelt" apologetic voicemail from Robinson, in which Robinson expressed interest in doing a free clinic here. "We’re serious about it," Hudson said. "We just have to work out the dates. Nate wants to do it on a weekend in July."

Hawaii is the land of second chances, so I hope it happens. We’ll see.

Carney salvaged what he could of the situation. The former University of Hawaii volleyball player enlisted his ‘Iolani basketball teammates Derrick Low and Kyle Pape to work the camp on Tuesday.

Low and Pape are pro basketball players, too, and what they have to share with Hawaii kids is just as valuable — if not more — once you get past the NBA glitz factor.

Still, Carney insisted on full refunds for the registrants from Hudson’s group.

"We offered a three-day camp with NBA players, and they didn’t get the complete package," said Carney, whose locally based Elite Sports Academy is not affiliated with Elite Sports Camps.

Carney said he received a call from Elite Sports Camps less than a month ago, asking for assistance in setting up the event. Carney was promised a small cut of profits if a large number of participants signed up. He said he knew that was unlikely with the high fee and limited lead-in time to promote the camp.

When he was told the players left, Carney contacted every family and explained the situation. When he saw parents, he gave them his card and looked them in the eye. "I told them ‘Put the name to the face. You will get (the money) back.’"

He lost time and money, but considers it a learning experience — and affirmation of his own ethics.

"For me, this is my home and where I want to live the rest of my life," Carney added. "It’s not just about money, it’s about the kids. That’s very important to me."

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783.