13th annual Bobby Madison Basketball Camp held in Columbiana

Published 10:15 am Friday, June 23, 2023

By Andrew Simonson

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By SCOTT MIMS | Special to the Reporter

COLUMBIANA – An estimated 125 kids teamed up with Bobby Madison and other professionals to learn the fundamentals of basketball during the week of June 19-22.

Madison’s namesake basketball camp held its 13th year at Columbiana Middle School for boys and girls from ages 6-13. The event moved from its typical location of Shelby County High School while the school’s gym floor underwent a replacement project.

“I think it’s important to build a good foundation—ball handling, defensive positioning, making sure they know how to play the game and play it the right way, shooting form and shooting the basketball the correct way, consistently,” Madison said.

Joining the camp in 2023 were three coaches who played professionally in Europe, five who played Division I college basketball and two who are currently playing college basketball. Madison wished to recognize them by name:

  • Tyler Madison, brother of Bobby, had a great career at SCHS and played at UAB, where he played a big part in the Blazers’ 2015 NCAA Tournament run.
  • Shanavia Dowdell, a Calera High School grad, went on to play at Louisiana Tech and had a 13-year professional career in Europe. She announced her retirement this season.
  • Zykera Rice of Washington state played at Gonzaga and recently retired from her professional career in Europe.
  • Ty Lollar, who played at SCHS, Miles College and the University of Montevallo, returns to the camp each year to coach local basketball hopefuls.
  • Lamus McCombs, coach at Jacksonville High School, also participated in the camp.

“I feel that it’s important for kids to see and get trained from coaches with those types of backgrounds, because they know the work that it takes to get to that level, as far as college basketball or even at the high school level,” Madison said.

He also recognized his wife, Courtney Madison, adding that she is a “very, very huge part of the success of the basketball camp,” as well as his parents and teacher Soli Lilly for what they do behind the scenes.

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