Former South star giving back with clinics, camp

Nate Miller grew up going to basketball camps run by Jim Scoby and Jayson Gee in Springfield.

This summer, the former South High School and Bowling Green star, now playing professionally in Israel, will give back to the community by holding on a weekly clinic in June and a five-day Nate Miller III Dreams camp in July.

“The reason for me putting on this camp is very simple,” Miller said. “I have a 3D model that I live my life by: discipline, determination and dedication. These are the main things that you need to reach your dreams. Dream big! I feel that if the youth are instilled with this model at a young age, whatever they want to do, whether it’s in sports, academics, music, or anything ele, they can do it.”

The first two free clinics take place from 9-11 a.m. on June 8 (at Davey Moore Park ) and June 15 (at Mabra Park) for grades one through five. The third and fourth clinics, for grades six through 12, will be held from 9-11 a.m. on June 22 (Davey Moore Park) and June 29 (Mabra Park).

The clinics are free. The camp, which lasts from July 8-12 at Hayward Middle School, costs $65 and will feature professional basketball players as instructors. There will also be an All-Star game on July 12 at Wittenberg featuring overseas and NBA players, Miller said.

Miller encouraged parents to register their kids from the clinics and camps through the National Trail Parks and Recreation District, but said kids will not be turned away unless the clinics and camps are full.

“I want this to be something that kids look forward to every summer,” Miller said. “I hope that they see by the people that I bring in. They are men who were kids just like them who had dreams and did whatever they had to do to reach them, so why can’t they? I want to teach the kids the fundamentals of basketball and relate it to life as much as I can to help them see that they can be successful. I use the same principles that I use for basketball in my everyday life, and I want to share it with the youth just like it was shared with me growing up in Springfield.”

Miller is now in his third season in Israel. He said he tested the waters in Mexico and Argentina last winter before returning to Israel. He’s averaging 18.2 points per game for Ironi Nahariya, a team from Northern Israel in Israeli’s second division.

“I thank God for the opportunity to go to these places and travel the world just for the experience and to know how blessed I am to be from the United States of America,” Miller said.

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