Experience of a lifetime for high school basketball players

Tiffany Brown

Joey Felsenfeld, from left, Chris Leach and Ryan Bowen, all of Boulder City, work as ball boys for the US National Team mini-camp at Valley High School in Las Vegas.

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Monday, July 27, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

Joey Felsenfeld always dreamed of playing in the NBA.

A point guard on Boulder City High's state championship team last winter, Felsenfeld took pride in directing the Eagles offense and making the perfect pass to get his teammates in a position to score.

But at 5 feet, 5 inches, Felsenfeld was too short to achieve his aspirations of professional stardom. His career, like most players, was limited to high school glory.

His memorable experiences in basketball, however, were far from finished.

Felsenfeld, along with Boulder City teammates Chris Leach and Ryan Bowen, worked the last three days as ball boys for the U.S. national team during its mini-camp in Las Vegas.

Part of their duties included grabbing rebounds during shooting drills and sending passes back to the NBA hopefuls who were looking to impress during the national team audition.

It was as close to being in the NBA as a group of teenagers from a small Nevada town will get.

"When they (the players) first walked in, you are a little star-struck," Felsenfeld said. "(Chicago guard) Derrick Rose is my favorite player and it was awesome to see him. They expect you to be a little star struck, but you also need to be professional and get the job done."

Boulder City High assistant coach John Balistere, who works national team coach Mike Krzyzewski’s camp each summer at Duke, used his connection to get the boys their job. His young sons — Carson, 9, and Gavin, 7 — also helped.

"It is obviously a good group of guys (the NBA players) in the sense that they are really good to the kids," Balistere said. "My boys were calling their aunt and my brother when they got home to let them know who they got to meet."

Felsenfeld and Leach also worked last year when the national team was in town for an Olympic qualifying tournament. Last year's group featured the likes of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and others.

"Dwight Howard let me go through his iPod," Felsenfeld said. "All of them are extremely nice. They always say 'please' or 'thank you.'"

Most of their time was spent filling water jugs, wiping sweat off the floor and organizing equipment. They arrived one hour before the players to set up the gym.

"You do think about how lucky you are and how other kids would love doing this," said Bowen, a senior-to-be guard. "We got to wear Team USA shirts and shorts, which really makes you feel like part of the crew. It was awesome."

All three walked away from the experience with a better appreciation of the game. They had the best seat in the house for three days of events.

"It's unbelievable how good these guys are and how fast they play," Leach said. "They are so crisp in everything they do. Those rims at Valley (for two practices) were rockin'."

It was an experience of a lifetime and one the Boulder City contingent documented with plenty of photos. John Balistere has a framed picture of his sons with James and Miami Heat star Dwayne Wade from last year.

More important than the memorabilia, however, are the lessons learned from watching the professionals train.

"I'm taking watching USA basketball to push me to win state again this year," Bowen said. "It makes you want to go hard and play good basketball."

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or ray.brewer@lasvegassun.com.