From The News Courier
By Jonathan Deal
jonathan@athensnews-courier.com

EAST LIMESTONE — Limestone County’s future basketball stars had someone to look up to Saturday when members of Alabama basketball team visited East Limestone High School.

As part of the Sarrell Basketball Kid Camp, a half dozen Bama players, along with players from Stillman College, helped local kids with their game skills at the free clinic.

“One of the main missions of Sarrell Dental is giving back to communities,” said Sue Hipsher, Tuscaloosa Community Director. “We thought this would be a great venue. It’s been a really great thing for the children the past two years.”

More than 100 kids made the trip to East Limestone’s high school gymnasium for the second annual camp, many of them in awe of seeing some of their favorite players up-close and personal.

“It feels good to be able to come back home and help these kids out,” said Madison native Levi Randolph, a forward for the University of Alabama. “We wanted to give back to some of the communities in the state.”

The camp was the third Randolph and other has assisted with this month. Sarrell Dental has already put on free camps in Anniston and Clanton for children ages 6 – 18.

“I have a younger brother that I try to help out a lot, so this feels natural,” Randolph said of coaching. “I don’t know if I want to coach, but I want to be able to help with skill development of younger kids one day.”

While the camp only lasted until 1 p.m. Saturday, for a few hours these kids had some of the state’s best basketball players to look up to, literally.

“I have fun with it,” said 7-footer Moussa Gueye as he joked around with a camper. “It’s always fun to work with kids.”