How Rock Hill landed exclusive high school basketball Top 100 Camp
If you build it, they will come.
That’s the famous “Field of Dreams” line that Brian Jones, the city of Rock Hill’s Indoor & Annex Division Superintendent, used to describe the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center.
Opened in 2020, the space is 170,000 square feet, featuring a championship sports court and an additional eight contiguous courts. There’s also a multipurpose room, concession stands and locker rooms, all with state-of-the-art equipment.
“One good thing about the City of Rock Hill and our department is we’re either in it or we’re out of it,” Jones said. “We’re not just going to dip our toes into a project. We’re gonna do the best we can, and that goes for all our facilities in the city. That’s kind of what sets us apart.”
This investment has continued to pay off.
From June 9-13, the sports center will host the National Basketball Players Association’s Top 100 Camp, providing the 100 best high school players the opportunity to train and develop alongside one another while being mentored by current and former NBA players and college coaches. While the camp has been held at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, in recent years, this marks the first time it will take place in Rock Hill.
Before landing the camp, the City of Rock Hill hosted 3STEP Sports events, and the organization was impressed with the facilities. Because 3STEP and the NBPA often collaborate on grassroots and youth development initiatives, 3STEP recommended the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center to the NBPA.
About a year ago, the NBPA took the recommendation and reached out.
“Because they had experience with us from this other group that came in, they knew how good our customer service was, and knew how clean our facilities were,” Jones said. “They knew the quality of experience that they will have.”
The NBPA had the option to stay in Orlando, move to the Midwest, or go to the Northeast. There were also more options in the South.
So, the months-long decision came down to checking boxes to see who offered the best fit. Do they have nine basketball courts? Do they have a meeting space? Are there hotels nearby? Are there restaurants close? And most important of all, do the dates for the camp align?
All boxes were checked for Rock Hill.
“We want to have a fresh kind of change,” said Christopher Jean, associate vice president of Business Development and Basketball Activation. “Rock Hill is a free facility, a lot easier logistically and for the goals that we wanted or we wanted to create.”
The NBPA hopes to create a camp that feels like a basketball campus community for former and current players. The organization wanted it to be cohesive, so nothing stood in the way of a great week of basketball.
“Rock Hill represents the ease, the welcoming environment of the South,” Jean said. “I think it’s something that was big.”
On top of NBA scouts and college coaches coming to watch, the camp will also feature high-profile instructors, including former and current Charlotte Hornets like Dell Curry, Seth Curry, Miles Bridges and Taj Gibson.
Although Jones doesn’t think the event will have a huge economic impact, he knows it’s nothing to sneeze at. Jones suspects the camp will bring in $2 million to $3 million. NBPA is partnering with local restaurants to cater food as well as hotels in the area.
But even if the economic impact isn’t large, the camp coming to Rock Hill sends a message — one that the city hoped it would receive when the facility was being built.
“It kind of lets us know that we’re doing it right,” Jones said.
Although there hasn’t been a discussion on whether the camp will return next year, Jones’ boss always says, “If you get us for one year, you’re going to want to come back.” The superintendent wants the NBPA to feel that way.
“We know there are other facilities out there and there are other regions of the country and some want to go to different regions because they can reach different kids and different things,” Jones said. “But we do hope that we can be their home. It would be really cool.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
