'Smile on my face': Ex-Arizona hooper Dalen Terry brings youth basketball camp to Tucson

“When I was their age, there weren’t a lot of camps where NBA guys came into town, especially not guys from the state of Arizona,” Terry said. “I’m a guy that plays the game with a smile on my face, so I hope the kids are going to have a great time. I think the more fun they have with the game, the more they’ll learn how to play.”

Something else important to Terry was having those around who helped him reach his goal of making it to the NBA. Every instructor at the camp was someone close to the third-year pro, ranging from family and friends to some of Terry’s first coaches and trainers. Dalen’s father, Al Terry, believes that speaks to the character of his son. “I think it’s just a testament to who he is and what he’s done since he transcended to the NBA,” he said. “A lot of people get to that next level and forget where they came from and the people that helped them. That’s what I appreciate about Dalen the most. He’s reaching back and pulling people up.” Al remembers Dalen being younger than the kids at his camp and practically sleeping with a basketball in his hands, something that makes sense as he has gotten older. “Dalen was in the gym at 3 years old,” Al said. “Growing up, he’d be in the gym from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., getting food out of the vending machine with his friends. He always had things figured out, you could not keep him out of the gym for nothing.”

Last season saw Terry play in 59 games, up from 38 in his rookie year. He also doubled his minutes as he continues to work his way into a spot in Bulls coach Billy Donovan’s regular rotation. Terry said he has been working on his jump shot this offseason and wants to prove he can be a great shooter at the NBA level. With both his father and Dalen himself describing his work ethic as nothing short of crazy, it should be no surprise he has been playing basketball anywhere he can this summer as well. Terry recently won a championship alongside former Bulls teammate Demar Derozan at the famed Drew League in Los Angeles, as well as being a fixture at the private run of Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Darico “Rico” Hines. The exclusive pickup games inside the UCLA Student Activities Center are home to arguably the best basketball played during the summer, with NBA players scattering the floor. For Terry, playing in them felt like a rite of passage. “As a young NBA player on the West Coast, you gotta go through the Rico Hines runs just to prove to everybody who you are,” Terry said. “I feel like that’s how you get your respect in the game, even if it’s not in the NBA. Those guys see you during the season and remember if you were killing it in LA.”

Returning to Tucson meant a reunion with his old coaches and teammates as well. Terry said he had dinner with Lloyd and has also seen the staff regularly during the summer at different events. While congratulatory texts are shared after big wins, he also says he is one to jokingly “talk stuff” to them if they lose a big game. Despite only senior guard Grant Weitman remaining from Terry’s time on campus as well, Terry said he played in high school against Jaden Bradley and Caleb Love, even going as far as trying to get Love to come to Arizona originally instead of North Carolina. As campers exited the gym for lunch, only those on staff remained. A few cracked jokes with one another, while some practiced their skills on half-court shots. For Terry, it was just another day at the office.

The sound of basketballs pounding the court, sneakers squeaking and coaches calling out instruction filled the court this past Saturday inside Richard Jefferson Gymnasium on the University of Arizona campus.

Former Arizona Wildcat Dalen Terry was in the middle of it all.

Terry, the current Chicago Bulls guard, spent two seasons on campus practicing in the gym under both Sean Miller and Tommy Lloyd. The difference this week, however, is Terry is the one providing instruction.

Terry returned to campus to give back to the next generation, hosting a youth camp for kids ages 8-14. Over 100 campers participated in the two-day event, on the heels of a successful one a week prior in the Phoenix area, not far from where he grew up.

Hosting a camp in a city Terry considers another home was something important for him, too.

“When I was their age, there weren’t a lot of camps where NBA guys came into town, especially not guys from the state of Arizona,” Terry said. “I’m a guy that plays the game with a smile on my face, so I hope the kids are going to have a great time. I think the more fun they have with the game, the more they’ll learn how to play.”

Something else important to Terry was having those around who helped him reach his goal of making it to the NBA. Every instructor at the camp was someone close to the third-year pro, ranging from family and friends to some of Terry’s first coaches and trainers.

Dalen’s father, Al Terry, believes that speaks to the character of his son.

“I think it’s just a testament to who he is and what he’s done since he transcended to the NBA,” he said. “A lot of people get to that next level and forget where they came from and the people that helped them. That’s what I appreciate about Dalen the most. He’s reaching back and pulling people up.”

Al remembers Dalen being younger than the kids at his camp and practically sleeping with a basketball in his hands, something that makes sense as he has gotten older.

“Dalen was in the gym at 3 years old,” Al said. “Growing up, he’d be in the gym from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., getting food out of the vending machine with his friends. He always had things figured out, you could not keep him out of the gym for nothing.”

Last season saw Terry play in 59 games, up from 38 in his rookie year. He also doubled his minutes as he continues to work his way into a spot in Bulls coach Billy Donovan’s regular rotation. Terry said he has been working on his jump shot this offseason and wants to prove he can be a great shooter at the NBA level.

With both his father and Dalen himself describing his work ethic as nothing short of crazy, it should be no surprise he has been playing basketball anywhere he can this summer as well. Terry recently won a championship alongside former Bulls teammate Demar Derozan at the famed Drew League in Los Angeles, as well as being a fixture at the private run of Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Darico “Rico” Hines.

The exclusive pickup games inside the UCLA Student Activities Center are home to arguably the best basketball played during the summer, with NBA players scattering the floor. For Terry, playing in them felt like a rite of passage.

“As a young NBA player on the West Coast, you gotta go through the Rico Hines runs just to prove to everybody who you are,” Terry said. “I feel like that’s how you get your respect in the game, even if it’s not in the NBA. Those guys see you during the season and remember if you were killing it in LA.”

Returning to Tucson meant a reunion with his old coaches and teammates as well. Terry said he had dinner with Lloyd and has also seen the staff regularly during the summer at different events. While congratulatory texts are shared after big wins, he also says he is one to jokingly “talk stuff” to them if they lose a big game. Despite only senior guard Grant Weitman remaining from Terry’s time on campus as well, Terry said he played in high school against Jaden Bradley and Caleb Love, even going as far as trying to get Love to come to Arizona originally instead of North Carolina.

As campers exited the gym for lunch, only those on staff remained. A few cracked jokes with one another, while some practiced their skills on half-court shots. For Terry, it was just another day at the office.