Booker Leads Group of Four Former Tigers in NBA Training Camps

Sept. 27, 2010

CLEMSON, SC – First-round draft pick Trevor Booker headlines a group of four former Clemson players set to begin workouts in NBA training camps on Tuesday. Booker will be in camp for the Washington Wizards, while three former teammates have also been invited to work out for various teams. Vernon Hamilton is in camp for the Detroit Pistons, James Mays with the Golden State Warriors, and Raymond Sykes with the Portland Trailblazers.

Booker was the first senior chosen and the 23rd player selected overall in the June draft. He was initially drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves, but quickly traded to the Wizards on draft night. Booker was the seventh first-round selection in Clemson history, but the program’s first since Sharone Wright in 1994.

Booker was a first-team All-ACC selection this past season and concluded his career as a two-time All-ACC Defensive Team choice as well. He finished his career in the top five in Clemson history in points (1,725), rebounds (1,060) and blocked shots (249). Booker averaged 8.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game for the Wizards in the Las Vegas Summer League after he was drafted.

Hamilton has been invited to an NBA training camp for the second time in three seasons. In 2008, he camped with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is Clemson’s all-time (271) and single-season (83) steals leader and was a four-year starter at point guard from 2003-07. He was named to the ACC’s All-Defensive Team in 2006.

Mays will also camp with an NBA team for the second time since his playing days at Clemson. He was a 2008 camp invitee with the Denver Nuggets, who then placed him in the NBA Development League franchise in Colorado. Mays was averaging a double-double with Colorado of the NBDL before an Achilles injury forced him out of basketball for a year. He played the 2009-10 season overseas, first in China and then Puerto Rico.

Sykes was in training camp last fall with the Phoenix Suns. He went on to average 10.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBDL in 2009-10. Sykes totaled 503 points and played 124 games for the Tiger program from 2005-09.