Making kids smile, teaching them the game, creating memories that last a lifetime, that’s the goal at the annual CareSource Obi Toppin Basketball ProCamp. Putting those kids on a poster, as he’s done with so many opponents throughout his career, that just wouldn’t be right.
Later in the day, Toppin would have a chance to play hard. He planned to play a pickup game with members of the current Dayton Flyers roster. Jalen Crutcher, Toppin’s former Dayton teammate who is once again assisting him with the camp this week, also planned to play.
There was a chance another former Dayton All-American forward, DaRon Holmes II, also would play. He’s in town for an appearance Thursday at Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken in Kettering from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Toppin spent three years at UD and played two seasons for the Flyers, winning all the major national player of the year awards in his final season in 2020. He has added to his legacy over five seasons in the NBA and by continuing to give back to the Dayton community with his annual camp. This was the fifth edition of the camp, which started at the Bales Center in Beavercreek in 2021.
“What keeps me coming back?” Toppin said. “The city of Dayton. All these kids, I see them grow and get better and go from age group to age group.”
More than 100 kids, from grades one through eight, will participate in the two-day camp. They’ll get to interact with a former Flyer who reached a new milestone in June when the Indiana Pacers reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.
Toppin, the first former Flyer to appear in the NBA Finals since Johnny Davis in 1977, averaged 11 points in the finals. The Pacers lost 103-91 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road in Game 7.
“Everybody did an amazing job — every single person,” Toppin said of the Pacers’ playoff run. “All we can do is be grateful for the opportunity.”
Toppin didn’t rest long after the season ended.
“As soon as the last game was over, we went straight to Miami,” he said, “and I was working that next day in the gym, getting shots up, working in the weight room.”
Toppin worked out with veteran forward James Johnson, who appeared in 12 games for the Pacers last season. Johnson helped Toppin coach at the camp Wednesday.
“Obviously, he lives out there in Miami, but we’ve been working together every single day,” Toppin said. “Golfing, boxing, basketball, weights, everything you can think of.”
Toppin shared photos of him working out in a boxing ring on Instagram earlier this summer.
“I tried boxing a little bit when I was younger,” Toppin said. “It really wasn’t my thing, but the conditioning that it takes and the core work that it takes to box is what I needed.”
Toppin will be one of as many as four former Flyers in the NBA next season. Toumani Camara is entering his third season with the Portland Trail Blazers. Holmes will be a rookie with the Denver Nuggets after missing what would have been his first season with an Achilles tendon tear. Kobe Brea will be a rookie with the Phoenix Suns.
“That’s all a credit to coach (Anthony) Grant and Ricardo Greer and the whole coaching staff,” Toppin said. “They do an amazing job. They have that vision. They see that talent.”
Toppin’s family accompanied him to Dayton for his camp. His brother Jacob, who played at Rhode Island and Kentucky in college and is now with the Atlanta Hawks, was there. The oldest of Toppin’s three kids, 6-year-old Daniel, also attended the camp.
“I just let him go out and have fun,” Toppin said. “When he takes it seriously and decides, ‘This is really what I want to do when I get older,’ then I’ll start pushing him a little different. But right now he’s just exploring every sport.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
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