Former Rocket Pat Beverley is back in Houston for his summer camp.
Injury cut short former Rocket’s first year in L.A.
Lisa Beverley was the first to hear the news from orthopedic surgeon Dr. Walter Lowe on a late November day in 2017. Her son, Pat Beverley, was out for the NBA season after having surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee.
Beverley played just 11 games for the Los Angeles Clippers after being traded with six other Rockets, a top-three-protected 2018 first-round draft pick and cash for All-Star guard Chris Paul. Beverley was averaging a career-high 12.2 points along with 2.9 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game before the injury.
“When I told (Pat), he got quiet,” Lisa said. “He said, ‘Are you sure? For the rest of the season? But I can still play after that?’ I said, ‘Absolutely. You’ll be back to normal.’ He said, ‘OK, let’s see what we’ve got to do after this.’ That was the end of it. He never got down on himself.”
Lowe is the team physician for the Rockets and Texans, so Beverley went back and forth from Houston and Los Angeles as he rehabbed his knee for the next six months.
Ahead of schedule
The 6-1 guard was cleared for full basketball activities June 1, three months ahead of schedule. Now, he’s back in the Houston area to host his second annual Camp Lockdown Skills Camp.
Camp Lockdown is a five-day basketball camp running this week for boys and girls ages 6-16 at The Gym in Humble.
Even though Beverley no longer plays for the Rockets, his mother and other family members still live here. A Chicago native, Beverley fell in love with Houston in his five seasons with the Rockets.
“(Houston) is like my second home,” Beverley said Tuesday at his camp. “The love I have for Houston is beyond basketball. I met real friends here. I had true relationships with a lot of people here.”
His adoration for the city and the success he had with the camp last year led Beverley to bring Camp Lockdown back to the Houston area this summer. This year, 144 kids registered for the camp, which Beverley said was about the same as last year.
“I feel like a dad here,” the 30year-old Beverley said. “Being able to see these kids year after year and seeing how they compete and seeing how they’ve grown as players and as people, it’s good to be a part of that.”
The daily routine for camp participants consists of layup, ballhandling and passing drills in the morning. There also are 3point and free-throw competitions. After lunch, campers are split up into teams that play five-on-five full-court.
Hands-on experience
Beverley arrives at The Gym each day after his morning workout, in time to watch the kids scrimmage. If it looks like a team could use his help, he puts on a jersey and starts playing with them.
“It’s not like a regular camp,” Beverley said. “I compete. I go out there. They have a lot fun, and they’re super excited all the time. (But) I think I’m more excited than them.”
His mother works along with camp director Doug Bibby to make sure activities are running smoothly. Bibby also operates camps for longtime NBA guard Rajon Rondo, the Chicago Bulls’ team psychologist and Anta, a sportswear company in China.
Bibby says that the support Camp Lockdown has received speaks directly to the impact Beverley had on the city during his time here.
“To walk in here and see all these kids still support (Beverley) with him not (playing) here, it has to do so much to you as a person,” Bibby said. “You say, ‘Reflecting back on my years here in Houston, I did something right.’ ”
Beverley showed off his healed right knee when he assisted, scored on and stole balls from his campers. This fall, he hopes to do the same for the Clippers.
“I wanted a bigger opportunity for myself,” Beverley said. “I was fortunate to be able to have that with the Clippers. I played real well. It’s just unfortunate (that the) injury (happened). I’m super excited to have that same opportunity and still be able to compete.”