Sports Business Journal
Portfolio GiViNG BACK adopted hometown of Charlotte. The camp incorporates lessons he learned as a child at camp, and those passed on by Whitfield’s parents. Mix in All-Star-caliber friends, including Michael Jordan, and it’s clear the camp is anything but ordinary. n n n n whitfield, the president and vice chairman of Whitfield’s parents allowed the Hornets, runs him to chase his basketball the achievements dreams, but they also drove unlimited camp home the importance of edu- in charlotte each summer. cation. Both earned master’s degrees and provided an ex- ample that pushed Whitfield to make the honor roll and, eventu- ally, earn three degrees: bachelor’s, MBA and law. Whitfield did well on the court, too. He played college ball at Campbell, where he became all-conference and team MVP. During college summers, he worked as a counselor at the same camp he had attended through high school. During one stint as a counselor, Whitfield worked with a group of campers that included a rising high school senior from Wilmington named Michael Jordan. The two hit it off — Whitfield served as a momentary basketball mentor to Jordan after the camp before His Airness soared into history — and they’ve remained North Carolina, started the camp in friends ever since. the 1950s. (McKinney also played in When Jordan played for Dean Smith Lasting lessons the pros and went on to coach at Wake at North Carolina in the early 1980s, Forest.) A week’s tuition, Whitfield Whitfield would drive from Buies recalls, cost $95, including room and Creek, where he was then a Campbell from camp board.
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