By Derek Thompson

The Selma Times-Journal

Former Alabama basketball star Erwin Dudley said he always tells his friends to give back into the community they are from because no one else will. 

Dudley backed up his advice, as he has done for years, after he hosted the ninth annual Erwin Dudley’s Camp of Champions in his hometown of Uniontown Friday and Saturday.

“They enjoy coming out here,” Dudley said. “For the most part, all of the kids want to learn and are willing to learn. The kids come from everywhere. You have a bunch of coaches here that are from the community, and other guys that drive from Tuscaloosa and other areas to help out.”

The camp was free and Dudley said around 110 children attended Friday. The 13-17-year-old children practiced at the Eugene Mason Sports Arena at R.C. Hatch High School and the 9-12-year-old children practiced at Uniontown Elementary School’s gymnasium. The camp’s staff consisted of former University of Alabama and Robert C. Hatch players and coaches.

Participants went through several stations Friday morning where coaches helped them work on their basketball skills and after lunch the children did a 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 competition and a free-throw contest.

Dudley said at the end of every camp they name an overall MVP, awarded sportsmanship certificates and each child got a participation certificate and a camp T-shirt.

Dudley invited Keith High School girls head coach Cecil Williams to help with the camp this year for the first time because Keith finished summer camp early. Williams and Dudley are cousins and played basketball together at R.C. Hatch.

“I started from the same place,” Williams said.

“It’s good for people that are from here and have gone and accomplished things like Erwin to come back and give to the kids. It’s a good thing for the community and the kids. They are getting a chance to work on skills right here in their hometown. They are working hard, paying attention and learning. It seems like they really enjoy being here.”

During his career at the University of Alabama, Dudley led the Southeastern Conference in rebounding for three consecutive seasons.

He also holds the program’s record with 129 career starts and ranks seventh all-time in scoring  (1,764 points) and fourth in rebounding (1,184).

The 33-year-old currently plays for Darussfaka in Istanbul, Turkey under his Turkish name, Ersin Dagli.

When he began his professional career, Dudley played for the Maccabi Rishon LeZion in Israel in 2004 and signed with Turk Telecom in 2005.