As classes resume for the new school year, kids reflect about what they did over the summer. Most kids talk about playing, swimming and other classic summer activities. However, six kids will be able to talk about how their name is in the Basketball Hall of Fame. The 2016 Hoop Shoot National Champions have been busy since the Hoop Shoot National Finals took place in Chicago last April. Upon returning home from Chicago, there have been parades, local newspaper articles, and of course celebration dinners at sponsoring Lodges. The real crown jewel though, is having their name engraved on the Hoop Shoot plaque inside the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. All six Frank Hise National Champions will have the opportunity to visit Springfield to see their name in the Hall of Fame, however, the two Getty Powell Award winners, had a slightly different experience.
The 2016 Getty Powell Award Winners Camden Cowgill and Reagan Ponzer have had the busiest summer of all. The two were barely unpacked from Chicago before the Hoop Shoot office started calling again. The first item of business—attending the 2016 Elks National Convention in Houston. Both families were very excited for the opportunity to attend an Elks Convention, and both Camden and Reagan were excited to receive their awards and speak in front of thousands of cheering fans at the opening ceremony. You can watch their intro videos and acceptance speeches on the Elk National Foundation’s YouTube page.
The red-carpet treatment at the Elks National Convention was just a taste for our shooting stars. Their next stop would be the Mecca of basketball fans everywhere—the Basketball Hall of Fame—and the two Getty Powell winners didn’t just walk around the museum.
Reagan and Camden attended the Class of 2016 Enshrinement Ceremony, celebrating the careers of among others, Shaq, Allen Iverson, Yao Ming, and Sheryl Swoops. They rubbed elbows with basketball’s elite at exclusive VIP events, as well as walked the red carpet and watched acceptance speeches first hand.
Camden Cowgill’s mother Mariah particularly loved hearing Sheryl Swoops speak. “I grew up watching her play in the Olympics and the WNBA. I even owned a pair of her shoes!” Mariah exclaimed.
Of course, the trip to Springfield would not be complete without visiting the Elks Hoop Shoot plaque in the Hall of Fame museum. Just hours after Camden and Reagan were admiring their names, Shaq stopped by—with a career 52.7 percent free throw percentage, the Big Diesel was humbled, seeing perfect 25/25 scores—just like Camden’s and Reagan’s.
Getting to meet the players may have been Camden’s favorite part of the weekend, but his dad Koty, loved getting to look at the Hoop Shoot plaque saying “It was really cool to see Cam's name on the plaque and a little surreal to see it on there with C.J.'s four times.”
The C.J. he is referring to is Koty’s brother, Camden’s uncle, and four-time Hoop Shoot National Champion C.J. Cowgill. Learn more about the Cowgill Dynasty in the Griteo Anything You Can Do. No one in the 45 years of the Hoop Shoot National Finals has won more championships than C.J.—Camden plans to change that.
Camden and Reagan attended the Enshrinement Ceremony as Getty Powell winners, but the other four National Champions—Samanth Griebel, Mitchel Leas, Macy Richardson, and Cameron Orr—will also make the trek this year to see their name in the Hall of Fame. Stay tuned for pictures and stories from those visits.
Camden and Reagan have spent six months celebrating their Getty Powell Awards.
They have traveled, been featured in the media, signed autographs, and received the red-carpet treatment. Although their names will permanently be in the Hall of Fame for the 2016 Hoop Shoot National Finals, the 2017 Hoop Shoot season is starting—it’s time to get back to work.