Landry hosts free youth basketball camp

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Houston Rockets player Carl Landry is giving back to his college community, which he said has been so good to him. The former Purdue Boilermaker is hosting 225 kids at the first ever Carl Landry Skills Camp, and he's even footing the bill for campers who attend all four sessions.

"I wanted to give back to my home away from home," said Landry. "This is where it all started: Purdue. I played high school ball in Milwaukee, but grew as a player in Indiana. It's my home away from home so i wanted to give back."

Former Purdue forward Matt Kiefer is lending a hand with the camp.

"It's a great thing Carl's doing to help out all these kids. Just to be a part of it is a good honor. He asked me to help him out and I said 'Sure!'" said Kiefer.

Landry hopes he can keep the camp going for years to come. The basketball star said he felt fortunate to be able to host the camp after suffering a gunshot wound this past March.

"It was a scary incident," said Landry. "It's something you dream about thinking it would never happen to you. But thank God it wasn't as scary and bad as it could have been. It was just a minor flesh wound."

The second year professional is coming off his best season with the Rockets, averaging over 9 points and 5 rebounds. More importantly, he said he feels like the team is moving in the right direction, even despite setbacks with injuries.

"Yao went down. Tracy's coming off an injury. Ron went to the Lakers, but still we got guys who are hungry who want to make a name for himself. They're just excited about basketball and if you got that, the sky's the limit," said Landry.

As Landry shoots for the stars as a professional, it's great to see that he remembers the place that helped him get to this point in his career.