You may know that the NBA All-Star game will be hosted in Salt Lake City on February 19. We are excited to announce that MCSD was one of only six districts statewide invited to participate in the NBA’s Jr. NBA Day – a by-invitation basketball clinic for students in grades 5 to 8 held February 17.
This is no ordinary clinic, as you can see in the pictures from a previous Jr. NBA Day. Students will get to interact with NBA all-stars and coaches, practice their skills, and get some tips from the best of the best. Each participating student will also receive a free t-shirt to wear that day. However, the NBA has capped our participation at 200 students – 100 boys and 100 girls (or close to that).
This means we have a limited number of slots for students who can participate. We know interest may exceed the available slots. To keep things fair, we are implementing a Murray Draft Lottery where parents (and their students) can register for potential selection.
Here’s how this will work:
- You must register for the Murray Draft Lottery here no later than Friday, January 6 at 5 pm. Please remember, this is only open to students grades 5 to 8, boys and girls. Our assigned clinic session will be Friday, February 17 from 1:00 to 2:15 pm at the Salt Palace Convention Center. If you cannot commit to attending please do not apply – the NBA has asked that we have a full session of 100 boys and 100 girls.
- After the deadline, MCSD will compile all the entries and hold a lottery selection on January 9 to choose who will be “drafted” and offered a contract to attend the clinic. Notification will be sent out on January 10 (by email).
- Drafted students offered a contract on January 10 must respond by January 11 at 5 pm to confirm their participation. Failure to do so will result in ineligibility and an alternate selection made.
We realize this is an expedited process; however, the NBA requires MCSD to turn in participant information (particularly shirt sizes) no later than January 12.
From there, drafted students will be invited to pick up their shirt from the district office February 13-15. Students will be expected to arrive at the district office no later than Noon on February 17. From there, they will be chaperoned by adults (one adult per 10 students) and shuttled by school bus to the Salt Palace. Again, the clinic will run from 1:00 to 2:15 pm. Upon conclusion, students will board the buses and be returned to the district office by about 3:00 pm.
As you can see from the pictures from a previous Jr. NBA Day, this is a fun and interactive experience for kids – once in a lifetime, really. We regret we cannot include more than 200, however these are the guidelines given to us by the NBA.
