SAUK RAPIDS -- An NCAA Champion, member of the Olympic "Dream Team" and a 13-year NBA veteran is coming to Sauk Rapids later this month.

Christian Laettner will be hosting a basketball clinic at Mississippi Heights Elementary School on October 22nd.

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He says he continues to have a strong love for the game and a passion for teaching the core fundamentals to a younger generation.

"A lot of kids today want to work on their spin move and three point shot. But they got to get better at the four major skills - catching, passing, dribbling and shooting - and that's why I do it cause I love basketball."

The camp will be taught by Laettner along with several area coaches. It will be broken up into three, two-hour sessions starting at noon. Each session is divided into age groups and available for kids in third through twelfth grade.

Laettner says having camps like this are a great tool for young athletes, but to grow into the player you want to be, takes a strong desire and family support.

"I'm not even sure if I would be a basketball player if I didn't have a dad who was a coach, and a mother who was a teacher who was constantly telling me go out and play basketball and get out of the house."

Laettner says this will be his first camp he has taught in Central Minnesota. The cost is $40 per kid with 20 percent of the proceeds going to the St. Cloud State University Hockey Cheer team for new uniforms.

Laettner was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the third overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft.

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