Tiffany Hayes, Former Polk Stars Unite for Free Girls Basketball Camp

Wed. July 11, 2012 at 2:31 a.m. | By Polk Preps Staff

Connecticut's Tiffany Hayes, left, holds up an Atlanta Dream jersey with Renee Brown Chief of Basketball Operations and Player Relations after the Dream selected Hayes with the 14th pick of the draft. (JESSICA HILL | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

By LISA COFFEY

THE LEDGER

Polk County standout basketball players Tiffany Hayes, Antonia Bennett and Euneisha Proctor are bringing their skills to the Simpson Park Community Center on July 21 for a basketball camp for girls ages 8 to 15.

The three stars are attracting plenty of attention, said Simpson Park Supervisor Marquis Roberts.

The camp, with a 100-player limit, is already half full thanks to emails and faxes he's sent out along with fliers at the site.

"I have coaches calling from all over trying to get in the camp," he said. "I have kids from Melbourne, Plant City and Mulberry ..."

The camp is open to the first 100 girls who sign up at the Simpson Park Community Center. Fliers are available at the Simpson Park Community Center in Lakeland, 1725 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.

The free camp runs from 9 a.m, to 1 p.m. It is expected to cover basic skills.

Players should wear basketball shoes and will receive a T-shirt and lunch. Hayes, Proctor and Bennett also will sign autographs. And Roberts said Hayes will donate an Atlanta Dream jersey to the center where she once played youth basketball.

Hayes, who grew up in Lakeland, was the member of two national championship teams at the University of Connecticut and played in four Final Four tournaments. She was named to the Big East first team twice and was selected 14th in the latest WNBA draft by the Atlanta Dream.

While at Winter Haven, she was named Florida Dairy Farmers Miss Basketball and helped her teams win two state championships.

Bennett earned the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's player of the year award last spring. The former Lake Gibson star finished second in the conference in scoring and rebounding with Florida A&M.

Proctor, the older sister of South Florida players Andrell and Andrea Smith, served as an assistant under former Winter Haven coach LaDawn Gibson last year at FAMU. She played at Bethune Cookman and Lake Gibson.