SAN DIEGO — High school basketball players from El Camino High took to the court, hoping to score some pointers with members of the All-Marine Basketball Team. CBS 8 was at Camp Pendleton for the action on the court.
“Really excited, you know, just love the game, to be here is pretty cool,” said Justin Johnson, a basketball player for El Camino High School.
The lucky high schoolers from El Cajon put their shooting and ball handling skills to the test.
“It’s really cool, I used to come here when I was younger with my grandpa, he was in the Marine Corps,” said Isaiah Pomare, who plays for El Camino High.
The talented Marines put the young players through rigorous training and practice drills, hoping to elevate their game.
9:00 (Demenico Jacobs, staff sergeant, All-Marine team) “Things like different drills that we worked on in the All-Marine camp and prepped for the tournament, let them know about the different types of adversity they’re going to face leading up to big games and big tournaments,” said Staff Sergeant Demenico Jacobs, who plays for the All-Marine Basketball Team.
2nd Lt. John Carter is a shooting guard for the All-Marine Team, which just won a gold medal at the 2023 Armed Forces Tournament. He remembers when he was a high school player.
“Anytime older guys come and talk to you or work out with you, or even just be there, it’s really cool and it gets you excited,” said Carter.
It’s not hard to see why these youngsters look up to the Marines for their performance both on and off the court.
"This risks that they make, the sacrifices they make daily, it means a lot to be able to just hang out with them for a couple hours," said Pomare.
At the end of the day, these Marines stressed a couple things in particular... camaraderie and teamwork.
“Working as a team, working together is ultimately what will lead to winning games. I’m sure they want to go out and win their league, county, state, so if they really hone in on that and learn those intangibles, I think they’ll do well,” said Carter.
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