R.I.P. HOWARD GARFINKEL

New York, NY - Legendary Five-Star Basketball Camp co-founder, Howard Garfinkel died at the age of 86, after battling lung cancer and pneumonia.

He began the camp in 1966 and over five decades featured most of the top high school basketball players nationwide.  When he retired in 2008, more than 500 of his campers had reached the NBA.  Most notably, Michael Jordan, Moses Malone, Lebron James, Chris Paul, and Kevin Durant.

The camp also honed many young coaches who later became some of the top clinicians in the game, along with hundreds of elite high school, college, and professional coaches.  Some of his top Five-Star coaches and lecturers included, Hubie Brown, Mike Fratello, Bob Knight, Mike Krzyzewski, Rick Pitino, Dick Vitale, John Calipari, and Billy Donovan.

Garfinkel was a fixture at Big Apple Basketball events for over ten years.  He was extremely supportive of BAB's work student-athletes across the country.

During an interview with BAB President, Jason Curry in August 2015, Garfinkel stated, "There's a whole bunch of terrific players that you get at your events.  You get good coaches, it's well organized, and I love going to it."

He later talked about his legacy with starting the Five-Star Camp and his accomplishments. 

"I'm most proud of the reputation that the Five-Star Camp still has today as a great teaching vehicle for players and coaches.  The teaching and being able to help so many kids improve their game, and being able to help so many coaches get careers."

Below is a video Garfinkel did with Curry talking about one of his greatest campers, Michael Jordan.