Mason Walters, Boden Skunberg passing on the love of basketball
· Yahoo Sports
Jul. 11—JAMESTOWN — When you have Mason Walters and Boden Skunberg back in Jamestown at the same time, you can bet there is going to be some basketball going on.
"Being from here, I wanted to put on a camp as an opportunity to give back to kids in the area," Walters said. "We had worked different camps throughout college. We've both had good experiences with those. For Boden and I, it's a cool opportunity to give back to the kids in town and build those connections and maybe teach them some things they have never learned before."
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Walters and Skunberg are set to host a youth basketball camp July 22-23 at Jamestown High School. The cost is $115 per camper. The fee includes a T-shirt, daily competitions, prizes and awards, individual skill development and three hours worth of games and activities. There is a kindergarten through fourth grade session that will run from 9 a.m. to noon. The fifth through ninth grade session will fun from 1-4 p.m.
"Boden and I were close in high school, then remained close throughout college and after college as well," Walters said. "We were brainstorming last summer about doing a camp, but it didn't really come to fruition, then we got into contact a little bit earlier this year and were able to make a camp work for both of us. We wanted it to be a camp to get local kids excited and get into Jerry Meyer Arena."
Walters spent four out of his five years of his college career at the University of Jamestown. He was named the NAIA Player of the Year in his senior year and was named the GPAC Player of the Year twice. After graduating from UJ, he played one year at the University of Wyoming.
Walters then spent the summer of 2024 in Jamestown and Jonesboro, Arkansas, where he was able to continue to train and work out, awaiting the chance to play professional-level basketball.
During that summer, Walters had the opportunity to go through the NBA pre-draft process, where he had workouts with the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets. After that process, the former Blue Jay was waiting to see where he would begin his professional career. Walters finished the season playing for Kouvot, a professional basketball team out of Kouvola, Finland. He spent four months in Finland, then came back to Jamestown and continued training and waiting for his next opportunity.
While in Jamestown, Walters' agent found an opportunity to play professionally in Switzerland. Walters left for Switzerland on Aug. 28, 2025. He played a season for the Starwings in Basel, Switzerland. He is currently in Jamestown training himself — and others who want a lesson — while he waits to hear from his agent on his next job.
Skunberg is also awaiting word from his agent. The former JHS standout is looking to play basketball professionally overseas.
Until they get word, they are back in the Buffalo City, ready to inspire the younger generation of Blue Jay hoopsters.
"I am just excited to be around young kids and hopefully make a lasting impact on their careers," Skunberg said. "I know how much young kids can look up to former players like Mason and I, and we want to be as good role models as we can. ... Mason and I have done camps with other trainers in the past in Jamestown, and we really enjoyed connecting with the younger players of Jamestown. We felt like we could offer a lot of help inspiring local kids and helping with their game."
After setting multiple records at Jamestown High School and winning a state championship alongside Walters in 2019, Skunberg went on to play college basketball at North Dakota State University. Skunberg spent four years in Fargo with NDSU. After graduating in 2024, he transferred to Illinois State University to use his COVID year. Skunberg was ineligible for the 2024-25 season due to injury, so he played in 2025-26. He is now finished with college hoops and is looking to play professionally overseas.
Walters said, during camp, he and Skunberg will be focusing on drills and skills in the first part of each session.
"... Teaching them the fundamentals at a younger age could be beneficial," Walters said. "There are things that both Boden and I have done at the Division 1 level every day at practice, and when you do those things at a Division 1 level, it translates."
The second part of the day will be focused on games and competition — something Skunberg and Walters love about the game.
"The earlier you can encourage kids or get them excited to play or get better and enjoy the game and be around it, the better," Walters said. "I remember growing up just playing all of the time, having a great time with my friends playing basketball."
"I hope to gain a lot of relationships with families and young players so Mason and I can be an outlet for continued support and encouragement in these young athletes' careers," Skunberg said. "I think (the kids) will gain an understanding of what kind of work it takes to reach a level of basketball that Mason and I achieved. We will also give them a good workout to help develop their skills for their career. I hope one day there will be a team that can do what our championship team did and go undefeated and win a state championship."
Registration for the camps is available by contacting Walters or signing up via a
Google document
. There will also be registration forms available on the first day of camp. Walters said the camp is open to boys and girls. Skunberg and Walters have seen sign ups from Fargo, Jamestown and Medina/Pingree-Buchanan.
"We're excited to have a good time at camp," Walters said. "It's going to be a great environment for the kids to get better but also have a good time. We're really excited that we get to do this. We'd love to make it an annual thing and for it to continue to grow."