Established in 2013 by Jay Bilas and John Searby, the Jay Bilas Skills Camp sprung from a vision to meet a need that the founders saw in the competitive basketball landscape for high school boys. While coaching Jay’s son, Anthony, for several years together in AAU Basketball, John and Jay felt that the young men they were coaching and coaching against were lacking a place outside of their high school teams where they could get concentrated basketball skill teaching that would help them improve their game, an alternative to the summer club showcase opportunities often taught by under-qualified individuals.

 

Both Jay and John desired to establish a camp that followed the format of the camps they grew up with as they were preparing for their collegiate playing and coaching careers – skill focused, team focused, residential, and disciplined. Most importantly, Jay and John wanted to make sure the campers were taught by experienced, knowledgeable coaches. To this end, they focused on the best NCAA Division III coaches in the country to lead instruction at the camp.

 

In 2025, the decision was made to close the doors of the Jay Bilas Skills Camp. In it’s place we have established the Old School Skills Camp, one of the first names for camp that Jay and John considered in 2013. Many of the staff and coaches will be the same, and the camp will be run under the direction of John Krikorian, head men’s basketball coach at Christopher Newport, who coached and assisted in the operation of the Jay Bilas Skills Camp for over a decade. Return campers will be in a new venue, but will see many of the same faces and be very familiar with the concepts and drills. New campers will experience a camp environment unlike any they have seen, learning from some of the most accomplished NCAA head coaches in the country.