Ja Morant was back on the basketball court Saturday in Memphis. And he brought close to 650 kids with him.

At his first pro camp in a few years, the Memphis Grizzlies superstar spent a day of his offseason mingling with the youths at the Memphis Sports and Events Center.

He couldn’t believe how many campers were there.

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“It’s good, man, obviously a bigger turnout than I thought it would be,” he said, looking out at a gym full of kids from grades one through eight. “But you know, (I’m) extremely grateful, thankful for everybody who helped me with this and thankful to the parents earlier for signing their kids up and allowing them to come out and have fun with us.”

At every station he visited, Morant was greeted by campers who wanted to race up and give him a high five. Some were a little shy, needing Morant to approach first.

“They are still a little nervous, you know,” Morant said. “They do the little, ‘What up’ at first, and then after you give them the, ‘What up,’ then that’s when the questions start to roll in.”

Morant is also coaching eighth-grade boys and girls AAU teams this summer called TwelveTime AAU. The program is linked with Nike and is coached by many of his personal trainers or former coaches.

“I just felt like, obviously, I signed autographs, I took pictures before, but it’s nothing like what my AAU team experience has brought to my life, like actually spending time with kids.

“On a day-in-day-out basis, you get asked crazy questions,” Morant said. “(They’re) funny. They don’t want to go to sleep just like when I was, you know, their age to put a curfew on them to make sure they’re ready for the game the next day.

“It’s just a lot, and it just brought me back to my days playing AAU. And I know the things I wish I could have had during my time, the experience I could have had when I was playing, and I just try to help them experience it early on and do whatever I can to make sure they enjoy themselves.”

Still, despite his summer successes in building a youth basketball program, he didn’t expect the level of turnout he received Saturday.

“At the end of the day, a camp like this made it even better, just to see the turnout and how much support I still have,” Morant said.

Morant’s offseason outlook

Morant said he has about two weeks left until he is fully recovered from surgery to repair a torn labrum he had in January.

“I got about two weeks left until I’m fully cleared, but I feel good,” Morant said. “All in all, (I’m) just taking my time.”

He was still dribbling and flipping up layups, but only with his left hand and not his injured right shoulder.

“I hate being around basketball and not being able to play it,” he said. “I don’t (have) too much longer. I can wait to make sure I’m able to play and be clear when the season coming up.”

The Grizzlies are trying to surround Morant with talent this upcoming season. They are in the market for a big man to pair with Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the starting lineup.

Morant will be watching the NBA Draft when it takes place Wednesday and Thursday.

“I’m actually going to be in New York,” he said. “I got some stuff I got to do out there and then now I realize I was out there during the draft, so I’m excited to see what happens.”

Morant has no advice for general manager Zach Kleiman. He didn’t want to pretend to have in-depth scouting knowledge of the college game.

“I don’t put on the (GM cap),” Morant said. “I leave that for the higher ups. I roll up my sleeves and be the PG.”

But he is expecting a show while he’s in New York. The draft could become quite the drama.

“I know it will probably go crazy,” he said.