Utah Jazz forward Royce O’Neale made stops in both Carbon and Emery counties Tuesday afternoon, giving local youth instruction on the game of basketball. The free clinic ran in conjunction with Carbon and Emery County Recreation’s Junior Jazz program.

O’Neale, who just wrapped up his second season with the Jazz, worked on fundamentals and simulated pick up games with over 30 kids in attendance during each clinic. After multiple drills and games O’Neale posed for pictures and signed autographs for each child in attendance.

“This is real exciting for myself, not just the kids,” said O’Neale. “Seeing them smile and having fun playing with them is the best part.”

O’Neale went undrafted coming out of Baylor University in 2015, and took his game overseas playing for two different teams. In 2017 he was invited to play for the Jazz on their summer league team, and was signed to a contract at the start of the 2017-2018 campaign. In his two seasons with the Jazz he has averaged 5.1 points per game to go along with 3.5 rebounds in 151 regular season games.

After an appearance at the Carbon County Event Center in Price, O’Neale traveled to Castle Dale for a stop at Emery High School. While the tour was his first in the Castle Country, it marked the second straight year he has traveled throughout the state for the Junior Jazz program.

“I did it last year and it was fun,” said O’Neale. “They offered me the chance to do it again this year and I thought why not? Its fun to travel around Utah and see all the scenery.”

Each summer the Junior Jazz program, in conjunction with Carbon County Recreation, send one player on tour to interact with kids in each county. To learn more about the Junior Jazz program visit them online here: http://juniorjazz.leagueapps.com/.