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Youngsters attending Damon and Ramon Williams' basketball camp this week at William Fleming High School will learn shooting, passing, rebounding, dribbling and defending.

But the camp put on by the twin brothers who starred at Fleming in the 1980s and who rank as the fourth and fifth all-time leading scorers at Virginia Military Institute also works to instill discipline, work ethic, punctuality and teamwork.

And yes, the Williamses, who each have a degree in economics from VMI, discuss academics with campers.

In its 12th year, the weeklong Twin Hoops Basketball Training & Development School is more than just a summer skills camp for young basketball enthusiasts.

It is an intersection of sports and life.

"All of us are not college-bound," said Damon, whose playing days ended with Ramon's when they graduated from VMI in 1990.

"All of us may not make it. But teamwork, preparation, being able to take instruction -- you take that into the work world," added Damon, who is the community development officer for First Citizens Bank's mid-Atlantic region. He also officiates collegiate and high school basketball games.

As Roanoke schools consider a proposal to set a minimum academic requirement for athletes, it was interesting to listen to the 40-year-old former student-athletes talk about how they use their athletic camp to prepare youngsters for performance off the court as well.

"We instill consequences in camp," said Ramon, an assistant basketball coach and recruiter at DePaul University, a Division I school in Chicago. "That's to try to teach discipline. Hopefully, that transfers into the classroom."

The conflation of athletics and academics in Roanoke has been a hot topic recently in the news, on message boards and blogs. Requiring a minimum 2.0 grade point average, the proposal as structured by administrators has drawn some criticism.

A lot of the criticism is myopic but, encouragingly, supporters and detractors agree on the necessity of raising academic guidelines for students in Roanoke schools.

As I told one critic a few weeks ago, improved academics is the destination. Supporters and critics may differ on how to get there, but everyone agrees we need to get there.

School officials should be open to input on the proposal as it is discussed throughout the summer.

Several readers posted comments on my blog urging school officials to extend the 2.0 requirement to all extracurricular activities. They should. Deputy Superintendent Curt Baker told me a few weeks ago and reiterated Friday that the school division has plans to do that.

Another reader complained that the grade point average requirement should be higher. You'll get no argument from me, but keep in mind Roanoke schools have no minimum now. It's important to start somewhere.

The Williams brothers credited their parents, coaches and other close friends and family with helping them stay focused on academics as they played sports. Ramon, who is seven minutes older than his brother, graduated from Fleming with a 3.5 grade point average. Damon finished with a 3.3.

The twins stressed the importance of an educational foundation for all students because it provides more choices when they leave high school, whether they pursue athletics or not.

But for youngsters planning to pursue a collegiate athletic career, Ramon said he makes sure they learn in basketball camp what college recruiters expect of them academically.

He told me the NCAA uses a sliding scale, meaning the lower a student's GPA, the higher his or her standardized test score must be. The NCAA requires a minimum 2.0 GPA in core courses, he said, but the average incoming freshman athlete carries about a 2.4 GPA with an 820 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test on the sliding scale.

Ramon said he also tells camp participants, who range in ages from 7 to 13, that it's not too early for them to think about grades. Recruiters look at academic performance beginning in the ninth grade. Character, of course, also is a big issue, he added.

Camps such as Twin Hoops that discuss academics can be part of a necessary support network for young athletes. Besides coaches and parents, the brothers said, the network should include school counselors with a knowledge of NCAA guidelines and others who have the student-athletes' best interest in mind and have time to devote to them.

Damon and Ramon are ideal to run the camp. They are good-natured guys who laugh easily, but genuinely seem committed to helping young athletes.

The professional successes they've enjoyed off the court reflect what can happen when students put as much emphasis on education as they do athletics.

They took over the old CORD (Community Organization for Research Development) camp in 1996 and renamed it Twin Hoops. Registration is $125 for the week and includes lunch each day and a T-shirt. A second weeklong camp begins Aug. 4.

Both brothers are involved daily, teaching the youngsters fundamental basketball skills. As the week progresses, the campers, who include girls, break into teams and play five-on-five and three-on-three games.

"It's neat for us," Damon said, pointing out that he and Ramon started the camp because they wanted to give back to the community.

One of the biggest pleasures the brothers said they get is when they see former campers a few years later and they've matured into young men.

Twin Hoops is about more than developing a sweet jump shot.

"It is essentially the game of life," Damon said, smiling.