Vicksburg got to meet Superman on Friday.

Scroll down to view a video of Dwight Howard at Vicksburg High School

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, who led his team to the NBA Finals last season — and won the NBA’s slam dunk contest while wearing a Superman cape — rolled into the Vicksburg High gym around 8:30 a.m. on the second day of the Josh Powell Basketball Camp. After arriving to loud applause from the 85 or so campers in attendance, Howard stayed, chatted and hammed it up with the campers for the full duration of Friday’s session.

“Hey world, what’s up,” Howard yelled to the campers. “I’m Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.”

Howard, the 6-foot-11 All-NBA center, averaged 20.3 points and 13.8 rebounds while leading the Magic to the Eastern Conference finals. They bested the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games before running into the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals — the team, ironically enough, that Powell plays for as a reserve forward. Los Angeles won in five games and Howard was able to eat humble pie before the Vicksburg youth.

“My friend Josh’s team, the Lakers, won the championship. They beat us. I think losing in the finals last year made them want to give that extra hard work and I really think that’s what got them the championship this time,” Howard said.

Howard, the No. 1 draft pick in the 2004 NBA draft, said there are three things that have made his rise to prominence possible.

“Faith, hard work and discipline,” Howard said. “Faith without hard work is dead. I’ve worked hard and I had the discipline to get up every morning by 4:30, before the school day, to get my training in. I did that every day for two years.”

Unlike some of his NBA brethren who put basketball before education, Howard was an excellent student while leading Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy to a pair of Georgia state titles.

“I had a 3.6 grade point average,” Howard said.

“So why did you go straight to the NBA?” a camper asked.

“Because I had a great opportunity. I knew I would be going in the top 10 in the draft so I needed to take the opportunity and then it worked out because I was the No. 1 overall pick,” Howard answered. “This was my dream. But it shouldn’t be the only dream. There are only 450 players in the NBA out of all the basketball players in the whole world. The chances of anyone making it is slim and none. But you can get your education and be something in life, even president of the United States.”

The only other question a camper asked was how high could he jump. Howard, who dunked on a 12-foot rim at the NBA’s all-star slam dunk contest in February, joked in response.

“I can’t. I lost my hops after we lost the championship,” he said.

Howard’s words made an impression on the campers.

“I thought he was great,” added 10-year-old Jordan Thomas of Tallulah. “He shows you what you can do with hard work.”

Cameron White, a 6-year-old Vicksburg resident, was more succinct.

“He’s a cool guy,” White said.

While Powell, a North Carolina State product, had never been to Vicksburg before this camp, Howard said he remembers coming through the city when he was the age of many of the campers.

“My sister went to Alcorn State — a long time ago,” Howard said.

Giving back to the youth is something Howard cherishes.

“I know I’m a role model and that’s no pressure to me. I went to a school that was K-through-12 and when I got to my sophomore year, the little kids were already looking up to me,” he said.

“I want the kids to understand it’s not all about basketball with me. It’s a big part of my life but it’s not my whole life. I think people get caught up with our lifestyle, but to that, I like to say we’re humans, too. We have to go through life like you, but of course with great gifts there is also great responsibility and I have no problem giving back,” Howard said.

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com