Gordon anxious to see next generation from basketball camp

JAMAICA BASKETBALL Association president, Paulton Gordon, is looking forward to the July 14-18 staging of the KFC-sponsored Star Search basketball camp where, he says, young players from across the length and breadth of Jamaica can make a name for themselves.

“This is one of our signature events as it relates to the development of our young players. All of our young players, across the island, look forward to the staging of the camp and we’re trying to facilitate as much as possible by ensuring that we have quality local and International coaches,” said Gordon of the camp set to be staged at the GC Foster College.

Gordon explained that the presence of past players, who made the transition to the National Basketball Association (NBA), has had a huge impact on the young players.

“It’s certainly part of the mentorship of the camp. I remember a few years ago Josh Minott, now at Minnesota Timberwolves, was at the camp in 2019 and Marcus McDonald was also featured at the camp. There are a number of other players like Nick Richards who tend to come back, support and ensure that the youngsters are seeing the continuity in terms of what is possible in their overall development,” he explained.

Gordon believes that the grassroots basketball camp, which has been operating for more than two decades, is a solid breeding ground for Jamaica’s national programme and credits title sponsors KFC for the continuous support.

“A lot of our young players who transition to college overseas are products of the KFC Star Search camp and this is something that we want to maintain. We have to say thanks to KFC for anchoring this camp, doing it for over 20 years, and we appreciate their support. This creates a platform for them to showcase their skills and make the move to the next level.”

The camp is known to have collegiate scouts on hand to offer scholarship opportunities to outstanding talent.

“We’ve reached out to a few; however, we haven’t signed off on who will be coming. We expect that partnership again, and we also have the Bob Marley Foundation on board to ensure that the camp is conducted in a particular way.”

orane.buchanan@gleanerjm.com