| James Kon |
DRIBBLE like Kyrie Irving or shoot like James Harden and pass like Kyle Lowry – local basketball players have a chance to learn basketball skills and moves of some of the best former NBA players at the Jr NBA programme set to take place in April 2017 this year in Malaysia.
Former national coach Kevin Reece who is also the Easyway coach who holds the record for most wins through Street Roc International Basketball Services is looking to bring young local basketball players and coaches to the camp to help develop their talents.
In an interview, Kevin Reece explained on the importance of basketball development from a young age. “It is very important. It used to be only in the USA and the old Soviet Union that early development was emphasised, because it is important to have a foundation first to develop the talent then for the development to cater across the entire board meaning youth, junior, senior and national levels.
“Today every country has a strong foundation in the last 10-15 years. Countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia have benefitted from having sports development from grassroots level. Other nations that have been successful are China and the Philippines. You can advance up the ladder to reach success if your foundation is in place and solid, and it should start with coaches being trained for the areas of youth development.”
The Junior NBA programme will be hosted twice in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this year which is in April where retired NBA players will be featured, and in July which will be attended by current NBA players. After the camp, there will also be friendly matches with players from WAMP and MVP Basketball Academies.
Coach Kevin Reece in a photo with some of the participants of the past Jr NBA programme. – JAMES KON
The American coach said, “We are in our early stages of promoting the Jr NBA in Brunei and hopefully in future with the help of Brunei Basketball Association, we can make this an annual event, and eventually develop players by getting them ready to excel, not just participating in the programme or any other events offered and hosted by Southeast Asian nations. Each year the camp grows and many of today’s stars show up normally during national selection like OKC Steven Adams and others too.”
“Kids from all over Malaysia will participate in hopes of being invited to the national selection camp for a chance to represent their country in a sponsored event to take place in China. Unfortunately, our players from Brunei cannot participate in the national Jr NBA tournament, but if chosen they would be acknowledged.”
Touching on the possibility of Brunei hosting the Jr NBA programme, Reece said, “It’s a great start for Brunei and its basketball. We have been working on this for many months. The US Ambassador and myself have corresponded with the Head NBA office and officials to try and get the opportunity to host the Jr NBA in Brunei. However, we were unsuccessful because the NBA Asia marketing team did not see Brunei meeting the requirements. But they have told us to stay in touch and a few months back we have been included in the Jr NBA in Malaysia. It is a good start and a win-win situation and at the end of the day it’s for the kids.”
Interested basketball players can email junli.lavamedia@gmail.com for further enquiries.
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