Trinidad and Tobago prepare their talents for CBC Camp

SAN FERNANDO - The National Basketball Federation of Trinidad and Tobago (NBFTT) started this weekend their process to scout the best young men’s U17 prospects to participate in the 2019 edition of the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) camp that will take place during the month of April.

The process will last six days and will feature events all around the island, starting in Pleasantville, San Fernando, for participants between 15 and 17 years of age — born between January 2002 and December 2004. There will also be events in Maloney, Tacarigua and Scarborough.

The best five talents of each region will be chosen, and they will then be evaluated in a separate process before choosing the five final members that will travel to the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico (the place is yet to be confirmed).

“Based on our recent participation at the NBA Jumpstart Elite Camp, we expect our athletes to perform well in the regional try-outs,” said Organization and Development Vice-President of NBFTT, Lennox Sobers.

The CBC camp attendees will have the chance of being invited to the FIBA Youth Elite Camp, which will take place for the first time in history in September 2019, featuring the best youth athletes from around the world.

With this camp FIBA seeks to assist national federations in their talent recruitment process, as well as establishing a structured procedure to track and monitor the region’s talent. The result should be that young players elevate the quality of the game in their corresponding national teams, looking forward to the FIBA World Cup in 2023 and the Olympic Games in 2024.

The initiative also seeks to create a platform to showcase the Americas’ best talent, to popularize basketball among young people, and to create development opportunities for women players.

Moreover, the 500 Hawks Basketball Academy of Trinidad and Tobago will also host this week a basketball workshop with exchange resources that came in from Canada. These workshops provide expertise in basketball to the Caribbean islands and they have currently recruited around 20 international players from the area.

In other good news for the future of the Trinidad and Tobago national team, Johnny Hamilton, a player born in the Río Hondo sector of said country, is going through a great moment while playing for Grand Rapid Drive, the Detroit Piston’s NBA G League franchise. He’s now recording 12.8 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3 blocks per encounter in his first season after not being chosen in the draft.

The 24-year-old and seven feet tall Center, who’s also a Virginia Tech alumnus, exhibits a variety of skills that make him flexible both in the offense and in the defense. Hamilton is also in talks with the NBFTT to offer a camp for the islands’ youth.

The national men's team of Trinidad and Tobago hasn't appeared in a FIBA zone competition since 2010, when they played at Centrobasket and ended in the tenth spot.

FIBA