The Tribune

by RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

With a trio of events - the Junkanoo Jam in Grand Bahama, the Battle 4 Atlantis and the Summer of Thunder in New Providence, the Bahamas has garnered a reputation as a popular host for elite level NCAA basketball.

This year, the Bahamians will have an opportunity to witness many of their local products in action with their NCAA programmes.

The George Washington Colonials women’s basketball team have become the latest to join the group of teams on their way to the Bahamas when as they joined the group of eight teams in the 2014 Junkanoo Jam.

Led by Grand Bahamian native Jonquel Jones, the Colonials will play in the will play in the Freeport Division of the tournament, scheduled November 27-29 at the St. George’s Gymnasium.

It will be the Colonials’ fourth appearance at the Junkanoo Jam, the most of any Division I school in tournament history, with prior visits in 2003, 2005 and 2009. No other team has participated in more than three Junkanoo Jam tournaments (Arizona State, Florida, Kansas State, USC, Virginia).

“The Junkanoo Jam always features top-notch competition, and this year is no different with four teams that played in the NCAA Tournament,” said Colonials Head Coach Jonathan Tsipis on the school’s athletic website,

“We look forward to this early challenge in our schedule. We are also excited to be able to bring Jonquel Jones home and give her friends and family in Freeport a chance to see her play.”

Jones is currently with the Bahamas’ national team set to tip off action at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation championships today.

The Bahamas will face the US Virgin Islands today in their opening game of the tournament in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

North Carolina State, Purdue, and Texas Tech will also compete in the Freeport Division.

The Lucaya Division includes East Carolina, South Carolina, Syracuse and Wisconsin.

In her sophomore season, Jones was named Atlantic 10 All-Conference honours when she was named to the second team.

She averaged 15.7 points and 11.1 rebounds per game in her sophomore season to help the Colonials finish 23-11 overall and advance to the third round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).

At the Bahamas Basketball Federation’s sixth annual Summer of Thunder a significant Bahamian presence will take the floor with a Southeastern Conference powerhouse.

Dwight Coleby and the Ole Miss Rebels will take part in the series of exhibitions hosted August 2-25 at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

In his freshman season with the Rebels, Coleby played in Played in 28 games with four starts and averaged 2.4 points and 1.9 rebounds per game in 10.4 minutes.

He shot 47 percent from the floor, and finished fifth on the team with 18 blocked shots

Coleby was a member of the Bahamas gold medal winning CBC championship squad which advanced to the Centrobasket tournament.

Ole Miss will compete at the early stage of the exhibition schedule, August 4-7.

Other teams expected to participate include Kentucky, North Caronlina, Ohio State, Tennessee Chattanooga, Northern Arizona, Portland State University, Louisiana Tech University, Whitman College, Alabama State University, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Morehouse State and Sanford University.

In addition to the NCAA teams national teams from the Dominican Republic, Mexico and a club team from France will also participate.

In the 2014 Battle 4 Atlantis two Bahamian players are apart of the buzz being created by the prospective lineup.

The eight team field will feature the North Carolina Tar Heels, Georgetown Hoyas, UCLA Bruins, Florida Gators, Wisconsin Badgers, Oklahoma Sooners, UAB Blazers and Butler Bulldogs.

The tournament, for the first time, feature local Bahamian players suiting up for their respective universities.

For the Sooners, Buddy Hield is headed into his junior season as the team’s leading scorer and first round NBA draft prospect.

In the 2013/14 campaign, Hield was recognised among the best players in his conference, the Big 12.

He was named to the All-Big 12 second team and increased his scoring average by nine points per game from his sophomore year.

He also saw his field goal percentage rise from 38 per cent to 45 per cent and his three point shooting increase from 23 per cent to 40 per cent.

Hield finished the regular season ranked No.9 in the Big 12 in scoring at 16.8 points per game, second in steals at 1.5 per game, third in three point field goals made at 2.8 per game and fourth in three point percentage.

Wannah Bail enters his sophomore season with the UCLA Bruins after a lengthy recruiting process which took him all the way to the Canary Islands for a season.

In an injury plagued freshman season, Bail Played in 13 games, averaged 1.6 points and 0.6 rebounds per game.

Bail missed UCLA’s first five games of the season while recovering from left knee surgery (to repair torn cartilage), performed on June 28, 2013 and re-injured his left knee prior to the Pac-12 Tournament and was unable to play in UCLA’s final six games.

He underwent surgery on March 11, 2014, to remove torn cartilage in his left knee.

The versatile Bail was one of the top frontcourt prospects out of the state of Texas for the class of 2012.

The event will be televised live on NBC Sports Network and AXS TV from the 3,900-seat arena at the Atlantis resort.