The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Noble Prep Academy players Shamar Burrows and Livingston Bromwell are thriving in their new surroundings at Ridley College in Ontario, Canada.

The duo led the Tigers to the Upper Canada College Invitational championship this weekend with relative ease as they dominated their competition in each outing.

For the tournament, Burrows averaged 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals per game, while Bromwell averaged 14 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots per game.

In the title game, Ridley defeated Upper Canada College Blues 59-43.

Bromwell finished with a double double - 17 points and 11 rebounds - while Burrows scored a team high 18 points.

The Tigers led 18-9 at the end of the first quarter, 29-18 at the half and 51-28 headed into the fourth quarter. They advanced to the championship with a 71-40 win over Agincourt.

Burrows finished with a triple double - 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals - while Bromwell added 16 points and six rebounds.

In the tournament opener, Burrows finished with 21 points in a 72-16 win over Newtonbrook.

While Burrows is a veteran in his second year with the programme, Bromwell billed as “The Next Man Up” for Noble Preparatory Academy, is having a stellar season.

He is the fifth in the line of NPA students to participate in the exchange programme between the two institutions, which acts as the precursor to the possibility of an athletic scholarship following its conclusion.

Burrows was the beneficiary of the scholarship following the exchange programme.

Both players were former members of the Bahamas Basketball Federation’s junior national teams.

Ridley College, located in St Catharine’s, Ontario, Canada, is one of the leading private boarding and day university preparatory schools in the country.

Ridley is one of the oldest private schools in Canada and has the largest boarding programme in Ontario, with students representing over 35 countries.

Geno Bullard is the founder and serves as the president of NPA. One of the most successful basketball coaches in Bahamian basketball, he made the transition to academic administration when he founded the school just three years ago.

Bullard is also the international recruiter for the entire Caribbean region for Niagra College.

NPA has academic ties with Ridley, Niagra and Brock University.

“We already have a very successful relationship with Ridley, from the days when my son graduated from there. The trend of students we had participate in the school’s exchange programme laid the foundation, and them knowing the integrity and character that those students already had, once we were able to get our own institution in NPA, where we had an opportunity to design an entire programme dedicated to creating a student athlete, things were able to take off,” Bullard said. “Having a full scope of being on the ground and being a part of those institutions I fully understand what is demanded by a prep school, a college or a university and I am able to impart that knowledge to these kids and their parents. It is all about creating a total package - a student that is confident in his education, confident in his athletic ability and to be able to present his self in a professional manner.”

Bromwell’s tenure at Ridley College came on the heels of the successful experience Burrows had in the exchange programme at Ridley last year.

Burrows was able to earn a full athletic scholarship and Bullard said he looks for the programme to become an annual tradition for NPA students.

For those interested, Bullard encourages them to visit their website: www.npabahamas.com, check out their Facebook page: Noble Preparatory Academy Bahamas or call 676-0055 for more information.