The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Pro players Ronnie ‘JR’ Cadot and Kenton Smith, collegian Michael Carey and Grand Bahamian Alonzo ‘CJ’ Hinds are all eager to suit up for the Bahamas next month when the men’s national basketball team heads to the Centrobasket Championship in Panama City, Panama.

The players are in town for the practice session at the AF Adderley Gymnasium with head coach Mario Bowleg and two of his assistants, Wadye Watson and Kevin ‘KJ’ Johnson.

The coaching staff will head to Grand Bahama this weekend with some of the players to view a host of players working out there with assistant coach Norris Bain. The other players are expected home next week.

The team, which will also have Steve Barnes from Colorado State as the national instructor and scout, is preparing for the tournament, scheduled for June 20-26 at the Roberto Duran Arena in Panama. The Bahamas has been placed in Pool B with Mexico, Costa Rica, the US Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic. Group A includes Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Antigua, Panama and Cuba.

This marks the final CentroBasket as FIBA will begin a home-and-away series next year for the top teams out of this year’s Centrobasket finale to begin the qualifying process for the 2020 Olympic Games.

“It’s coming together. This weekend, the whole coaching staff will be in Grand Bahama where we have 10 collegiate players who we will look at and make a decision on who we will invite to come down and try out with the collegiate players that we have here,” Bowleg said.

“Kenton Smith is playing pro ball, Ronnie Cadot is playing pro ball, Michael Carey is home from school along with some others. We have DeShon Taylor coming home on Friday night, Rashad Mackey is coming in on Saturday morning along with Teron Cornish and we also have Keno Burrows coming home next week.”

When they put it all together, Bowleg said he envisions that the Bahamas will have a very talented, but young team heading to Panama on June 17. When they return on June 25, Bowleg said he expects that the team would have qualified for the next level.

The Bahamas will open up against the US Virgin Islands, then Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Mexico in the pool play finale before they get into the playoffs.

“Knowing the history of these teams in our pool, I like the way they start us off,” Bowleg said. “We will gradually move to play the tougher teams and once we keep our composure and do what we have to do, we should be successful.”

If the team is successful in the final CentroBasket for men, the Bahamas will get a chance to play in the new home-and-away format that FIBA will be instituting in 2017 as the lead up to the qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games.

“Once we finish in the top five, it will allow us to remain in Zone A and we will have an opportunity to play the top teams in theAmericas region like the United States, Argentina and Canada,” Bowleg said. “Once you continue playing in the home-and-away series, you move closer to qualifying for the Olympics.”

Cadot, a 6-5 swingman, who played for the UMF Skallagnimur Borgans in the Icelander League where he averaged 24.1 points, 16.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.9 block shots in 35 minutes per game in 28 games, said his goal is to help the Bahamas win the tournament just as he did when they claimed the D1 title with a 91-75 blowout over Fjolnir.

“It feels good. It’s another opportunity for me to represent my country and an opportunity to play with the guys that I haven’t seen in a long time and the coaches that I haven’t played for in a long time,” said Cadot, who is coming of his championship performance in Iceland with 22 points with nine rebounds with six assists in 37 minutes.

“I’m looking to bring that same type of energy that I had in Iceland to the team and hopefully helping the Bahamas to win the championship as well. I’m looking forward to using that type of energy and the achievement that I got in Europe to the Bahamas team and hopefully we can win.”

With the new philosophy by coach Bowleg of spreading the ball and having all five guys attacking the basket, Cadot said it’s going to make it hard for their opponents to contain the Bahamas.

“Everybody would be a treat on the floor, so it’s going to be exciting,” said Cadot, who just turned 29 on May 7. “I haven’t see everybody home here, but just the offense that Mario has, once we get everybody here and we put it together, it’s going to be great.”

Coming of his first pro season where he played in Romania, Smith said he’s just trying to jell with the other players.

“We have a lot of young players trying out, but we have some veterans out there who can hold it down,” he said. “We’re going to have good leadership in people who play hard, but we have some more players coming in, so we just have to wait and see how the team will come together.”

Although he was the leading scorer for his team, Smith said he doesn’t want to concentrate on what happened because the experience wasn’t what he expected from his contractual agreement, so he’s looking forward to moving on.

“I was expecting to make the money that I was guaranteed, but I have to keep rolling and take the punches as they come,” said the 6-8 Smith, who is looking to make his third national team at the age of 24.

Carey, a 6-5 guard for the Wagner College Seahawks, played in 34 games, averaging 29.1 minutes, 12.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.8 bock shots per game, is just as excited bout what he will bring to the table.

“It’s going to be great. I haven’t played on the national team since I was a junior,” said Carey, whose Wagner Falcons lost to Creighton 87-54 in the National Invitation Tournament in the second round after beating Bonaventure 79-74 in the first round.

“I’m just looking forward, not just to playing with some of the older guys, but learning from them as well. I just want to learn as much as I can from all of the players and the coaches because they all have something that I can benefit from as I advance further in my last year in college.”

The 22-year-old 6-2 guard said he’s looking forward to making the trip.

“I think we have a chance to qualify for the 2020 Olympics,” he said. “We have to start somewhere, so I think once we can put this team together, we will do very well. So I’m looking forward to playing with these guys this year.”

Hinds, who has been one of the top contributors on the team in the last few years,

“I’m a veteran on the team, so I know I have to share some of my knowledge and let them know how competitive it is to play at this level,” Hinds said. “We have to be ready to lay with each other on the bigger stage.

“We can’t say who all will be here. We just have to work with who is here right now and take it one day at a time and continue building until we get that cohesive unit when it’s time for us to travel.”

As they continue to prepare, assistant coach Watson said they are starting to see the team come together.

“Based on what I see, we have some players who are coming back from previous teams and we are looking at adding some new players,” Watson said. “My biggest concern is whether we will be able to shoot at that level and match up defensively. If we can do those teams, we will be right there in the mix. I expect for the team to be a very good one.”