The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

AS student athletes around the country get ready for the 2016-17 high school basketball season, one organisation is granting them an additional opportunity to refine their skillset.

International Basketball Academy (IBA) Bahamas, in conjunction with Get Me Recruited (GMR), will host a Skills Combine November 19-20.

IBA Bahamas has impacted the local basketball scene in its brief history led by its director Denycko Bowles, who also serves as the head coach of the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins. It is the first international branch of the IBA programme.

Over the course of the two-day event, hosted from 9am to 5pm, players will be drilled on the advanced fundamentals of the game. “This skills camp is to bring kids out to drill them, teach them the fundamentals of basketball, to explore a lot of problems and implement a lot of things, some they may already know, but how to also get it in game speed and game focus. It will allow these kids to be very successful within their teams and their schools for the school year.  This year we see this as a way forward in terms of getting these kids even more exposure than they already have and allowing them to propel forward in the game of basketball.”

The combine is available to all players from 6th grade to post graduate levels at a registration fee of $65.

For more information, contact info.ibabahamas@gmail.com or denycko.bowles@gmail.com and registration forms can be picked up from the Doris Johnson campus on Prince Charles Drive.

Bowles said participants should expect hard work but an opportunity to learn from a skilled group of trainers from Get Me Recruited. “This is all day. We’re going to go from 9-5 broken down into four different sessions throughout the day. The trainers that are going to be coming down are from the North Carolina area. We have Mr Tim Fields, one of the key trainers who will be down again, and they will be going through the key aspects of basketball. We’ll be going through defence, post moves, perimeter offence moves and more. It will allow kids to take on all those aspects and it will be non-stop drilling from morning to afternoon. These kids can definitely use these as a part of their games and add it to their repertoire and allow them to move forward to be successful team players.”

The two organisations hosted a successful “Super 60 Showdown Bahamas” in June.

“We hope to build on the success of the Super 60 event this summer. A lot of kids weren’t able to be a part of it and they’re definitely looking forward to being a part of this skills combine. The word has gotten out and kids are very excited. Basketball is something the whole country loves. Especially having Buddy in the NBA and I know a lot of kids aspire to be like that. The response has been remarkable and we want to encourage anyone from 6th grade to post grad, if you want to continue to get better and work on your game, find as an avenue to further yourself and better yourself through basketball. We are inviting all coaches to come out and learn something because we all want to put our kids in the best position.

In addition to the summer programmes, IBA has participated in the Summer of Thunder and travelled to AAU tournaments in the US.