The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

CONGRATULATIONS to Bahamian DeAndre Ayton. He’s on his way to becoming the next Bahamian to play in the National Basketball Association.

With just one year of college under his belt at Arizona, Ayton has emerged as one of the top prospects in the NBA Draft, scheduled for June 21. He’s projected to go in the top three as he’s in the conversation with a talented freshman class that includes Mohamed Bamba from Texas and guard Trae Young from Oklahoma.

Every media outlet that you turn to, there’s the talk of the 7-foot, 1-inch, 250-pound Ayton with a 7-5 wingspan taking on the form of the ‘Admiral’ David Robinson, who starred for the San Antonio Spurs. But I like the comparison more between Ayton and 76ers’ rising star Joel Embiid as they “trust the process” in Philadelphia.

Whenever he steps out and inside a gymnasium, they saw that Ayton draws so much attention that it’s mind-boggling.

On the court, he’s monster type man against boys as he makes his presence felt in the paint, averaging 19.7 points and 11.1 rebounds per game for a Wildcats men’s basketball team that will be back on the court today in the semi-final of the Pac-12 Tournament against UCLA. If they are successful, the Wildcats will play the final on Saturday night.

Despite his dominance inside, Ayton can also take it outside and hit the three-pointer, which is being a norm for the big men in the NBA. He’s proven his worth by posting the all-time Arizona scoring record as a freshman and being named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and the Player of the Year.

Going into the highly acclaimed NCAA Basketball Tournament, Ayton got some more recognition when he was placed on the cover of one of the four regional Sports Illustrated’s March Madness preview covers. His issue is entitled: Heroes Wanted. March Madness ‘18. Shinning moments: Who’s Got Next?

Ayton, who is on the magazine’s ‘short list’ of players who could bust out this year, is surrounded by a montage of NCAA Tournament legends, including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Christian Laettner. SI also pays tribute to legends from the women’s game - Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, Cheryl Miller and Pat Summitt are featured as well.

Ayton, 19, is the first Arizona Wildcat to be featured on the cover since Eagles QB Nick Foles holding up the Vince Lombardi trophy after vanquishing the New England Patriots. Ayton’s cover is one of four regional covers for the week. Others feature Virginia’s Isaiah Wilkins, Kansas’ Devonte Graham and Michigan State’s Jaren Jackson.

He was a youngster who was discovered when he was participating in the Jeff Rodgers Summer Basketball Camp as a 6-5 12-year-old by the All Bahamian Brand. He was then recruited to attend Balboa City School in San Diego, California on their varsity team.

After a short sting there, he transferred to Hillcrest Prep Academy where he continued to wreak havoc in Phoenix, Arizona. The rest as they say was history.

Ayton, however, has found himself having to deny reports that he was offered some enticement to enrol at Arizona. Whether or not anything will come out of the case, one thing is certain: Ayton is on his way to becoming a top prospect in the NBA.

He may not end up joining Mychal ‘Sweet Bells’ Thompson, who was the first foreign born player to be selected first in the 1978 NBA draft. But as he gets set to play alongside Sacramento Kings’ guard Buddy Hield from Grand Bahama, it will be interesting to see who will be the first to follow Thompson and Rick Fox in winning an NBA title.

We wish Ayton all the best as his future unfolds.

It will also be interesting to see if both Hield and Ayton are available to play in the third window of the FIBA World Cup Americas qualifier when the Bahamas men’s national team takes on the US Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic on the road on June 29 and July 2 respectively.

The team, coached by Mario Bowleg, lacked a quality guard who could shoot the ball consistently and a big man who could take over the game on the inside, something both players could bring to the team if they decide to suit up. That seems to be the challenge for the Bahamas Basketball Federation as they’ve used two slightly different teams in the first two windows in November and February without any success against the US Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic and Canada.

The Bahamas will need to beat the US Virgin Islands by at least 10 points in order to survive to advance out of Group D to the playoffs that start in September.

We will wait and see how that unfolds as well. In the meantime, let’s celebrate the achievements so far of DeAndre Ayton.