The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

A PAIR of Bahamian prep basketball players have had standout seasons in their first year with new programmes in Canada and have now been nominated for the country’s premier showcase.

Paul Greene and Romad Dean were two of 198 players named BioSteel All Canadian Games - 2020 Boys Nominees List. The Nominees List contains all the players selected to the ballot by the Boys Selection Committee. Multiple rounds of voting will narrow this list down to the Top 24 All Canadian selections.

According to the organisation, “the All Canadian Basketball Games feature the top 24 male and female Canadian high school basketball players who are either Canadian-born or enrolled in a Canadian institution. The top 24 athletes come to Toronto to work with Canadian coaches and trainers in a series of events including on-and-off court training, practices and scrimmages in front of NBA scouts and GMs, community outreach, the Nike Skills Challenge, and the Boys and Girls All Canadian Games.”

The BioSteel All Canadian Games are an NBA sanctioned event, drawing representation from over 90% of NBA teams.

Greene has been a leader for J Addison Prep this season since his transition from the St. George’s Jaguars.

In the first year with J Addison, Greene won an early season MVP at the Pinky Lewis Invitational. He averaged 21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists over the course of the event.

Greene led the Jaguars to an historic season when they became the first two-time winner of the Bahamas National High School Basketball Championships. His broken left hand was in a cast until the day before the nationals began but he delivered a series of gutsy performances capped with 22 points and 17 rebounds in the finale and was named MVP in the Jaguars’ 62-57 win over the Tabernacle Baptist Christian Academy Falcons.

He also captured several top-tiered accolades over the course of the year. He was named the MVP as he led the Jaguars to an undefeated regular season and local championship title in the Grand Bahama Secondary School Sports Association. The Jaguars went on to finish as runners-up in the 2019 Hugh Campbell final.

Dean, the former Tabernacle Baptist Falcon currently plays for Crestwood Prep in Ontario, Canada.

He was one of Crestwood’s top performers at the recent Flyin’ To The Hoops Invitational in Dayton, Ohio.

Prior to Canada, Dean had an active summer which featured an historic run as a member of the junior national team and an invitation to the Basketball Without Borders camp. At the FIBA Centrobasket Under-17 Championship for Men, Dean controlled the boards for team Bahamas all tournament and came up with his most timely offensive rebound and score to lift the team to a bronze medal. With the win, the Bahamas also advanced to the 2020 FIBA U18 Tournament of the Americas. The top four teams at the Tournament of the Americas will advance to the subsequent U-19 Basketball World Cup.

Dean rebounded a missed Deyton Albury layup and followed with a dunk that gave the Bahamas an 85-83 win over the Dominican Republic. Dean finished with a double-double - 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

For the tournament, Dean averaged a double-double with 14.2 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.