NBA players Allen, Green, Johnson, White to coach top Asia-Pacific prospects at Basketball Without Borders

Canberra: NBA players, Cleveland Cavaliers’ Jarrett Allen, Josh Green of Dallas Mavericks, Cameron Johnson of Phoenix Suns and Coby White of Chicago Bulls will travel to Canberra, Australia, to coach over 60 of the top boys and girls from more than 15 countries across Asia-Pacific for the 12th Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Asia camp.

The camp, which began on Sunday will run till Wednesday at NBA Global Academy, the league’s elite basketball training centre at Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence at the Australian Institute of Sport.

BWB Asia 2022 camp will mark the first time the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach programme will be held in Asia-Pacific since 2019 in Japan and the first in Australia since 2016 in Melbourne.

The camp will bring together the top male and female players aged 18 and under from throughout Asia-Pacific to compete alongside their peers from across the region and learn directly from current and former NBA, WNBA and FIBA players and coaches.

NBA assistant coaches Damian Cotter (Bulls), David Akinyooye (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Eric Glass (Miami Heat), New York Knicks international scout and Serbia men’s national team assistant coach Adam Tatalovich, former WNBA Australia players Kristi Harrower and Annie La Fleur, former Australia women’s national team player Jenni Screen will also serve as BWB Asia coaches.

Patrick Hunt (president of the World Association of Basketball Coaches; Australia) will serve as camp director, while Dan Shimensky (Denver Nuggets; U.S.) will serve as the camp’s athletic trainer.

Players and coaches will lead campers through a variety of activities, including movement efficiency drills, offensive and defensive skill stations, three-point contests, 5-on-5 games, and life skills and leadership development sessions.

A ceremony on the final day of the camp will award the BWB Asia 2022 MVP, Defensive MVP, Three-Point Champion and the Patrick Baumann Sportsmanship Award to the boys and girls who distinguish themselves on the court and as leaders.

The NBA and FIBA have hosted 64 BWB camps in 30 countries since the programme’s launch in 2001. BWB has reached more than 3,800 participants from 133 countries and territories, with 105 former campers having advanced to the NBA or WNBA.

–IANS