1 week ago
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TROY THOMPSON, the father and agent of NBA twins Amen and Ausar Thompson, wants to play his role in the development of basketball in Jamaica, and he shared plans to help develop courts and assist young players to reach their full potential.
Speaking at a recent meet-and-greet session for his sons, who have aspirations of playing for Jamaica and who began the citizenship process, at the S-hotel in Kingston, on Sunday, the senior Thompson said, through his youth-focused organisation Ball Hall, he will help develop basketball courts, starting with the New Hope Primary and Junior High School in Whitehouse, Westmoreland.
“I want to refurbish that court, put on a proper roof, get the proper dimensions and slowly but surely build that court there at Whitehouse.
“My eldest son went to school there and I want to start with that particular school because I see the court in disrepair.
“I use to even play there 25 years ago but the court is looking worse. So we are going to start with that, to have a real proof of concept of actually what we want to start doing.
“Then we will go to St Elizabeth and probably somewhere close. So we want to do those close areas first,” he revealed.
He said the lack of basketball facilities in the western end of the island limits the growth, exposure and development of the sport and the talent in that part of the country, and that he is hoping to change that over the long term.
He also wants to assist with coaching,but noted that it might take over a decade to realise the returns.
“A lot of times I come into Montego Bay, and there is a beautiful court in Montego Bay. But, from there to Whitehouse, there is not even one basketball court visible.
“So I think that myself, and with Amen and Ausar, we can bring youths through. I am big on youth basketball. I used to coach. I used to run my own organisation in America.
“If I bring those things to Jamaica, it might not benefit the guys who are 13 and in high school now. But, if I get the seven- and eight-year-olds and teach some people how to coach and put some leagues together, in the next 10-15 years I really believe we can put some on, into college for one, and I think we can get them up to pros, and that will be our goal,” he said.
Jamaica Basketball Association (JaBA) president Paulton Gordon said his organisation wants to set the pace for the growth of basketball from the grassroots level and have a target of getting 60 new primary schools involved in the sport over the next three years.
“Basketball is not a traditional sport in Jamaica. So we want a cultural shift. Talking to Troy. He wants to put up a number of courts and just allow kids to play.
“But we need a programme around it. We need someone to guide them, so they know this is indeed a basketball court. So they will not play scrimmage (football) there.
“Troy has been in discussions with us. He is in the process of creating a court in his area,” he commented.
“So the type of support that we are looking for is to help elevate what’s happening here in Jamaica as it relates to basketball, especially grassroots basketball. And we know that we need a proper foundation to grow basketball,” he said.
English (US) ·