The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

They opted not to compete in the country’s most prestigious basketball tournament, but members of the Noble Preparatory Academy senior boys basketball team have their sights set on a greater prize in the classroom.

As the institution attempts to place a greater emphasis on creating well-rounded student athletes, each of the members of the team have received their acceptance letters to attend Niagra College in Welland, Ontario Canada this fall.

Geno Bullard, the founder and president of NPA as well as the international recruiter for the entire Caribbean region for Niagra College, explained the team’s decision not to compete at the Hugh Campbell Invitational.

“The way our present system is, it doesn’t make sense at all,” he said. “We are placing an emphasis on a few tournaments for local bragging rights but what happens to these players when the ball stops bouncing should be a greater concern to more of our coaches and parents. That was one of the reasons we decided not to compete but become a travelling team, where we can take these trips three to four times per year, to be looked at in a bigger picture.

“We are going to visit the prep schools that we are affiliated with. They get a campus tour and play exhibition games against these schools. It gives them an opportunity to get exposure from these schools, but most importantly they are academically sound. I know this team can play – they can compete with anybody in the country. I know the level they are at in terms of basketball. This is why we have decided not to just focus on making all out attempts locally but looking ahead for the betterment of the students.”

Bullard said the institution has a mandate to fulfil its mission statement: “We have a moral obligation to prevent the exploitation of high school students . . . When the game ends and the glory fades, educated students will be the ultimate winners.”

He added: “The other sports are evolving, but not basketball. I want to promote more education, and that is a large part of the reason why we did not compete.

“We train everyday, but for us to be able to help these kids to transform to the next level, we have to do everything in our power to make sure these kids are academically sound first. Even in the basketball skills, they have to develop the mental aspect as well but they can’t fill out a simple questionnaire, if they can’t apply themselves in the classroom.”

Team member Justin Sweeting gave his reaction to not competing in this year’s tournament.

“It was a bit irritating to know that we weren’t playing, but we knew the reason why,” he said. “Everyone that we hang around was always talking about it and still talking about it. I mean you want to go out there and prove what you can do but at the same time we know our focus was more on going to school and getting straight to go to Canada for these exhibitions.”

He added that conversations with their peers have now taken a different tone.

“It’s like awkward situations because everyone was talking basketball and who was going to win and what they did, but when you talk about education and what happens after that it gets kinda brushed aside. Not everyone is interested and relates to it, it’s about winning tournaments here and for bragging rights but we want something more.”

His teammate Trevante McPhee said their grades needed improvement: “Our chemistry wasn’t there yet. We still could have used more time together to work as a team, and our grades weren’t where we wanted them to be. Coach always tells us that no matter what happens on the court that’s something you will have to sacrifice if the work in the classroom isn’t where it needs to be.”