The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

The NBA and FIBA's Basketball Without Borders Americas Camp has introduced its Bahamian participants to a myriad of new experiences to aid the development of their respective games.

After an opening day of evaluations, players were drafted by the four coaching staffs represented at the event for a series of scrimmages that produced position changes for some and a "trial by fire" on the court for others.

Derryn Johnson said the move from his position last season with the St Anne's Blue Waves comes with a new skillset.

"Usually, I play the four on a regular basis but I'm a wing here so it was an adjustment. It's coming along very well, my jump shot is getting better every day and that's a good change," he said.

"The pace of the game is a lot faster. We like to drive the ball to the basket over here, but with these guys, you have to be able to make your jump shots and when you drive to be ready to kick the ball out to the open man. You have to be able to do a little of everything. You have to be quick on your feet or you will get beat every time because these guys are fast and they jump really high. I just have to keep shooting the ball, and getting better at my shot, it's not where it needs to be right now but it's getting there."

Johnson was drafted to Team Spurs along with fellow Bahamian Dominic Bridgewater. Each team is coached by one NBA personality and assisted by a local coach.

The Spurs is coached by San Antonio Assistant James Borrego and Nigel Ingraham.

Bridgewater routinely scored over defenders in traffic and concluded one scrimmage with a game-winning three-pointer.

"From day one I knew I could play with them, but the scrimmages really boosted my confidence," he said. "At any time I was able to blow by them and make the open pass to a teammate but I was just listening to the coaching staff and running the plays to get people involved."

Each of the players echoed Johnson's sentiments on the speed of the game as one of the major adjustment factors.

Kai Jones, drafted to Team Hawks, called the camp a learning experience. Team Hawks is coached by Atlanta assistant Darvin along with local coaches Wayde Adderley and Derek Cummings. "It's been a great experience, the competition has been great, their level is really high and it's fun to play against some of the best players in the world. I've just been trying to get better and learn everything I can and soak up every piece of information from these coaches," he said.

"The quickness really stands out. These guys are really fast and the speed of play is really fast but it's easy to adjust to once you play for the first five minutes you get used to it. I just need to take my time because I've been rushing, I just need to slow the game down. That's my motto for the next two days, just take it slow."

Despite his slight 6'7 185 pound frame, Jones said he has been able to do a few things on the court he has become accustomed to doing.

"When I rebound and I block shots I realise it's not as tough as it looks because some of these guys are jumping out the gym. Once you time it right. I've been grabbing rebounds, I blocked a few shots and I hit a couple jumpers," he said, "Getting open has been easy too, I thought it would be tough, but being able to get my shot off has been easier than expected"

Sammy Hunter, drafted to team Cavs - coached by Cleveland Assistant Jim Boylan and Anton Francis - said: "You have to be quick with every move you make, you can't be hesitant and passive, every move has to be quick."

On the girls' side, Briontae Riley was drafted to team Fever while Diondriea Nixon was drafted to team Sparks.

Riley said she's learned an immediate weakness she looks to improve on.

"It was a really good experience. These girls are obviously better than what we are used to so it was really hard. I had to play really hard to score and make progress in the game," she said, "I have to improve on my dribbling skills because certain things they ask of me it was really hard to do. Basically, just about everyone out there has better ballhandling skills than me."

Nixon said keeping up with the speed of the players has been a challenge.

"It was a very nice experience so far, it gives me an opportunity to play against these great players from around the world. The conditioning stands out, they run the floor better than me and I have to adjust to keep up with them," she said.

Friday, the morning will begin with a 3-point shooting competition, followed by positional skill development and practices, before all campers play in another series of games in the afternoon. A BWB Coaching Clinic will follow the day's games.