The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS junior national basketball team standout Tyler Pinder is turning heads in the world of high school basketball recruitment.

The sharp-shooting guard was recently named one of the top performers at the Stars and Stripes High School Basketball Showcase in Houston, Texas.

Pinder finished with 46 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and three steals for Redemption Life Tabernacle Christian Prep in their 101-60 win over JL Academy. The 6’, 2” guard shot 16-24 from the field, including 7-12 from three-point range.

Pinder continues to deliver outstanding performances in early season showcases this fall. He finished with 27 points (5-10 from three-point range), four rebounds and four steals at the Robert Hughes Showcase in Fort Worth, Texas.

“The start to the season was kind of iffy but we have a lot of young players so we are just trying to figure it out but it’s been going good for the most part,” Pinder told Stars and Stripes media. “The showcases they give me good exposure because it’s not everyday you get to play against the top players in the country. I want a winning team to get more offers and make my decision on where I go to college.”

At the national team level, Pinder was a member of Team Bahamas as they won the bronze medal at last summer’s FIBA Centrobasket Under-17 Championship for Men in Puerto Rico.

Pinder averaged 11.2 points per game and was the tournament’s top three-point shooter at 48.3 per cent from beyond the arc. “It was a good experience there,” he said about his summer with the national team.

“The atmosphere was crazy, you had a lot of people talking in your ear, you just have to overcome that. The competition is way different, you have everybody playing hard for their country,” he said.

With the 85-83 win over the Dominican Republic in the bronze medal game, the Bahamas secured a place in the 2020 Tournament of the Americas.

The top four teams at the Tournament of the Americas will advance to the subsequent Under-19 Basketball World Cup.