REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - Thirty-nine of the best young players from around the world got the chance of a lifetime to participate in the Basketball without Borders (BWB) Global Camp at the NBA All-Star Weekend festivities.

It was the first-ever Global Camp and it was seen by the organizers - the NBA and FIBA - as a way to celebrate the BWB program and its accomplishments and participants.

That at least is the view of Brooks Meek, the NBA Vice President, Basketball Operations who organized and oversaw the camp.

"We identified the All-Star Weekend as the perfect time to highlight the successes of the program and reward those who have participated in it," Meed told Eye on the Future.

"The best of the best come to All-Star Weekend. We continue to work with and develop those players and give those people who haven't had a chance to interact with the program a look at what we do."

And it was truly an elite group of players - 39 of them from 23 countries. Meek and the organizers tried to find an equitable balance across the world. They came up with their own ranking system and then cross-referenced it with a number of networks that also scout.

The players participated in a full schedule of events on and off the court, ranging from an advanced sports training development program called fusionetics, life skills seminars as well as attending the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, the All-Star Saturday Night festivities (Slam Dunk and Three-Point Contests and Skills Challenge) and Sunday's All-Star Game.

Also on the program was a fan activity stop at the NBA House as well as a reception dinner at Pagani Restaurant, which is owned by Italian NBA player Danilo Gallinari.

"I think they had a full schedule, they did a lot of fun stuff. I'm sure they're tired," joked Meek.

Gallinari, a participant in the BWB Europe camp in 2003, was also on hand to help work with the young players on and off the court. The other NBA players present were Senegal's Gorgui Dieng and Brazilian Tiago Splitter. New Zealand’s Steven Adams was scheduled to participate but he got injured.

Since the start of Basketball Without Borders in July 2001, the program has reached more than 2,200 campers from 120 countries and territories with 39 BWB camps taking place in 22 cities across 19 countries on five continents. Thirty-three BWB camp participants have been drafted into the NBA.

That number will likely rise with many players from the Global Camp already being considered future NBA talents. The MVP of the Global Camp was Croatia's Dragan Bender with the rest of the BWB All-Star Team consisting of Australians Dejan Vasiljevic and Thomas Wilson, Jamal Murray and Justin Jackson of Canada, Brazil's Guilherme Santos, Japan's Ryogo Sumino, Spain's Santiago Yusta, Matthew Freeman of New Zealand, Angola's Silvio De Sousa, Zijie Shen of China, Finland's Mauri Markkanen and Niklas Kiel of Germany. 

The players were thrilled to take part in the event.

"The days in New York were an incredible experience. I experienced so many things and learned so much. Now I need a couple of days to take it all in," said Kiel. 

"I learned so much from the positive feedback from the coaching staff and then being nominated for the All-Star Team was the cherry on top. The camp showed me that I don't need to hide from anybody in my age group."

Vasiljevic added: "It was a great experience. Playing against the best players between 16-18 years was just absolutely amazing. It was a great camp run by great guys, and the staff was just incredible. Taking us to the NBA All-Star events topped it off."

Yusta had the opportunity to share the experience with Spanish compatriot Xabi Lopez. Altogether the Real Madrid talent Yusta said it was a great experience.

"It was one of the most amazing experiences I've had. I experienced a new sensation and I learned a lot. Now I have to train on my own and my team and digest all this," said Yusta, who also cherished the interaction with former Real Madrid teammate Nikola Mirotic of the Chicago Bulls. 

The NBA has yet to announce the dates for the BWB camps this year but Meek confirmed that the Global Camp will once again take place during the 2016 NBA All-Star Game in February 2016. 

That is when the next group of the best of the best will have a life-changing experience.

David Hein

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

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