Ayton joins BWB camp

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The scene at last year's camp.

By Renaldo Dorsett

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Deandre Ayton just added another event to a busy All-Star schedule for the Bahamian rookie phenom.

Ayton will be one of three NBA players selected to coach top international prospects at the 5th Basketball Without Borders Camp during NBA All-Star weekend, February 15-17 at the Queens University of Charlotte Levine Center for Wellness and Recreation in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The camp will host the top 63 high school aged boys and girls from 31 countries and regions and NIKE will serve as the official partner.

Ayton, the Phoenix Suns centre and No 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft was also a former BWB camper. He will be joined by fellow international players and 2019 NBA All-Stars Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets; Serbia) and Nikola Vučević (Orlando Magic; Montenegro), and 2017-18 All Rookie Second Team member Bogdan Bogdanović (Sacramento Kings; Serbia) to coach the top high school age campers from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe.

The current NBA pros will be joined by NBA veteran Festus Ezeli (Nigeria), former NBA players Adonal Foyle (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and Michael Ray Richardson (US), Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame member Jennifer Azzi (US), former WNBA players Allison Feaster (US), Ashley Battle (US), Taj McWilliams-Franklin (US), Astou N’Diaye (Senegal) and Andrea Stinson (US), as well as select players participating in NBA All-Star 2019. Charlotte Hornets assistant coaches Dutch Gaitley (US), Nate Mitchell (Canada) and Ronald Nored (US), along with 76ers assistant coach John Bryant (US) and Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Mark Madsen (US) will also serve as BWB Global coaches.

Among the record 27 former Basketball Without Borders campers on opening-night NBA rosters for the 2018-19 season (active and inactive), nine participated in the BWB Global Camp, including Ayton, 2017-18 NBA All-Rookie First Team member Lauri Markkanen (Chicago Bulls; Finland; BWB Europe 2014; BWB Global 2015), and 2016 No. 7 overall draft pick Jamal Murray (Nuggets; Canada; BWB Global 2015).

Players and coaches will lead the campers through a variety of activities on and off the court, including movement efficiency, skill development stations, shooting and skills competitions, 5-on-5 games, and daily life skills seminars focusing on health, leadership and communication. One boy and one girl will be named BWB Global Camp MVPs at the conclusion of the three-day camp.

The camp will feature ten current prospects from NBA Academies, the league’s network of elite basketball training centers around the world for top male and female prospects from outside the US, and five prospects who participated in The NBA Academies Women’s Program, a series of basketball development camps for top female prospects from outside the US at the league’s academies.

BWB, the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program, has reached more than 3,300 participants from 129 countries and territories since 2001, with more than 55 former campers drafted into the NBA or signed as free agents. The NBA and FIBA have staged 56 BWB camps in 35 cities across 28 countries on six continents. More than 290 current and former NBA, WNBA and FIBA players have joined more than 225 NBA team personnel from all 30 NBA teams to support BWB across the world.

Ayton will be one of the league’s young talents to spearhead several international initiatives as the league continues to market itself as a global brand

Last month, Ayton was also selected to as a member of the World Team for the 2019 Mountain Dew Ice Rising Stars, hosted on Friday, February 15, at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Ayton currently leads all rookies with 27 double-doubles, 10.6 rebounds per game and a .594 field goal percentage. He also ranks second in scoring at 16.4 points per game in 47 appearances this season. His field goal percentage is the third-highest in NBA history by a rookie qualified for the league leaderboard and the highest by a rookie who is averaging a double-double.

Each participant on the World Team’s ten-player roster hails from a different country, with four continents represented (North America, Africa, Europe and Australia). The World Team also includes three players who participated as campers in Basketball Without Borders (BWB), the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program: Ayton (BWB Global 2016), Gilgeous-Alexander (BWB Global 2016) and Markkanen (BWB Europe 2014; BWB Global 2015).