By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) is gearing up for an exciting 2024-25 season.

The league’s teams are currently conducting training camps as contenders try to retool their rosters and fringe contenders look to add more talented players to their pool.

The NPBA executive team, led by president Ricardo Smith, has a few initiatives they want to focus on this season but most importantly they are expecting the action to be exciting. “The training camps have begun. Every team is trying to secure the best talent possible to be as competitive as they can be for the 2024-25 season which is going to be the season of seasons. 

“Our plan this year is to have a select team in division one that will travel to the Caribbean and a select team in division two that we are looking for some opportunities for them to play in Canada. 

“Both select teams will travel this year along with participating in the BBF Round Robin Tournament. We have a heavy schedule ahead of us,” he said.

The Discount Distributors Rockets dethroned the Commonwealth Bank Giants in last year’s NPBA finals 3-2 in the best-of-five championship series after being swept one season prior.

The Rockets will be the team to beat as not only the CB Giants are looking to improve their roster but also the Sand Dollar High Flyers coached by Donnie Culmer.

“We have some spectacular news about the likelihood that national team player Jaraun “Kino” Burrows is preparing to suit up this year to play in the NPBA. 

“We had talks with him and he was considering bringing a basketball team in under the Raw Talent banner but we will get back to those talks at the end of this season. 

“He is definitely one of those persons that we are going to be looking forward to,” Smith said. 

In recent seasons, the High Flyers have been right on the cusp of making it to the NPBA Finals but have come up short. With the possibility of national basketball team veteran Burrows joining the fold, Sand Dollar will definitely secure a spot in the NPBA title conversation. 

According to Smith, the CB Giants are also eyeing former national team player Kadeem Coleby but it is not confirmed yet whether or not he will suit up for the team.

One of the goals of the NPBA president during the offseason was to find ways to improve the product to improve fan attendance for the upcoming season. 

He said that fans should expect a thrilling season with the recent player movement.

“With this kind of player movement right now in New Providence, I think that this season is gonna be a very exciting season. I am seeing players moving up and down and the team that you gotta watch out for is certainly no doubt Donnie Culmer and the Sand Dollar High Flyers. 

“You have to definitely watch out for the Rockets who are back in good form and good shape and the Giants as well. 

“One of our superstars of division two, Brandon Strachan, is going to be coming up to division one so we are looking forward to some very exciting things from this kid,” according to Smith. 

The NPBA season is scheduled to start in November. Officials will release the date for the season opener in upcoming weeks.