Basketball coaches alongside their youngsters are set to reap big from the ongoing basketball clinic that is only four days from its wrap, at the Green Hills Academy gymnasium. A total of 94 young basketballers and 23 local tacticians from different parts of the country benefited from the clinic, since July 19, in a camp organized by renowned American basketball player, development expert and Sacramento Kings Assistant coach, Rico Hines. According to Didier Shema Maboko, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, the camp has, among others, revealed underutilized talent which he said would be eligible for any selections in the coming competitions. In addition, he said that it is imperative to keep a close eye on the coaches who were trained, as part of the efforts to boost local performance. “Through this partnership, we aim to increase the number of young basketball stars but also qualified coaches in order to promote local talent in the game of basketball.” Alongside Hines, other trainers include Khaila Andrea, Jalon Wilson, Mike C, Keyla Snowden and Jerred Cook. Similarly, Desire Mugwiza, President of the Rwanda Basketball Association (FERWABA), highlighted that the trained youngsters will be prioritized regarding the selection process of future youth competitions. “There are competitions we are organizing; there is the Africa Cup of Nations for the under-16s, and chances are we will start with those here,” He added, “That means we will go to these competitions, but this training clinic has shown that there are talented Rwandan youth whose raw talent needs to be harnessed.”
