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Pro athletes are at the heart of All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, but an associated event in Noblesville this weekend was all about athletes who could be the next generation of NBA players.
The NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program, which seeks to identify and develop top teen talent from around the globe, held its annual global camp this weekend, hosting 40 high-school-aged players from around the world. Camp events, which included athletic testing, skill development, life-skills seminars and competitions, took place at the Mojo Up Sports Complex, 16289 Boden Road, in Noblesville.
The prospects got the chance to learn from, play with and receive life-skills lessons from former NBA and WNBA players including Indiana Pacers great Detlef Schrempf and Chicago Bulls star Joakim Noah.
This year marks the 10th for the boys-only camp, which always takes place during NBA All-Star Weekend. (The WNBA launched a similar camp for girls last year, and this year’s WNBA Basketball Without Borders camp will take place at the WNBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix from July 18-20.)
Players at the Noblesville camp came from 21 countries plus Puerto Rico, including Australia, Brazil, Japan, Qatar and Senegal. Most of the players were selected from one of four Basketball Without Borders regional camps they attended last summer. Some came to the camp via the NBA Academy, a residential basketball development program for elite teen players from outside the United States.
As the 17- and 18-year-olds played on the court Sunday, about 200 spectators gathered to watch—NBA officials, scouts and parents, among others.
“It has become, from an NBA front-office perspective, a can’t-miss evaluation event,” said Brendan McKillop, the head of international elite basketball for the league.
Basketball Without Borders, which launched in 2001, is part of the NBA’s ongoing push to grow the sport internationally.
To date, more than 4,300 young athletes from 140 countries and territories have participated in Basketball Without Borders since 2001. Of that number, 114 have gone on to play in either the NBA or WNBA.
The NBA’s current roster of athletes includes 125 international players—a record number for the league. Those international players come from 40 different countries and territories, and all 30 NBA teams have at least one international player.
Australian Eddie Chan, who works in Hong Kong for NBA Asia, said basketball has gained a foothold in his home country over the past 15 years or so.
Chan said the emergence of both social media and NBA League Pass, a streaming service that allows fans to watch games, are a big part of the reason basketball is catching on in Australia.
Social factors also play a role, Chan said. “In Australia, it’s a huge sports culture.”
David Hendren, a Louisville-based basketball analyst with Oregon-based sports firm Pro Insight, said he tries to attend a couple of basketball events a month to evaluate athletes. Pro Insight’s customers are basketball decision-makers seeking information about promising elite-level players.
“We want to see as much talent as possible,” Hendren said.
Hendren said he was at the Basketball Without Borders event to evaluate not just the players’ basketball skills, but also things like their body language, demeanor, and their interactions with teammates and coaches.
Canadian Tracy Riley, who lives in Kitchener, Ontario, was present to cheer for her son, Will Riley, who won the camp’s MVP award.
Riley said her son has known some of his fellow campers since the boys were 12 years old because their involvement in elite youth basketball programs brought them together.
Will Riley currently attends The Phelps School, a boarding school outside of Philadelphia. He won’t graduate until 2025, but several U.S. universities with powerhouse basketball programs have already expressed interest, his mother said. “Arizona, Kentucky, Duke, they’re all in the mix.”
Following the conclusion of the Noblesville activities, the campers planned to attend Sunday’s All-Star Game in Indianapolis.
Camper Hamad Mousa, a 17-year-old from Qatar, said he would be paying close attention to Pacer Tyrese Haliburton during the game. “He’s my favorite.”
Mousa said he appreciates Haliburton’s team-focused playing style and “his feeling for the game—always one second ahead.”
When asked about his chances of making it to the NBA, Mousa was optimistic yet circumspect. “I’d say they’re up there … but you never know the future. Just go with the flow.”
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