PHASE 1 CEO helping to give local basketball a lift

While the P.H.A.S.E 1 Academy Basketball programme gives young Jamaican basketballers exposure to global competitions, CEO Wayne Dawkins believes enough basketball is not being played locally, and the athletes are at a disadvantage with regard to developing their skills.

During an interview with The Gleaner, Dawkins said, “We are not even close to playing enough basketball here in Jamaica. The fact that we don’t even have a well-developed club system means that after high-school basketball is done, there really is not much left for the players; that is it. It is fortunate for the ones who are a part of P.H.A.S.E 1 that we keep them playing throughout the year,” Dawkins said. The P.H.A.S.E. 1 Academy Jamaica U17 training camp is based in Montego Bay and started in 2019.

According to Dawkins, community building is the most important thing he wants to get from the P.H.A.S.E 1 Academy programme.

“The biggest thing for me is to see the community benefiting from the success of the individual athlete. I think a by-product of the work that we are going to put in is having successful individual athletes. We are going to have professionals, and we are going to have national team stars. I know that the resources will come from successful young people,” Dawkins said. He ishoping that after having great professional careers, the top players will come back and build up the community and help the next generation.

In August 2023, the academy’s Athletic Amateur Union (AAU) team was fortunate to rub shoulders with National Basketball Association (NBA) players Draymond Green from Golden State Warriors and Kenny Lofton Jr from the Philadelphia 76ers during a workout session.

Green stated that because of the infrastructure and other things here in Jamaica, the basketballers are at a disadvantage and behind in development.

Meanwhile, former NBA player, Jamaican Samardo Samuels, stated that the academy is headed in the right direction.

“I definitely like what I see the P.H.A.S.E 1 Academy is doing. I like the idea of them having players who can be here in Jamaica going to school and go to another country to play AAU basketball. That alone is already like a big step for us. As much as the players want to have scholarships and go to the United States, I also believe that you can be here and still go overseas and do good. You can enjoy your country and be a part of professional basketball,” Samuels said.

Samuels, who recently joined the P.H.A.S.E 1 Academy coaching staff and is a newly appointed ambassador, is helping the team to prepare physically and mentally for the upcoming Phenom Prep National Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina, March 8-10.

“Jamaica is a perfect place for everything. The players overseas love coming to Jamaica to play basketball. I hope this summer we can have a Professional-Amateur (ProAm) competition team so we can do [ProAm] basketball here and that will be awesome,” he added.