Junior Hercules, head coach of the Guyana basketball squad for the Inter-Guiana Games(IGG) said while the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) President has the power to increase the number of players on the training roster, the selection of the final team lies with the coaching staff.
Although the provisional team was whittled down by the management staff on October 2nd, for the upcoming tourney, GABF Boss Nigel Hinds increased the size of the training roster. This information was made known via a press release from the GABF. Hinds, in another section of the media, said due to Kwakwani having the best players in the country, there needs to be more representation from the area and that the final say rests with him.
In an invited comment with Stabroek Sports, Hercules said “As far as I know, he has the right to make that decision, he has that authority. He has the final say at this part. What it simply means after the final list is submitted, his authority is removed from the selection”.
According to Hercules “I think the initial stage where you can shortlist, he can add but I know it affects the time. The authority now swings back to the coaches. When it moves from 21 to 12, and when the final list is submitted, we the coaches are willing to honour that 12”.
Hercules, who also holds the portfolio of Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association President revealed, “By Sunday we expect to whittle the team down to 12, that’s my expectation. At that point, once the 12 is submitted that’s the 12 we coaches will sacrifice for.”
Asked if the President has the basketball knowledge and credentials to select the team, Hercules said “He has not removed the 16 that I submitted, all he did was add to the 16, this just puts more strain on us to break it [squad] down further. He didn’t usurp the authority or the opinion of the coaches”.
Quizzed how much of an impact will this have on the preparation, he revealed “It will affect the preparation time, it will not allow us to focus and be as narrowed down as we would have liked”.
According to the earlier press release from the GABF, the Boy’s provisional squad reads “Tahquille Johnson and Akinni Wilson (Linden Technical Institute), Stanton Rose, Damair Gladstone, Troy David, Dellon Wallace and Jamol Gilkes (Kwakwani Secondary), Nathan Saul, Roger John, Malcom Powdar and Sabastian Luke (Government Technical Institute),Timothy Thompson (Bishops High), Sherland Gillis, Neil Wills, Tafawa Daly and Ramone Fagenay (New Amsterdam Multilateral) Patrice Agrippa and Akil Vaughn (St. Roses High), Jaleel Duke (President’s College) Travis Belgrave (St Stanislaus College), Terrence Daniels (Plaisance Secondary)”.
