Former NBA player Jermaine Taylor, who recently wore his coaching and mentorship cap at the youth hoops basketball clinics in Georgetown and Linden, says he is impressed with the local talent showcased.
Taylor, along with Coach Rich Mahler, who worked with a few NBA teams, on Saturday wrapped up their final coaching session with the local juniors.
“There’s a lot of talent here in Guyana. The kids are competing, they are working hard and you can tell that they are hungry,” Taylor, who was drafted in 2009, revealed to Stabroek Sport.
Recognising that talent isn’t the only ingredient for success, Taylor emphasized the need for the local governing body to ‘give the kids the tools’ to assist in their growth and to begin the process ideally during the stage of cognitive development.
“When I was nine years old, I wanted to become an NBA player and I had access to the tools I needed to become an NBA player. I was playing, organizing basketball since I was nine…and because I was playing so long, I developed certain skills that other players couldn’t develop because they weren’t playing so long.
“That’s what these kids need; they need programmes at a young age to help them to become better basketball players and those are the tools we’re are trying to provide.”
Taylor, who was drafted 32nd overall in the 2009 NBA by the Washington Wizards, and soon after traded to the Houston Rockets, said it was an absolute “blessing” to be able to give back to the sport that has given him a free education and the opportunity to travel the world.
Meanwhile, Rich Mahler who is a well-respected coach in the U.S, described the experience of working in Guyana as amazing.
“It’s been a great three days,” Mahler said at the weekend while adding, “we were called out there to do a few clinics around the country and were able to see some amazing talents in certain places that were unexpected.”
Both Taylor and Mahler journeyed to Guyana through an initiative organised by Green Mango Media (GMM) and the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation.
Founder of GMM, Amanda Wilson indicated that she is working to have the duo, along with another NBA star, return to Guyana during the summer.
