Latest update February 10th, 2025 2:25 PM
Three overseas players arrive for B/Ball try-outs
Tyler Persaud ‘very excited & a bit nervous’
By Sean Devers
“I am very excited and a bit nervous to be here for the first time.” These were the
The Persaud brothers (Damian 2nd from left & Tyler 2nd from right) with their parents and overseas player Richard Hall.
words of Canada-born, USA based Guyanese ‘Small Forward’ Tyler Persaud who arrived in the Guyana on Sunday to vie for selection on the National Basketball team which will compete in the Caribbean Basketball Confederation 2014 Championships scheduled for Tortola, BVI from July 1-5.
Tyler, his younger brother Damien and 22-year-old Point Guard Richard Hall, who plays in New Jersey, are already in Guyana and had their first full practice session with the local players on Tuesday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
“I came in on Saturday and met the guys on Sunday but this is my first full session. I had no expectations since I came here with an open mind and did not know what to expect. I will wait and see how well we gel as team after a few sessions but from the little I have seen I think we could get into the top three and advance from there,” Tyler said in an exclusive interview with Kaieteur Sport.
“This is the first time I am coming here and I am already impressed with how things are being handled with the team. It’s too early for me to make an assessment on the players” the 21 year-old Tyler, who has been playing basketball for 13 years, disclosed.
Tyler, who is reading for a Sociology Major at the University in the US he attends through a Basketball Scholarship, revealed that he played soccer when he was younger but fell in love with basketball when he was nine after his Uncle told him he was tall for his age and encouraged him to play basketball.
When not at school Tyler and his brother reside in Toronto Canada where Tyler says basketball is very big.
He said his most memorable game was during his final year in High School and he played against a few NBA players. “There were a lot of Scouts and the Media was also there so we got plenty of attention. I
Tyler Persaud executes a ‘Dunk’ during practice with the National Basketball team.
did quite well in that that game,” Tyler recounted.
“Toronto has the second largest number of NBA players after the US and my dream is to get an NBA draft someday. I also want to play in Europe,” said Tyler, who loves music and who is described as more ‘sociable’ than his 19-year-old brother by his mom Lynette, who hails from Bush Lot in Berbice.
Both of his parents are from Guyana; his dad Raj who lived in Kitty before he migrated to North America, said that since school was out and his sons always wanted to see where their grandparents lived, this was an ideal opportunity for them to visit Guyana.
“When we heard about four weeks ago that Guyana was looking to attract overseas players, we jumped at the opportunity,” Raj informed.
“Basketball in North America is like cricket in Guyana and it was natural for the boys to gravitate to the sport. Baseball and American Football are also big over there,” continued Raj, who has not been to Guyana in 13 years.
Lynette, who helps with the training and conditioning of female Basketball players in Canada, informed that because he was afforded the opportunity of a Basketball scholarship at a younger age than Tyler, Damian, who plays as a Guard, is a better player fundamentally than Tyler but Tyler is more experienced and his track record speaks for itself.
The Persaud family visited Berbice on Sunday and on the completion of the CBC Championships they plan to return to Guyana for a month in order to give the brothers a chance to hang out with the new Guyanese friends they would have made from the tour and get to better learn about Guyana’s various cultures.
“I can leave Tyler here on his own and he will quickly fit in because of his disposition while Damian, who is also a confident boy but not as outgoing, could find it harder in a strange environment,” Lynette said.
But for now the focus of the siblings will be getting selected on the Guyana team and assisting the South Americans to win their first ever male Caribbean Championship title.
From what was seen during their first practice session, getting picked should be the easy part, playing as a well oiled unit and winning the tournament should be a bit harder.
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