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James eagerly anticipates CBC debut
By Edison Jefford
Guyana’s newly recruited forward, Gordon James, is excited about making his debut for Guyana at
Gordon James
the 2015 Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Men’s Championships in Tortola, British Virgin Islands on Monday against Antigua and Barbuda.
Speaking to Kaieteur Sport following his arrival in Guyana earlier this week, James stated that he has been well-exposed over the last 10 years, but was always eager to represent Guyana.
“In the last 10 years, I was playing in other countries; that was my job. My brothers and I always talked about representing Guyana. When I heard about this opportunity, I was just excited to be a part of this national team,” James said in an interview.
The 6’6″ forward has played on the European circuit; the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation was also pursuing his brothers, Shawn and Delroy James, who are also playing in Europe, to be a part of the ‘big man’ rotation on the national team.
James said he does not know what the other perspectives are on the team currently, but he wants the players to know that basketball can provide a productive avenue for them to showcase talents that would otherwise go unnoticed. He said he is an example.
“I have travelled the world in the last 10 years playing basketball. These guys can do the same if they are serious; the opportunity is really there. Hope is something that if I can give the guys, I’ll be happy with that,” James said.
Asked what he believes his major contributions to the team will be, the lanky forward indicated that in his view, the team does not need to be extravagant. He said that “cohesion” will be one of the biggest determining factors for the team.
With successes against Bermuda at home in Guyana and Suriname, national coach, Darcel Harris and other aficionados believed that the national team’s weakness was in the forward/centre posts. Hence, there was a concerted effort to fill that void.
“We have to do this together as a team. Our approach may be different, but at the end of the day, we are one nation and that has to be our message. It is time to settle in, and let us all work to put Guyana on the map at these Championships,” he said.
Apart from Guyana playing Antigua and Barbuda on Monday, the other three teams in Guyana’s group are Bahamas, Bermuda and Suriname. The US-based shooting guard, Kerron McKenzie is the other overseas-based player on the team.
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