Four exciting young athletes have commenced scholarships this week in Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) and NBA Global Academy, which is based at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra.
Emmett Adair (NSW), Mading Kuany (Victoria) and Jacob Furphy (Tasmania) have joined the NBA Global Academy, while exciting Queensland forward Abass Bodija has started his scholarship with the CoE.
These four rising stars of Australian basketball will now be immersed and engaged in the daily training environment on offer at the AIS and led by coaches from the CoE and NBA Global Academy, along with top sports science and high performance staff.
Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence head coach, Robbie McKinlay, said it was an exciting time for the CoE and NBA Global programs.
“These four young players have the athletic ability and basketball skill set to add value to the current cohort of athletes in the CoE and Global Academy,” he said.
“The ability to engage in a daily performance environment with some of the best players in the country will help them continue to develop and we are excited about the group moving forward.”
Get to know the newest additions to the pathway programs:
Abass Bodija (Centre of Excellence): Standing at 205cm, Bodija is a power forward from the South-West Metro Club in Brisbane.
The talented young forward was identified from the Basketball Queensland National Performance Program and was recently selected in the Queensland Under-20 Men’s team.
Emmett Adair (NBA Global Academy):
He’s a 200cm forward from the Northern Suburbs Basketball Association in Sydney, who was identified through the Basketball New South Wales State Performance Program.
A multi-skilled small or power forward, Adair will represent NSW Metropolitan at the 2023 Under-18 National Championships & Kevin Coombs Cup in Brisbane in April.
Mading Kuany (NBA Global Academy):
He’s a young, talented 200cm combination forward who plays with the Longhorns Basketball Club and the Collingwood All Stars in Melbourne.
A member of the Basketball Victoria State Development Program, Kuany will represent Victoria Country at the Under-18 National Championships in April.
Jacob Furphy (NBA Global Academy):
represented Australia at the FIBA Asia Under 16 Cup and FIBA Under 17 World Cup last year and was identified through the Basketball Tasmania High Performance Program.
A versatile 191cm swingman, Furphy was a stand-out performer at the recent Basketball Australia National Performance Camp in Canberra.
Congratulations, Abass, Emmett, Mading and Jacob!
