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Hundreds of promising basketballers from across New Zealand got to show off their skills at Hoop Nation’s Junior Showcase.
Whanganui Community Sports Centre hosted 84 teams, the largest field for the event since its formation in 2020.
Event organiser Paul Berridge said the event was designed to give exposureto basketball talent in New Zealand and to create a pathway to going professional.
“The beauty with this showcase is within the name itself, it showcases talent that might not get a lot of exposure,” he said.
“Especially in basketball, if you are going to get recruited or seen, you need exposure and that is purely what we do.
“Profiling is everything with talented kids. It’s understanding who they are and where you can see this kid play as you might not get to see them anywhere else.”
The three-point contest and dunk contests attracted large crowds in the Whanganui Community Sports Centre. Photo / Cameron Walker
Berridge, who is from Whanganui originally, said 41 kids who have played at the tournament are now in the college system in the US.
Teams stayed as far afield as Hāwera, Marton and Palmerston North during the Anzac weekend event.
“We want to keep it in Whanganui, by all means, Whanganui is special to me but it has got to make sense with the other side of things with the event and its growth,” Berridge said.
He said the three-point contest and dunk contest were the marquee events of the tournament.
This year marked the highest number of female participants, with 24 teams across the under-13 and under-15 grades.
This year's event featured 24 girls' teams competing, the largest number since the tournament was created in 2020. Photo / Cameron Walker
Berridge said New Zealand must do more to keep girls involved in basketball as they get older.
“The growth of the participation of women is there and it is the highest participated sport at high school – you can see the fruits of that through these clubs that come,” he said.
The growth in the female game was evident with Mia Christensen winning the three-point contest.
“That is the beauty of that competition, these girls can shoot just as good as the boys and in those pressured situations she delivered,” he said.
