Vegas beckons for Wanganui players

Five Wanganui High School teenagers will roll the dice with their basketball careers this month and are hoping for some lady luck when they head to the bright lights of Las Vegas.

The three boys and two girls were selected among the eight NZ Basketball Academy squads to head to America to play state teams along with others from Canada and Australia.

Flying out on Wednesday among the 10 players on the 14-years-and-under team were Blair Osborne, Isiah Hamlin and Trey Willis-Croft, all 14.

Departing with their teams at other times will be Adam Wadey, 15 and the Blackburn sisters Leila, 15 and Roimata, 16.

Osborne and Hamlin said they will play two tournaments in six days.

Travelling to camps at the academy's home base in Wellington's ASB Sports Centre, the boys made the squad in December and have been training and fundraising since.

The son of former Wanganui Heartland rugby coach Jason Hamlin, shooting guard Isiah said they were looking forward to testing themselves on the tour.

"Experience ... just playing against higher level teams," he said.

Osborne, a point guard and nephew of former All Black Glen Osborne, echoed those sentiments and said this could be a chance to follow the footpath of another of his role models.

"It would be good to get noticed over there, now with Steve [Adams], they're looking at more international players."

The 19-year-old Adams made history when he was selected in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft by Oklahoma.