CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE WELCOMES NEW SCHOLARSHIP RECRUITS
The CoE and NBA GA programs, based at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra, will welcome Josh Hughes (NBA GA), Fiston Ipassou (CoE) and Alex Toohey (NBA GA) into the high-performance environment where they will train daily under the leadership of elite coaches.
All three athletes experienced a taste of training at the CoE earlier this year when they were selected for the 2020 National Performance Camp, which included four days of on-court sessions and workshops, as well as involvement in the 2020 Basketball ACT Canberra Classic.
15-year old Queenslander Josh Hughes will join the NBA GA program. Hughes was selected as one of the 36 athletes for BA’s Australian Development Camp hosted at the CoE in 2019.
The power forward also represented South Queensland at the 2019 Australian Under-16 Championships where he helped lead the side to second place, averaging 4.56 points per game (PPG) and 5.67 rebounds per game (RPG).
CoE Men’s Program Head Coach Adam Caporn, identified Hughes as a player of versatility coming in off an impressive junior career.
“Josh joins the program from Queensland after an outstanding National Performance Camp and junior career in Queensland. He is a talented and versatile athlete with terrific competitive qualities.
“He plays with great passion and has a very good basketball IQ that make him a very exciting prospect for Australian basketball,” explained Caporn.
South Australian Fiston Ipassou will join the Men’s CoE program after making an impression during his junior career. Ipassou has represented in numerous Australian Junior Championship tournaments from 2015 to 2019. During the 2019 Under-18 Championships, Ipassou suited up for the SA Metro State Team and averaged 9.33 PPG, 5.67 RPG and 2.33 steals per game (STP).
In 2019, the 6’5” wing was also selected in the FIBA Under-16 Asia Men’s Cup squad alongside Alex Toohey.
Caporn looks forward to welcoming Ipassou to the Men’s Program and watching his basketball talents develop further in the CoE environment.
“An elite athlete and competitor, Fiston has demonstrated a strong ability to get better every time we have seen or worked with him.
“He is continually improving his skill set and decision-making and has the potential to be a force at both ends of the floor. We are very excited to have Fiston join the CoE family,” concluded Caporn.
Alex Toohey, 15-year old forward from the ACT will be joining the NBA GA program. Toohey showcased his talents at the 2019 Australian Under-16 Junior Championships, where he represented the ACT. His efforts and performance helped his team to a fourth-place finish in the national tournament where he averaged 16.67 PPG, 10.0 RPG and 3.0 assists per game (APG).
“Alex is well on his way to building an outstanding Australian junior career and setting himself up to pursue his goals of becoming a Boomer and NBA player,” explains Caporn.
“He is a versatile wing that has great vision and competes on both ends of the floor. Alex demonstrates strong leadership qualities and we are very excited to bring him into the program.”
Ipassou began his program on September 28, 2020, whilst Hughes and Toohey will start in January 2021.
New Scholarships
Josh Hughes – NBA Global Academy
Fiston Ipassou – Centre of Excellence
Alex Toohey – NBA Global Academy
Images courtesy of: Basketball ACT/NSW, Northside Wizards & North Adelaide Rockets.
Image left to right: Alex Toohey, Fiston Ipassou and Josh Hughes.
Basketball Australia (BA) is pleased to announce on behalf of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) the most recent athletes selected to join the CoE and NBA Global Academy (NBA GA).
maddisonpettit
Powered by WPeMatico