Young hooper earns NBA Academy scholarship
ONE of Tasmania’s best young hoopers has been recognised as a star of the future with Burnie’s Jacob Furphy securing a scholarship in the NBA Global Academy based out of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra.
One of four new scholarship recipients, Furphy,16, was selected following a standout performance at the recent Basketball Australia National Performance Camp in Canberra.
A versatile 191cm swingman, Furphy will now be immersed in the daily training environment on offer at the AIS.
And he will be led by coaches from the Centre of Excellence (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,” McKinlay 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.”
Furphy has been a star on the rise in recent years with the talented teenager representing Australia at the FIBA Asia Under 16 Cup and FIBA Under 17 World Cup last year after being identified through the Basketball Tasmania High Performance Program.
Furphy joins Emmett Adair (NSW) and Mading Kuany (Victoria) as the NBA Global Academy’s latest scholarship recipients while exciting Queensland forward Abass Bodija has started his scholarship with the CoE.