Respected NBA Global Academy set to dominate Under-20s Nationals with a star-studded side (U20's & Ivor Burge National Championships)

The NBA Global Academy has helped Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels achieve their NBA dreams - now the respected program will field an international team in the Under-20s Nationals in Geelong this week.

The respected NBA Global Academy is set to dominate this week’s Australian Under-20s Nationals in Geelong with a side featuring the world’s finest rising stars.

The Canberra-based NBA Global Academy – which has produced likes of Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels – will enter a formidable team in the national boys tournament.

Every match of the National Championships will be exclusively live streamed by KommunityTV from February 14-19.

FIND OUT HOW TO WATCH THE NATIONAL CHAMPS LIVE

The nine-man squad is loaded with national and international experienced players who are projected to follow in Giddey’s footsteps and one day feature in the NBA.

Seven-foot sensation Rocco Zikarsky headlines the gifted group.

Zikarsky, the 16-year-old from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, is coming off a hugely successful year in 2022.

He was named Basketball Queensland’s male athlete of the year, under-18 national champion and having his Queensland South side winning team of the year at the Queensland Sports Awards.

Zikarsky is in the mix to make his senior Boomers debut in this month’s World Cup qualifiers against Bahrain and Kazakhstan.

In the meantime, the gun 220cm centre is focused on helping his NBA Global Academy achieve success at the Under-20s Nationals.

Zikarsky will be flanked by some of the best emerging basketballers, including Dash Daniels, Luke Fennell and Emmett Adair.

Daniels, the younger brother of New Orleans Pelicans and Boomers guard Dyson Daniels, is being tipped to have a bright future.

Junior player Dash Daniels - believed to be the next big talent in Basketball. He's the brother of Dyson who is playing in the NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans. Picture: Rob Leeson.

He is already regarded a superior shooter to his older sibling while he possesses similar physicality to his big brother.

Long-serving Australian Institute of Sport mentor and former North Melbourne and Adelaide NBL player Marty Clarke will coach the NBA Global Academy side.

Clarke, the academy technical director, has worked closely with the likes of Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills, Joe Ingles and more recently Giddey prior to the Melbourne-born guard joining the OKC Thunder in the NBA.

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His coaching expertise combined with the team’s talent will make the NBA Global Academy side extremely difficult to beat at the Under-20s Nationals.

Clarke can’t wait to bring the academy players together in a team environment for the first time.

“We’re really using this tournament as an opportunity to give our guys a chance to gain experience,” Clarke said.

“A number of our guys are still under 18s, so it’s a good chance to play against some older guys.

“For our international players, it’s an opportunity to play tournament-style basketball in Australia, which a lot of those players haven’t done before.

“We’re also grateful to Basketball Australia for allowing us to enter a side, because on the flip side it allows the other teams at the Nationals to compete against an international side.”

The brother of an #NBA lottery pick, a teen who has already made his senior Boomers debut and the son of an #NBL legend are among the rich crop of talent on show at next week's @BasketballAus Nationals.
Here's our top-20 names to watch: https://t.co/hshteF5C6G@MickRandallHS

— Telegraph Sport (@telegraph_sport) February 11, 2023

The Under-20s National tournament will be a showcase of future NBA, NBL and Division 1 talent stepping out onto the court opposite the best state sides.

NBA Global Academy

Hammad Mousa (#3, 198cm)

Dash Daniels (#4, 170cm)

Luke Fennell (#6, 197cm)

Manie Joses (#10, 198cm)

Dragos Lungu (#13, 198cm)

Gabriel Belfort Pozzato (#14, 197cm)

Akira Jacobs (#16, 201cm)

Emmett Adair (#18, 203cm)

Julius Halaifonua (#21, 214cm)

Rocco Zikarsky (#24, 220cm)

Head coach: Marty Clarke

Originally published as Respected NBA Global Academy set to dominate Under-20s Nationals with a star-studded side (U20's & Ivor Burge National Championships)