MONTEGO BAY, St James — Jamaica’s youth basketball could benefit in the short term from an alliance with the New York-based Gimme Five Foundation which is in the midst of a tour to the island and has just completed a one-week camp at Cornwall College in Montego Bay.

If coach Donald Francois is able to realise his dreams, young Jamaicans would benefit from joining his New York City travelling team in what would be a an all-star team that could rival the national team.

Francois, who is from Queens, NY, and coaches at Archbishop Malloy High, heads the Gimme Five Foundation, which started in New York five years ago. “A non-profit that deals with at-risk kids and uses basketball to better their lives,” he said.

The camp was held in conjunction with the Western Basketball Association and executive Oniel Johnson described it as a success.

While Francois said the foundation is just five years old, the idea was born 11 years ago, and on one of the frequent trips to Jamaica the idea to expand here came up.

“When I was here, I connected with another programme, but it was not right,” he said, “but it was always in my mind to come back and do it right. I am in a better situation with my foundation and seven years later I am back, we are settled and with more resources”.

During the week the campers, who were drawn from several high schools across the city, were taken through the fundamentals of the game and played against a number of high school players from New York.

Two of those players are of Jamaica descent — Brandon Jacobs, who Francois described as “one of best guards in New York City, and Daniel Charlton, the grandson of the late Mayor of Mandeville Cecil Charlton, who won a city championship with Springfield High.

Francois said they used the week to establish themselves in the country and would be moving on to Ocho Rios then Kingston as they seek to continue their work.

The coach said, eventually, they wanted to set up an exchange where they could come here and teach the game and then be able to expose the players to a higher level of international basketball.

“It is not, if but when it will happen,” Francois said. “It’s going to happen; we are here for long-term commitment,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

While he said he saw “lots of talents” on display during the Montego Bay camp, Francois said fitness was lacking, as well as work on basketball fundamentals.

“We are into skill development and teaching fundamentals,” he said. “We are looking at players to put on the travelling team, taking top guys and taking them on tour.”

The plans, he said, have started “and we hope to have a product out in June as we are investing in youth from ninth grade and below”, he said, explaining “if we are taking the kids to the US there has to be a certain type of player and hopefully we can get an elite Jamaican team.”