Seventeen-year-old rising star Triston McDonald says he’s hoping to make a good impression after being selected for the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders camp later this week.

The 6’2” guard, who has represented Jamaica at the under-17 level, will take part in the development camp in El Salvador from Thursday to next Monday. Basketball Without Borders, organised by the NBA in collaboration with FIBA, provides on-court development and competition for its participants as well as leadership and life skills programmes.

McDonald, who attends The Skill Factory in Atlanta and is ranked as one of the top 100 point guards in the USA, says he’s excited for the chance to participate after making significant improvement to his game.

“The thing I am most looking forward to is playing well and representing Jamaica,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

“I’m in the gym every day working on my game so I feel like I am always prepared to play. I have played at a high level for many years so just staying locked in consistently helps greatly with my mental focus. Physically, I have a workout routine working on my body trying to get stronger every day to help with the contact playing against stronger guys.”

Since 2001, the camp has taken place in 51 cities worldwide with over 4,500 participants from over 140 countries. More importantly, 127 participants have moved onto the NBA or WNBA including Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid.

McDonald, who has dreams of playing in the NBA, is optimistic that he can impress the scouts, coaches and professional players while putting Jamaica in the forefront.

“I feel like the camp will give me another opportunity to play against global competition and compete against really talented players. I also would like to play professionally one day so playing in front of NBA and pro scouts is always good,” he said.

“I have been representing Jamaica Basketball since I was 14 years old and I want to make sure that I show my skill at a high level, to show scouts and players that Jamaica has very skilled players and we also have great work ethic, which is very important when playing basketball.”

Another Jamaican who will take part in the five-day camp is McDonald’s national teammate D’Marley Elliott, who has also been selected.