MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell didn’t just donate basketball gear to 30 students from six high schools in western Jamaica on Monday, he reminded them that, like the many NBA players from outside the United States, they too can one day compete on basketball’s biggest stage.

Basketball players from Spot Valley High, Muschett High, Holland High, St James High, Herbert Morrison Technical High, and Cornwall College were recipients of socks, basketballs, sneakers, jerseys and knapsack from the Antonio Spurs player whose father hails from Runaway Bay, St Ann. Students from Cornwall College and St James High we’re absent during the presentation on Monday.

“A big thing with the NBA now is a lot of players from overseas are making a big name, right? Like, we got Giannis [Antetokounmpo], we got Luka [Doncic], we got Victor [Wembanyama], we got a bunch of people who aren’t from the [United] States and are big names now,” he said.

“So just because you might not have the resources, just because you might not have the attention and social media that everybody else has, doesn’t mean that y’all can’t be in the same position that we’re in. You know what I’m saying? Don’t ever let anybody tell y’all what y’all can and can’t do. Y’all gotta just keep working,” he added.

In an inspiring talk, Vassell told the students gathered on the court at Herbert Morrison Technical High School that his recipe for making it to the NBA was simple: hard work and sacrifice, and he encouraged them to do the same.

“I didn’t like do certain stuff. I didn’t go to parties. I didn’t do certain stuff during high school, all the stuff that people want to do, whether it’s trying to play video games or just trying to do whatever, just trying to be cool. I never really did all that. I just wanted to stay playing basketball and stay motivated,” he shared.

“I wasn’t a high recruit, or none of that other stuff. Like, I just worked. I just worked. Didn’t matter what I was doing. I sacrificed a lot,” he added.

His mother, Cynthia Vassell, recounted that he didn’t even make his middle school team — a setback that pushed him to work harder —and she encouraged the young basketballers to adopt a similar work ethic for success.

“He never gives up. He never gives up, because when Devin was in middle school, he didn’t make the middle school team. So he’s here as an NBA player right now, but he did not make the middle school team, and what that did for him was light a fire under him and say, I’m going to show that I deserve to be there. And that’s that’s what he did. So you just can’t give up. Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do something, because you know what you can do. Other people don’t, just keep showing them. Just keep working so that you can do it,” she said.

“Just like anything else you want to be,” her husband, Richard Vassell, chimed in.

The NBA basketball player, who offered the young athletes tips on improving their game, pledged to intensify his support for basketball in Jamaica in the coming years. In addition to incorporating other NBA players with Jamaican roots, he plans to further invest in the sport locally.

“I’m gonna keep giving back. We’re gonna try and do a Jamaican national team. We’re gonna try and get a bunch of people here. So, like I said, we’re here for the community. We’re gonna partner with some of the people, like the Thompson twins [Amen and Ausar Thompson], and there’s some other players that we’re gonna try and get, and we’re gonna try and be like, bigger brothers to you guys. While we’re here, we’re gonna sit here and try and talk to you guys. We’re gonna try and invest, we’re trying to get, try and get some gyms going,”he said.

“I’m going to be here every year. I’m going to be trying to give back. My biggest thing, honestly, right now, is just helping the community and talking to you guys and showing like I was one of you guys, “ he added.

President of the Jamaica Basketball Association Paulton Gordon, who accompanied the San Antonio Spurs player to Montego Bay along with Vassell’s parents and his two siblings, Andrew Jr and Danielle, welcomed his generosity.

— Horace Hines