KINGSTON, Jamaica — Kofi Cockburn is aiming to deliver a major boost for Jamaica as they face Bahamas and Canada in FIBA World Cup qualifying action at home.

Former University of Illinois star Cockburn will be the starting centre for the national team’s Americas Qualifying Group B contest against Bahamas Thursday evening at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston before moving onto Canada on Sunday.

The 26-year-old, who plays professionally in Japan, committed to playing for Jamaica last year and dominated in the opening two wins against Puerto Rico, averaging an impressive 20 points and 13 rebounds.

While his impact on the court was immediate, Cockburn believes gelling with the team off the court played a big factor in the team’s success.

“This is a Jamaican team and we know what Jamaicans are,” he told Observer Online. “So just being able to come here and see these guys and be a part of this, like building that chemistry, communicating with these guys.”

“Jamaicans are really easy people to deal with so once I got here, the vibe was all good. All we had to do was build on that.”

A decade after leaving for New York, Cockburn, who attended St Richards Primary and St Andrew Technical High (STATHS), will be playing international basketball in Jamaica for the first time.

He plans to savour the homecoming but wants a victory to come with it to help inspire young local players.

“It means the world to me. I was telling Coach Rick (Turner) that over the years, I’ve won some really important games, I’ve won some championships, and I think that these games, even though they’re just qualifying games, they’re the most important games because we’re the backbone of Jamaica,” he said.

“We’re trying to make this thing take off you know what I mean? In order to do that, we’ve got to come here and we’ve got to show people that it’s possible.”

Cockburn is expecting a tough challenge over the next few days but is confident in his gritty team.

“Basketball is always tough but the ball is round. It’s a team that’s most prepared that wins and the team that plays the hardest,” he said. “I think that we were a hard playing team and we’re definitely a prepared team. So regardless of how good another team is, once you prepare, once you prepare right and we come out here, we do what we need to do, we get the job done.”

A win would move Jamaica to six points, three ahead of Bahamas with two games to spare including a return fixture in July.

The top three from the group, which include Canada and Puerto Rico, will advance to the final round of qualifying where six teams will automatically advance to the 2027 World Cup in Qatar.