NBA Europe calling for Fury under-14 basketball prospec t Andrew Melville

Andrew, who has played for Fury since he was 10 years old, was selected to represent Scotland based on his performances, progress and behaviour throughout the 2018/19 season.

The four day camp in Italy aims to provide players with the opportunity to develop skills in a fun and positive environment whilst learning the values of the Junior NBA: teamwork, respect and integrity. Last year 47 players travelled to Slovenia from 17 different countries to participate in the camp.

The camp will be used to identify 20 players, 10 boys and 10 girls, to represent Europe at the Jr. NBA World Championships in Florida, USA in the summer. Finals are held at the ESPN Wide World of Sport facility in Orlando.

Andrew will be aiming to achieve a place in the European side, which will take its place with 17 other teams – eight from the USA plus another seven from continents around the world.

Andrew was identified by Fury coaches while playing in the Falkirk Primary School League for Maddiston. He then played in Fury’s under-14 team and this season, while still an under-14 age player, he was one of four who stepped up to Fury’s Scottish Division 1 U16 first team. The under-14 team won the Scottish Cup after convincing wins in all rounds. In the final against Inverness Lions, Andrew was voted the Most Valuable Player with 33 points and 17 rebounds then picked up by the Scottish coaching panel.

Fury head coach John Bunyan said: “Andrew has been selected to what is a once in a lifetime opportunity. To attend what will be a highly competitive NBA camp in Italy and compete against the best players in his age group from throughout Europe is simply massive.

“The NBA Jnr. Programme has been developed throughout the world and for a Fury player to be attending such a situation brings great credit to Andrew, his parents, his coaches and the club. He has shown fantastic commitment and developed at a remarkable rate since he came into our programme.

“Andrew performed extremely well when we took our under-14s to London which gave Andrew and the team a platform to compete against some of the top players in England and abroad. Our under-16 girls were also at this competition, which saw recognition to Eabha Kerr – recently selected to attend a GB training Camp.

“Andrew is extremely coachable and to be selected to attend what is the biggest camp in Europe at his age group, and ultimately the world, is special and we will be continuing to work with Andrew in the weeks ahead to ensure he makes the most of this fantastic opportunity.”