Different Cities, Same Roots: Why We're Taking Jamaican Basketball on Tour
By Wayne Dawkins, Global Director, P.H.A.S.E.1 Academy Jamaica
Jamaica has given the game of basketball far more than the game has given back to Jamaica. The Rising Stars Diaspora Tour is our attempt to start closing that gap, beginning on Sunday, October 11, in the Bronx.
Wherever basketball is played at a high level, there is a good chance someone with Jamaican roots is on the court, on the bench or in the front office. Yet at home, the game is struggling to grow. The tour exists to connect those two realities: to gather the energy of our diaspora and point it back toward the island.
Jamaica's mark on the game
We know the pioneers. Patrick Ewing, born in Kingston, became one of the greatest centres the game has seen. Nick Richards, also Kingston-born, carries that line forward in the NBA today.
What has changed is how many more players are now stepping forward to claim their Jamaican roots:
Jalen Brunson's mother, Sandra, is the daughter of Jamaican parents and has spoken of that heritage as one of the greatest sources of pride in her life.
Amen and Ausar Thompson qualify for Jamaican citizenship through their father, and both have said they are open to wearing Jamaica's colours.
Norman Powell, born in San Diego, has committed to representing Jamaica.
AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, has a mother born in Jamaica and raised in Hanover. He has reportedly applied for Jamaican citizenship.
The players are only the part you can see. Behind them are coaches, trainers, scouts, administrators and executives of Jamaican descent who are pushing the game forward in high schools, universities and professional leagues. Their knowledge and networks are among the most valuable resources Jamaican basketball has, and most of them have never been asked to give back to the island.
The other side of the story
While Jamaican talent rises abroad, the game at home is not growing the way it should. We still lack facilities. We still lack resources.
This year, ISSA, the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association that runs high school sport in Jamaica, announced an shortened high school basketball league because the resources were not there to run a full season. The pressure is not unique to basketball: ISSA has also told schools to make football gear last two seasons, as part of cost-containment measures. When a school sport that already struggles for attention gets fewer games, our young players get fewer chances to develop and to be seen.
That is the gap. On one side, a diaspora full of talent, experience and success. On the other, an island where the next generation is being asked to do more with less.
What the Diaspora Tour is, and what it isn't
The Rising Stars Diaspora Tour brings P.H.A.S.E.1 to the cities where Jamaican families have built their lives, starting with the Bronx. It has three goals:
Celebrate what Jamaicans have already achieved in this game.
Find and develop the next generation of players of Jamaican descent, and show them real pathways and opportunities in basketball.
Reconnect those young people to Jamaica, so their heritage is something they live, not just something on a family tree.
To be clear, this is not a national team program. P.H.A.S.E.1 is not partnered with the Jamaica Basketball Association on the tour. But a stronger connection between the diaspora and the island will benefit every part of Jamaican basketball, including the national team, schools, clubs, coaches and the kids coming behind.
Marcus McDonald - New Orleans U Romareo Millis - Lakeland College
Marcus McDonald - New Orleans, Jamaica Mens National Team
Romareo Millis - Lakeland College, Jamaica Mens U23 National 3x3 Teams
Built on what we already do
None of this is new for P.H.A.S.E.1. In Jamaica, we have spent years building a grassroots movement led by Jamaican youth. Our travel teams have brought island players and diaspora players together, and the tournaments we host in Jamaica have given them reasons to compete side by side. Through Rising Stars camps and our Jamaican player rankings, we have tracked and promoted young talent at home and abroad. The Diaspora Tour takes that same work beyond the island.
How the Bronx stop came together
The first stop of the tour would not exist without David Fonfa and Evander Childs Campus Basketball, who are hosting the event and serving as its home in the Bronx. David, our Local Event Coordinator, has led the work on the ground.
The idea grew directly out of conversations David had this summer with Jamaican national-team coaches and basketball officials about one recurring problem: talented players with Jamaican roots in the United States are too often not identified until they turn 18. By then, establishing their FIBA eligibility and their connection to the Jamaican national-team pathway can be much harder.
The answer is to find them earlier. On October 11, boys and girls ages 11–17 with a Jamaican parent or grandparent will get the chance to compete, be evaluated, and connect with basketball opportunities related to Jamaica. Our thanks go to David, to Evander Childs Campus Basketball, and to the Evander Childs community for opening their doors to this work.
Why it matters for the next generation
Many of the young players we will meet in the Bronx have never set foot on the island. Their connection to Jamaica runs through a parent or a grandparent, through food, music and family stories. Their cousins back home may be playing on the same kind of courts their parents left behind.
Our hope is simple. If we can help this generation feel proud of where they come from, they will want to come back: to play, to coach, to build facilities and to open doors for the young players who follow. The diaspora has the talent and experience. Jamaica has the need and the heart. The Diaspora Tour is the bridge.
So to every family with Jamaican roots, every coach, trainer and leader of Jamaican descent in the game, and every young player who has ever been told they are "part Jamaican": come and be part of this. Different cities. Same roots. Bigger opportunities.
Rising Stars Diaspora Tour — Bronx Sunday, October 11 · Hosted by Evander Childs Campus Basketball · Evander Childs Campus, 800 East Gun Hill Road, Bronx, NY 10467 · On-site check-in 8:15–9:00 AM · Free for players, with only 100 player spots, so please register in advance. Players with a game earlier in the day can still come afterward and join in. Register at phase1academy.com/diaspora-tour-bronx
Wayne Dawkins is the Global Director of P.H.A.S.E.1 Academy Jamaica.
Comments