Cayman Islands' Jorge Ebanks: ''I want kids to see me as proof that they can do it''

GEORGE TOWN (Cayman Islands) - Jorge Ebanks carries the responsibility and glory of being the only professional basketball player developed in the Cayman Islands. It’s a task that the 6’1” and 33-year-old point guard has carried with dignity since he arrived as a teenager at the island from New York, where he was born.

Now Ebanks, who's had professional experience in the English, Portuguese and German leagues, has become in the local example for the hundreds of children that dream of developing in professional basketball someday.

“I was just a raw player before I got there,” said Ebanks to FIBA.basketball about the Cayman Islands, the nation he represented for the first time when he was 17 years old.

Representing the Cayman Islands means a lot to me because I’m proud to show that we're a small island but we're just as talented as any other country. Playing for the national team has always been my favorite,” he declared.

Using the national colors for such a long time (approximately 15 years) have allowed Ebanks to have a clear idea of the needs of the youth of the Caribbean island to keep developing their game. These are situations that the best global scorer of the 2015 CBC Championship (23 points per game) and gold medal winner of the 2017 Island Games has experienced himself.

“Cayman Islands need a local basketball court. Since Hurricane Ivan in 2004 there is no court for the players,” Ebanks explained. “We need exposure, which means taking our young players out of the island to compete with other Caribbean countries and camps in the United States where they may be seen to get college scholarships. If players don't see the results of their work, at some point it becomes something that's not useful.”

Apart from the need for more youth coaches, Ebanks emphasized that exposure is key to increasing basketball’s popularity in the Cayman Islands and increasing the possible interest of new players.

“When we were growing up many of my teammates were good players and I'm sure that they could've played at the collegiate level, but they weren't given scholarships after working so hard. Seeing other sports in the islands, like track and field, swimming and soccer... They got scholarships, and that motivates the youth that's coming up in sports.”

They player also pointed out that he does his part for the cause and attends youth team practices and offers talks when he's in the island. He also plans to celebrate a camp there this summer. But above all, he wants to share the message that height is no challenge to develop in basketball and that hard work is the only guarantee to success in life.

“I just want children to see me as proof that they can do it. It doesn't matter how small our island is or how tall they are. You just need to do the hard work to see the results. Hard work defeats the talent of those who don't work hard. I’m not the tallest player, I only measure 6’1”, but I work hard to be the best. Young players think that if they don’t measure 6’6” or more it’ll be impossible to make it. Height doesn’t matter. Your heart and perseverance do. Never give up.”

FIBA