Daniel Foo: Canada Basketball Hopeful

CORNER BROOK  Anyone who believes the Mayans are probably dreading the year 2012.
For Corner Brook’s Daniel Foo, that year won’t signify the end of anything, but it very well might be a new beginning for him.
The 15-year-old basketball star, who has starred on the hardwood nationally, provincially and locally, will be attending a Canada Basketball tryout in Toronto, Ont. a week from now, on May 20, for the Canadian entry into the FIBA Under-17 World Basketball Championships.
The event will be held in Lithuania in July 2012. It will only be the second occurrence ever of the bi-annual event, in which Canada placed third last summer, out of 12 countries. The United States were first, while Poland placed second.
Foo got the invite, he figures, because he caught the eye of a few big wigs during a national competition year.
“I made the all-star team at nationals last year,” he said. “I guess that’s why they decided to invite me, because of that.”
He’ll be the only Newfoundland at the tryout, which will see 24 athletes vie for just 12 roster spots. The first cut will see the list chopped to 15, before the final cut whittles it down to a dozen.
Foo figures most of the hopefuls will be from Ontario, but he’s undaunted by the pressure of having to compete against some of the best young ballers in the country.
“I seen a few other point guards at nationals, they’re pretty good,” he said. “But I think I can match up well. I’ll know a lot of the players up there, so it won’t be so bad.”
The point guard isn’t sure what the competition will be like for his particular position, other than it will be tough.
“I can’t really say,” he said, though he seems to know exactly what the coaches will be looking from a successful candidate. “I guess they’ll expect me to facilitate the offence, set everything up, set the players up and get everything going.”
The tryout will go on for four days, Foo believes, with the first cut coming sometime in the middle, before the last cut happens at the end of the last practice. He’s not entirely sure of that format, but that’s what he’s expecting.
For the kid who says he’s been shooting hoops since he could pick up a ball, it’s all good.
“I’m pretty excited,” he said. “I’m not really nervous.”
He counts this as the biggest basketball-related event of his life so far, with playing in the nationals coming second. He’s hoping to get the chance to compete internationally in Lithuania, as he understands how different the sport can be in Europe and how much of an impact that experience could have on his game.
“I’ve never competed internationally,” he said.
“The game is more physical out there, there’s a lot more bodies being thrown around.”