WHEN an athlete, who was born in Guyana, migrated, and still shows patriotism and the will to represent his country at an international event, a lot of praise should be given to him. 

The fact is athletes really don’t have to, especially if that nation has done nothing to bolster their success or has not shown any recognition of their accomplishments.
When Rawle Marshall inked his contract with the Dallas Mavericks in 2005, he became the first Guyanese-born NBA player (Jason Miskiri being the other) – something that went relatively unnoticed by even the most fervent basketball fans in this country, some of whom could tell you what year, date and time LeBron James was born.
But with Guyana set to compete at the Caribbean Basketball Championship, (CBC), the recently elected president, Nigel Hinds, with the help of some friends, reached out to Marshall who now plays his basketball in Europe and the Guyanese accepted the invitation.
Marshall, now 32, is set to arrive in Guyana within a week and his mere presence alone can be a motivational factor for the CBC hopefuls and head coach Mark Agard is delighted to have the forward on his team.
“Of course it’s a big plus for us,” exclaimed Agard who himself is a decorated former national point guard.
Agard, who knows more than anyone what it takes to win at the CBC level, having played in more than six tournaments for Guyana, opined that with Marshall in the team, it will enhance Guyana’s chances.
“When you have someone who literally worked hard to reach the highest level in the sport on your team, it’s a plus in so many ways. He’s coming to a Guyanese team with good talent locally, but we’re not that exposed at the highest level,” Agard said.
High-calibre overseas players had already started to arrive in Guyana with the last batch, which includes Marshall, expected by Monday. Agard said that he’s anxious to see what they bring to the unit.
He pointed out, however, that the local players are at a disadvantage, given the fact that they lack plenty court time.
“The overseas players come with an advantage because they have been playing competitively all the time, because most of them are professionals. The thing is our local guys don’t play much. I think we play like 20 games a year if that much at the club level,” the head coach said.
But nonetheless, Agard told Chronicle Sport yesterday that he was “happy with the progress the guys have been making since training started. They are responding well and I hope to make a breakdown by next weekend.”
The former national point guard said that he was waiting on the arrival of all the overseas-based players in order to make a final selection and begin tactical training.
Written By Rawle Toney