GREEN Mango Media has teamed up with The Xperience Outreach in the United States and the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) to launch its first ‘Youth Hoops Basketball Clinic’ from Thursday April 25, to Saturday April 27.

The three-day all-around skill development clinic will be hosted in Georgetown at the Burnham Court and in Linden by former NBA player, Jermaine Taylor (Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings) and founder of The Xperience Outreach Rich Mahler.

The free clinic is opened to high school students between the ages of 11 and 19 who are already playing basketball. 

According to a release from the organisers, Taylor and Mahler will identify players with the potential to make it to the next level and explain the pathway to sports scholarships in the United States and playing in the NBA.

Participants will work on footwork, aggressiveness, mentality, and all around offensive skills, including ball handling and shooting. This unique programme will be challenging, yet fun for young boys and girls at all skill levels.

“This is an exciting project for us as we focus on promoting skills development in youth basketball through local and international partnerships. Mahler and Taylor are looking forward to seeing the level of talent we have in Guyana and are ready to work with young and senior players during the trip,” says organiser, Amanda Wilson, founder of Green Mango Media.

Taylor was a three-sport star in high school. He turned down football scholarships to Florida and South Florida in order to play basketball at Central Florida, where he earned Conference USA Player of the Year honours in 2009. Later that year, he declared for the NBA Draft and was selected 32nd overall by the Washington Wizards.

Taylor was traded before the season to the Houston Rockets and assigned to the Developmental League. Taylor played parts of two NBA seasons, with the Rockets and Sacramento Kings. He now plays for the BIG3.

Mahler, in 2006, along with his father, Richard Mahler Jr., former Knicks Allan Houston, and the Allan Houston Legacy Foundation, founded the Xperience Outreach, an organisation that brings outreach and mentorship to major sporting events.

The Xperience Outreach offers programmes and mentorships that reinforce positive, healthy values.

As assistant chaplain for the NBA’s New York Knicks and main chaplain of the Westchester Knicks, the NBA’s G (minor) League, Rich Mahler III is a spiritual mentor to athletes on and off the court.

Green Mango Media was founded by overseas-based filmmaker/journalist Amanda Wilson, and is a United Kingdom-based media company with strong ties to Guyana. Their objective is to promote Guyana through healthy partnerships and sustainable projects with the potential to be successful locally, regionally and internationally.

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), SONY Records, the Equatorial Guinea Government and the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) are listed as some of their clients.