SPORTS SECTION E
THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2019
PAGE 6
Abel ‘bringing ball in the inner community’ By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
media what he was doing and I just wanted to come back and help him. I feel like it’s up to us to continue to develop talent on the islands so I want to partner with these programmes, find these elite kids and continue to get them off to school
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FORMER men’s national basketball team member Abel Joseph gives young campers a few pointers during his “Bringing Ball In the Inner Community” summer programme. Photo: 10thYearSeniors.com violence and give them an opportunity to pursue their goals as well.” Burrows just completed an injury-plagued season with the Fos-Sue-Mur Provence Basketball Byers in the LNB French Pro League. The veteran forward said his time away from the game gave
him an opportunity to focus on ways to give back to the local basketball community. “I had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to come home and do for the summer,” Burrows said. “Abel is like a brother to me, fellow national team player and I’ve been seeing through social
By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net TRAVIS Munnings will get his first opportunity to showcase his skillset for an NBA franchise. Munnings was invited to a Pre-Draft workout for the Charlotte Hornets today at the team’s training facility in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the 12th workout of the Pre-Draft process for the Hornets and he worked out with a group that included Jordan Caroline (Nevada), Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra), William McDowell-White (Brose Bamberg), Robert Franks Jr (Washington State) and Torin Dorn (North Carolina State). Munnings called it a blessing to be considered and looks to make the most of his opportunity being a less scouted player from a mid major programme manoeuvring the draft process. “It’s different for us than a lot of the other guys. The ones that went to the high DI programmes the scouts already know about them and their game. For someone like me from a mid major, I have to go extra hard in workouts. “The process is kind of different for everybody,” Munnings said. “Once you get that one phone call it will probably give other teams interest. It makes other teams think ‘Where has this guy been?’ and it
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ne former men’s national basketball team member is looking to develop the student-athletes within his community with his new initiative. Abel Joseph’s “Bringing Ball In the Inner Community” looks to increase its exposure during the summer months and extend into a year-round programme. Hosted every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and every other Saturday at Mason’s Addition Park, Joseph was joined by fellow national team members and current pro players in France - Jaraun “Kino” Burrows and Dominick Bridgewater - to tutor the dozens of aspiring players. “My programme’s main goal is to get the youth in the inner community to keep them out of gang violence and ideally I want it to be an ongoing programme for a year,” Joseph said. “It is a non-profit organisation that I want to keep going and if anyone is willing to assist we would certainly welcome the help. It’s all about keeping the youth out of problems.” Joseph said the game has afforded him a number of opportunities and looks to give back by guiding others down the proper path. “Basketball means a lot to me. Through the game I had an opportunity to play with the Bahamas national team, travel all around the world, had opportunities to play in college and get an education, so it played a big part in my life,” he said. “My goal is to make sure these kids are good in school, out of
MUNNINGS INVITED TO PRE-DRAFT WORKOUT WITH THE HORNETS
Pro boxer Amron Sands signs with new management By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN professional heavyweight boxer Amron Sands has signed with new management in an effort to capitalise on more opportunities to develop his career. Sands, 25, takes his undefeated record of 8-0 with 7KOs to Kevin Dever Sports Management. “I signed with Kevin because he is very educated about the sport of boxing and he came highly recommended,” Sands said in a press release. “He really knows boxing and I feel comfortable working with him. I know that we are going to make some big things happen.”
Sands last fought on February 16 in a TKO win over Hector Hodge at the St Petersburg Coliseum in St Petersburg, Florida. He made his heavyweight debut with a TKO win over Julio Mendoza at the Lakeland Events Center in Lakeland, Florida, on August 5 2017. He followed with consecutive knockout wins over Eric Evans (November 18 at the Crossroads Arena in Corinth) and Kendrick Houston (February 17 2018 at the Orlando Live Event Center). He spoiled the debut for Darrell Parker with a TKO at the Florida State Fairgrounds Hall in Tampa on May 18. Sands made his pro debut at home on the undercard of “The Backyard Rumble”
HEAVYWEIGHT boxer Amron Sands. with a unanimous decision over Jerry Butler on May 26. He returned to the US and scored a knockout win over Cade Rodriguez on July 21. He then defeated American journeyman Francois Russell via second
round TKO on the undercard of Friday Night Brawl, hosted at the Bryan Glazer Family JCC Auditorium in Tampa, Florida. “I can do it all. I can box, but I favour brawling, because it shows who has
the bigger heart. No one has a bigger heart than me,” Sands said. “I just need to listen to my team and let Kevin do his job. I’ll do mine and we can make it to the top.” Based in Orlando, Florida, at Orlando Boxing Academy, Sands continues to build his record in preparation for expansion. A former basketball player, Sands used boxing to help his recovery process following an injury, but eventually fell in love with the sport. He made the full transition and spent three years in the amateur ranks. Sands travelled to training camps in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela in an effort to prepare for
the 2016 Olympics, but decided to turn pro once that dream did not come to fruition. “A good friend I really trust told me about Amron and suggested that I give boxing one more try. So, I watched some tapes of him and saw that he punches hard and he can take a punch, too. He’s athletic and very quick on his feet for a big guy. “I now know that he’s a very graceful, carefree guy but, when the bell rings, it’s like a switch goes off and he’s a different guy,” Dever said. “He reminds me of how Lennox Lewis was, and I got my start working on his team. I learned a lot and hopefully Amron will be close to being as successful as Lennox.”