NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
McCoy Colts forward Bubu Benjamin goes in for a dunk during the Southeast Basketball Conference boys championship game against the Brooks Buffalos on Thursday, March 5, 2020 at McCoy High School.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Bubu Benjamin is honoured to be representing Canada.
The 18-year-old former McCoy Colt was named to Canada’s 12-man roster ahead of the FIBA U18 Americas Championship tournament this week in Tijuana, Mex. Benjamin is the first Hatter to make Canada’s national U18 men’s basketball team, and he says the opportunity means a lot to those back home.
“It’s really big for all of my coaches, friends, teammates back home,” Benjamin said. “Being able to play and being able to start on a national team is really huge for the community and for myself. I’m not just representing one person, I’m representing the whole town.”
Benjamin won Colts MVP honours during the 2019-20 high school season and was one of the province’s top players. He transferred to Calgary’s Edge School program at the start of the pandemic and has been showcasing his talents there since.
Coming from an immigrant family Benjamin says he’s happy to use the opportunity his parents gave him by moving to Canada from South Sudan.
“I haven’t stopped talking about it since I got here because the opportunity of being able to play in Canada, my parents, both being immigrants coming here and making a better life for me and my siblings is really big,” Benjamin said.
Benjamin’s brother Marodama played for the Colts last season and was named a league first-team all-star. He says it’s a when, not an if, that his brother will also don the Maple Leaf.
“When it happens, when he plays for Team Canada one day, I feel like it’s going to be huge for my family again and for the community,” Benjamin said.
Benjamin says the biggest difference playing against top international talent in the tournament has been the intensity.
“The intensity back home or even in the States you could take plays off, but here everyone’s always on ball, it’s always 100%,” he said. “There’s no breaks, so you can’t be sleeping on the offence.”
Benjamin has averaged 5.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists through Canada’s first three games of the round robin.
Canada opened the tournament with an 83-75 win Monday over the host Mexican team before losing 97-92 to the Argentina on Tuesday. They won their third game, a 70-68 victory over Brazil. The team’s quarter-finals game was slated for Friday against Puerto Rico.
Since leaving McCoy, Benjamin says his biggest takeaway from being a Colt was how close the school was to a family culture.
“Everyone knows each other, everyone likes each other, I feel like one person will be all in, or we celebrate each other’s wins,” Benjamin said. “The feeling of community and the culture was the biggest thing.”
