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The Centre of Excellence Basketball program is a key part of the Basketball Australia National Player pathway and as such the primary objective is to develop potential international athletes to represent the Boomers and Opals.   

The Centre of Excellence at the AIS is a elite basketball program aimed at developing the mental and physical skills, individual basketball skills and team concepts of Australia’s future representative athletes to allow them to compete successfully at the senior National and International level.   

Basketball scholarship applicants are selected after a long process of observation and evaluation, and scholarships are normally awarded to outstanding players with the potential to represent Australia.

 Requirements for selection :

Subjectivity is an unavoidable element of selection to the Centre of Excellence Basketball program.  Each athlete will be considered against all the selection criteria outlined below.

• The athlete must demonstrate outstanding potential and desire to represent Australia successfully in basketball.
• Athletic Talent (basketball specific) size, speed, quick hands & strength (an athlete in great physical shape)
• A great shooter
• A great defender
• Basketball Talent – a player who has a very good basketball skill set and/or “feel” for the game (i.e. excellent decision-maker).
• The athlete must demonstrate the potential to adapt and be socially compatible within a group and to be highly receptive to coaching and a history/ability to change.
• Demonstrated desire to succeed not only in basketball, but in educational, vocational, and in their personal life.
• Outstanding desire and commitment to working hard at improving mental, physical and basketball capabilities.
•  The athlete must be able to embrace the Basketball Australia ‘National Program Themes’.
• The athlete must be prepared to accept and carry out AIS and Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence Code of Ethics and the standards and requirements of the Basketball program.

Very few young players identified will have all the criteria outlined above.  However, a prospective Centre of Excellence Scholarship Athlete would, in most cases, demonstrate a number of the selection criteria.

Selection to the Centre of Excellence is also based upon positional balance in each program (men’s and women’s).