Former NBA New York Knicks player Anthony Bonner aka “The Big Man from St. Louis” will be in Guyana this August for the second free Youth Hoops Basketball Guyana Clinic.
Organised by Green Mango Media in partnership with the Guyana Amateur Basketball Association (GABA), Bonner will host training sessions with Xperience Outreach (USA) founder and youth coach Rich Mahler from August 6-8 in Regions Four and 10.
Sessions are opened to young people between the ages of 11 and 19. “We are excited that Anthony Bonner agreed to travel to Guyana to be a part of YHBG which was formed to give young basketball players a chance to be trained and hear from athletes who played/play in top leagues, including the NBA and BIG3.”
This is Bonner’s first trip to Guyana. He was one of the top forwards in the NBA during the 1990s and played six seasons in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings (23rd overall pick), New York Knicks and Orlando Magic.
Bonner was on the 1994 Knicks team that made it all the way to the NBA Finals; then a year later to the Eastern Conference semi-finals. In 1996, now playing for the Orlando Magic, his team again made a playoff run but lost to the Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.
After leaving the NBA, he played in professional leagues in Europe before returning to St. Louis and sponsoring youth basketball camps to help young athletes attain the same level of success he enjoyed.
Youth Hoops Basketball Guyana Clinic was launched in April 2019 with sessions in Georgetown and Linden hosted by Rich Mahler and former NBA and present BIG3 baller Jermaine Taylor.
“Green Mango Media is committed to promoting youth skill development in basketball through local and international partnerships and to reinvigorate an interest in basketball at all levels.”
Bonner and Mahler will focus on footwork, aggressiveness, mentality, and all around offensive skills, including ball handling and shooting.