Allison, who has been on the NEDA team for two seasons, grew up playing basketball, thanks to his father Wayne’s love for the sport. Following in his father’s footsteps, Allison made the provincial team three years ago and has since been moving up the ranks at a fast pace.

“I continued to play on the provincial team and I also moved up to one of the best club teams in Hamilton, Blessed Sacrament,” said Allison.

Allison has also dribbled his way to international play where, along with his Junior Men’s National U18 teammates, he faced off against Puerto Rico and secured a third-place win at the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championships held in Argentina in July.

The recent international victory means the Lynden athlete will travel to New Zealand in hopes of capturing the world title.

Being personally chosen for the NEDA team is an honour, said Allison. The team’s head coach, Greg Francis, scouted the best players across Canada to form the 11-player squad.

Since its formation, the NEDA boys’ team relocated to Hamilton. Some of the members come from as far as Alberta and British Columbia, and have been housed in various locations across the city over the course of two years.

While local families would have been compensated for taking team members into their homes, “We eat a lot and they (the families) would only get about $600 a month. I can eat that in a week,” laughed Allison.

Currently residing in a former men’s convent on the Hamilton Mountain, the players attend classes at St. Mary’s Catholic Secondary School. Their team practices, which take place at the McMaster University gym, run daily for two hours.

But playing at such a high level in the sport, explained Allison, requires him to trek to the gym early twice weekly to take in some extra weightlifting time and practice his shooting. “There’s a lot of individual work,” he said.

That hard work has paid off, as Allison and the NEDA team are currently undefeated against university teams. Throughout the season, which runs from September to July, the NEDA boys compete against various prep schools from south of the border as well as against Canadian universities.

This season, the boys will take part in four scheduled tournaments and a handful of scrimmage matches, to further improve their skill set on the court.

At 6’9”, Allison is one of the tallest athletes on his team. However, when he competes internationally, many of the rival players tower over his slim stature.

“When I go overseas, I’m usually always the smallest centre. Croatia’s starting lineup was 7’4”, 7’3” and two 7’2” guys,” he said.

According to Allison, his best asset on the court is his vertical reach. “I have a good vertical, which is not really common in my position. I block a lot of shots,” he explained.

Hoping to earn a basketball scholarship, Allison is in the recruiting stages. He was offered a scholarship last year that eventually fell through. “I’m doing the process all over again,” he said.

Looking to move south to escape Canada’s cold winters, Allison has his eye on schools in New York and New Jersey, although he would prefer to study in Florida.

Future plans

Continuing with his regular athletic commitments with NEDA and Blessed Sacrament, Allison looks forward to participating at the World Championships in New Zealand and seeing how well the team performs abroad next summer.

Further information on the Junior Men’s National Team, Canada Basketball and the National Elite Development Academy is available on the web at www.basketball.ca .