KEKAHA — One of Kauai’s young basketball players is about to take his game abroad.
Marcus Schultz, 16, of Kekaha, was selected to be part of a Northwest Basketball Camp (NBC) team that will tour Italy.
“I was the only one from Hawaii that was chosen,” Schultz said Friday. “It’s a great opportunity. … It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s going to be interesting.”
Schultz, an upcoming junior who plays point guard for Waimea High School, will leave Kauai next week to meet the team in Seattle and then travel with the team to Italy.
He will be one out of a team of eight players, Schultz said.
“It’s going to be teams from all over. We’re going to be in Venice. We’re going to be in Rome and Florence. We’re going to be all over for 10 days,” Schultz said.
Schultz was selected following another NBC camp in Washington state last summer.
“Every NBC camp, those who are 14 and older can be nominated to go on these tours. I guess that’s the tryout if you come to these camps,” said Josh Burton, president of local nonprofit The “W” of Kauai through which the NBC camps are hosted on-island.
“If you stand out to the coaches, then you get selected. There’s two ways — you either go to a camp and get selected, or your high school coach can recommend you. In Marcus’ case, it was when we went up to Spokane last summer. He was one of them that got selected.”
To help pay for travel costs, Schultz received a couple of grants from The “W” of Kauai and the County of Kauai totaling $2,000, Burton said.
“For Marcus specifically, he’s been pretty much part of the ‘W’ since our inception (in 2012). Since we started, he’s gone to all of our camps here on Kauai,” he said. “He also was selected to go last summer to the Mainland with us. So, he’s in good standing with us. He’s a 4.0 student at Waimea High School. He’s involved in a lot of programs. … For me, he emulates what The ‘W’ is about.”
Burton has also seen Schultz’s determination to succeed outside of his camps.
“He’s one of the few athletes I’ve seen, for one, working out on his own. It takes a lot of self-discipline to do that,” Burton said. “I know a lot of kids nowadays, they got to practice, they work out with the team and that’s all they do. It’s few and far between nowadays when you see kids that are out there on their own working out.
“There’s a few times where I’m driving by, and I see him out on the court working out. That’s one thing that inspired me, and I think that was about two years ago. I don’t much kids doing that nowadays,” he continued. “On a personal level, we talk, and he seems very mature for his age. He’s very into his studies. He wants to excel as much as he can.”
Schultz hopes his time in Europe will help him be a more well-rounded player.
“I don’t think I’m going to make it to the pros or anything, but (I want to) take the next step and elevate my game as a whole,” he said. “Be a better team player, be a better shooter, just a better all-around player.”
The Menehune guard added he’ll also get to enjoy some cultural activities.
“We’re actually going to the Vatican as part of the trip. They have some sightseeing planned, so that’s pretty cool,” Schultz said. “We’re taking trains to Bologna. There’s a couple days in Rome. I think we’re going to see the Colosseum and stuff like that. I’m super excited. I’ve always wanted to go outside the country.”
