KALAHEO — One of Kauai’s young hoopsters will take his game to the land Down Under.
CJ Cromartie, 18, of Kalaheo, will participate in the Down Under Hoops Classic in Australia next month.
“I was actually in class one day. The counselor walked up to me and was like, ‘Here you go.’ I just saw the envelope, and it said, ‘Student-athlete,’” Cromartie said Tuesday. “I opened it. It just talked about what they are and what the program is. … I have no clue (how they found out about me).”
He added: “I just saw it, and I wanted to be a part of it.”
The Aussie sports gathering, hosted by Down Under Sports, also features events for cross country, football, golf, track and field and volleyball.
Cromartie, an upcoming senior who plays guard for Kauai High School, has been a varsity boys basketball player for the last three years. He got the call up to the varsity team late during his freshman season, he said.
In Australia, Cromartie simply aims to show what he’s got and also learn new things.
“Pretty much, I just want to play basketball and do what I love to do,” he said. “I don’t really have any goals but to play my game.”
He added: “(I hope to take away) the experience and learn something different, get adjusted to a new system and play with different people. … I know basketball is basketball, but I’ve never played there. It’s going to be something different.”
The two-day basketball tournament, in which nine teams each made up of nine players will compete, will begin July 16.
It will feature an Olympic style format in which teams from the U.S. are mixed with Australian teams and then bracket play starts on the second day, according to Down Under Sports.
“There’s a tryout … and then they’re going to select (teams). Then, we’re pretty much going to run games,” Cromartie said.
Each team will play at least eight games. Games will be played under international rules, or the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) rules.
Cromartie said he has little idea of what’s to come.
“I looked some of their stuff up on YouTube, some of the games. It looks pretty good, but I don’t know what to expect,” he said.
While competing in Australia is an exciting opportunity, it is costly. Cromartie said his parents paid about $5,000, but he hopes to fundraise some of that money back.
People who wish to sponsor Cromartie can donate at https://bit.ly/2HmA5MP. Those who donate can also enter a raffle for a trip to Australia.
“I got to represent my family and Hawaii, pretty much,” he said.
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Nick Celario, sports writer, can be reached at 245-0437 or ncelario@thegardenisland.com.
