Three Canadian basketball players, Kimbal Mackenzie, Malik Tyne, and Elijah Long, came to JC in 2012 as sophomores aspiring to play collegiate basketball.

Two years later Mackenzie has committed to play at Bucknell University, Tyne has received offers from Towson and Barry University, and Long has committed to play at Florida Gulf Coast University. Canadian transfer Michael Asemota, a senior, joined the basketball team this year and is receiving interest from Division I colleges like Binghamton and Northeastern.

Long, Mackenzie, and Tyne played for the CIA Bounce team in Canada prior to playing for JC, where a portion of collegiate scouting was done. Each player came to JC because he knew that his visibility would increase significantly.

“To help promote our student athletes, we have created an email database to include every college in the country,” varsity basketball coach Tony Martin said. “We leave no stone unturned in our approach to place every student athlete who has the desire, commitment, talent, [and] academic profile at the right level to continue their education and athletic career.”

Besides a higher level of competition, the Canadian teammates also bring a sense of camaraderie to the team.

“The guys really bring a family atmosphere to the team,” freshman varsity guard Immanuel Quickley said. “[We act] like a family and [joke] around like brothers.”

Eric Johnson is a Sports Editor for the Patriot and jcpatriot.com.