LONGUEUIL, Que. – Benedict Mathurin pushes it forward and in return he has a perfect moment.
It’s only been three years since the Montreal native was a high school kid at the Basketball Without Borders World Camp. He was the first Canadian-born player in the NBA’s Latin American Academy, finishing his last two years of high school basketball as a four-star recruit.
The Indiana Pacers forward is now one of nine coaches at BWB’s Camp for the Americas—which consists of 63 of the best high school-age coaches from Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean—at Cegep Edouard-Montpetit in Longueuil, Que. It starts on Thursday and ends on Sunday.
“Sure,” Mathurin said when asked if it was a perfect moment. “Being in the league was obviously one of my biggest goals and now I’m in the league, so I’m trying to return the favor and get back to my roots.
“Seeing the kids playing reminds me of myself when I used to play there.”
It’s not the first camp he’s been invited to this year in this capacity. Mathurin was at adidas Eurocamp 2023 in Treviso, Italy earlier in the month sharing his knowledge with the young prospects.
The six-foot-five, 210-pound Mathurin completed his rookie year in the NBA in April. Mathurin — the sixth overall pick in the 2022 draft — averaged 16.7 points and 4.1 rebounds for a young Pacers team that turned some heads at different times of the year but ultimately missed the season.
His efforts landed him a spot on the All-NBA Junior First Team. Mathurin said the feeling of belonging didn’t take long.
“Honestly, I felt like it was a bit too early for me,” he said. “Going to training camp and playing with these guys and having a pretty decent summer league.
“As soon as I got on the field with the guys on my team, we started scribbling and playing 5 on 5, so I mean, it was fun. It was really fun.”
Noting “tough or going through games” as the bad moments of his season, Mathurin looks forward to an Indiana team with a “bright future”.
“The thing with me is I’m always trying to learn, and you know, I love adversity,” he said. “I like when it’s tough and that really allows me to grow. (There were some) really bad moments but at the end of the year, it was really good times.”
“Champions are definitely one of the biggest things for me,” he added regarding his goals. “I want to achieve a lot of things, I want to be a star in my career.
“I work towards it a lot and basically allow my work to define my accomplishments.”
His playing at the NBA level has made some enthusiastic camp listeners.
“I think it helped me a lot,” said the 21-year-old. “I’ve been working hard and, you know, a lot of people know about me now. But I don’t think it would have happened if I hadn’t played the way I do.
“I think kids are tuned in a little bit more, you know, to listen to me a little bit more. Which is fair but it really allows me to carry on and keep working hard to keep what I have now.”
Mathurin made big waves last summer when he said Los Angeles Lakers superstar forward LeBron James had to prove he was better than him. He has also stated that he wants to be one of the greatest players ever.
This confidence, which he says got him to this point, is something he tries to influence in the camp as a key ingredient to success in their future.
“Well, obviously every kid is different, you know, and some are more confident than others,” he said. “It is very much about putting the pieces together, putting all the things together – hard work, talent and confidence.
“I feel like those are the three main things you need to be successful, so, you know, I try to impress the kids.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 25, 2023.
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