Communities should share basketball talent

To the editor;
I would like to comment on the recent article Basketball rules proving controversial by Kate Watson, The Weekly News, Feb. 13. As a basketball coach of 15 years I have coached many different levels of basketball, including minor basketball. I have difficulty relating to how basketball is being developed in the province of Nova Scotia, taking away our level of competitiveness in inter- provincial or global competitions.
With the zone and double teaming, although not promoted in our association, the players that become star basketball players encounter this style of play as the levels become more competitive. Maybe we could look at establishing better basketball organizations with communities and coaches sharing talent. Further to that, we could hold a draft, pick comparable players and skill levels through HRM, not making it communities against communities which tend to take away from the basketball talent that we are trying to develop.
If the levels were tiered, example Bantam 1, and held a draft to pick based on talent and skills acquired, we could have diverse teams from all communities instead of only community member basketball players. This would enable better skill development, more opportunity to introduce basketball to all communities in HRM and offer a social component instead of creating division and competitive rivalry amongst our youth.
Danny Castillo, coach