CJ Bruton, a recent superstar of the National Basketball League, will be in the Manning Valley at the end of the month to conduct skills sessions for young basketball fans and to promote the sport.
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Part of that promotion is a dinner/auction at the Taree West Bowling Club on Saturday March 28 where CJ and the entire Brisbane Spartans touring party of 23 will be guests of honour.
Taree Basketball urges the local community to jump on board as it is a rare occasion to be able to mingle with high level sporting talent in a relaxed environment.
The Brisbane Spartans play in the South East Australia Basketball League (SEABL) and the trip south is part of their build up for the season opener against Frankston on April 11.
With the season fast approaching, Bruton said the trip was a great chance for the Spartans to give back to an association with similar values.
"Both clubs are family orientated and we want to create a bond with clubs like that, even if they are interstate like Taree," he said.
"They are an association on the improve and we want to go down there and help their young talent develop and show them the level they can reach when they get older if they keep working hard.
"This is obviously a great chance for our team which features several new players to bond ahead of the SEABL season because, although we've been training for a while, we haven't really spent much time together."
Having a roster which includes several current and former NBL players as well as some rising talent, Bruton said he had a group who wanted to give back.
"We want to create a great environment around our team and doing something like this to help other people in a rural area is a step in the right direction," he said.
"We have a lot of players with significant experience and who also have a strong passion for the game so hopefully we can use that to help the junior talent in Taree."