Elijah Fonotia has dreams of playing in the NBA but to get there he needs to make his mark in the United States.
Rotorua teenager Elijah Fonotia dreams of playing professional basketball anywhere in the world and the next step in making it a reality is playing in the United States.
But an unclear pathway for regional basketballers and the cost of tuition could block the Year 12 Rotorua Boys’ High School student from his dream.
Standing at 195cm, the 16-year-old is a formidable athletic guard on the court touted as “one of the most gifted athletes in the country” and is softly spoken off it.
Elijah compared his game to Anthony Edwards from the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA — the world’s premier basketball competition.
“Other people my age say, LeBron James, Steph Curry, but I liken myself to [Edwards] because he’s athletic, he can shoot and catch off the dribble and play in transition.
“I’ve always been a good shooter but athleticism came because I started going to the gym early. Basketball-wise, to work on, just my IQ and that comes with playing more and experiencing more high-level basketball.”
He is a member of the Tauranga-based Whai Academy which aims to develop a player’s decision-making, shooting, fitness and character, and for the determined teen putting the ball in the hoop came easy but knowing how to get to the US is proving difficult.
Daniel Fonotia, Elijah’s dad, said, in their experience, there was no clear pathway for basketballers in Rotorua — something a scout reiterated.
That’s despite Memphis Grizzles big man Steven Adams, arguably New Zealand’s best basketball player, being from the city but he himself had to move to Wellington before being scouted.
The Fonotias were in talks with a school in Baltimore and another in Canada about Elijah heading there to finish off his schooling either later this year or next.
Elijah Fonotia says he's a similar player to Anthony Edwards, a shooting guard with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA. Photo / Alex Cairns
But that’s when another problem arises with the cost of tuition potentially upwards of US$50,000 — nearly NZ$80,000.
“It’s really difficult to get a full-ride scholarship,” Fonotia said. “You have to be one of the top players, which is understandable.”
To help raise the money, Elijah has been working three jobs, his gym Profiles donated to his cause more than once, and the family has been running sausage sizzles at Pak’nSave on weekends, holding raffles at work, getting help from extended family and saving as much as possible to which they were extremely grateful.
“I’ve been selling some of my old Jordans that I had from high school too,” Fonotia said.
“At the end of the day, if he doesn’t achieve what he wants to and get to America, he’s done a lot more than other kids.
“This is what he wants to do and we’ll support him, at the end of the day at least he can say he gave it a go.”
Fonotia hoped better pathways could be established for Rotorua basketballers and others outside of New Zealand’s main centres.
“We’ve got lots of talented kids here but they just don’t get the exposure or the same opportunities [as elsewhere]. They could move away but it shouldn’t be like that, they should get the same.
“A lot of guys have fallen by the wayside ... We feel if we had those proper facilities here available to young people it would create hubs where kids could hang out and have good experiences.
“It’d draw a lot of the basketball hierarchy to come and check out the talent.”
New Zealand basketball scout Stevie Cozens, who has contacts in the US, said Elijah was “one of the most gifted athletes in the country” and had a good shot to make it overseas.
Cozens said there were around 120 Kiwis playing university basketball in the US but that number could be a lot higher and getting money into the game was key.
Elijah Fonotia. Photo / Alex Cairns
“The financial stuff will make a really big difference in terms of that next tier of kids having the opportunity that they deserve.”
He said basketball player numbers were “exploding”.
However, there was no set pathway for teens to play internationally and in turn, get recognised overseas.
“I think some other sports have similar issues where our high school participation is really, really strong but we don’t yet have the pathways that sit around high school or for when we finish to be able to take the jump to something else.
“If you’re trying to get a scholarship or you’re trying to get seen to play in these bigger leagues, it’s really hard to do that when people can’t see you in person.
“Basketball is still so young in its life cycle and we just don’t really have those established pathways or established people in the country who are able to put kids on the radar [internationally].”
