COLBY Owens has received the opportunity of a lifetime to stake his claim for a US college basketball scholarship.

The Coffs Harbour Suns junior has been selected on a playing tour of the USA this year, in which he will take on some of the best high school competition in the world in the American Amateur Union (AAU) Basketball tournaments, which have featured countless future NBA superstars.

He was selected to tour the USA by AUSA Hoops; an Australian-based basketball program created to give Australian juniors the opportunity to play in the USA, with the potential of being scouted for college basketball scholarships to play for the country’s universities.

The tour kicks off in late June in Chicago, where the talented junior will play in two AAU tournaments before returning to Australia on 11 July.

The sixteen-year-old has been a Coffs Harbour Suns representative player since 2016, which included being a member of the Suns team which finished runners up in last year’s Basketball NSW Waratah League North Eastern Junior League competition.

Owens has also represented North Coast Basketball at the 3X3 National Championships, and was a part of the North Coast Academy of Sport performance squad in 2021 and 2022.

The Suns junior will be on display to numerous scouts on the USA tour, with the potential to earn a prestigious college basketball scholarship in the USA.

The potential college recruit highlighted what he would showcase for recruiters on the tour.

“I have a good mix of offence and defence, like my favourite player Kobe Bryant,” he said.

“I’m a good perimeter shooter and I love locking down people on defence.”

He shared with News Of The Area what he was most looking forward to about playing in the States.

“Just having the opportunity of going overseas and meeting new people,” he said.

“Just the experience of playing US high schoolers and seeing how they play, and working on my skills.”

Owens also has a GoFundMe page running to help him get to the States.

By Aiden BURGESS