NEW sensation Shekouba Sesay has made Jeff Stuart’s 16-man island training squad. The 31-year-old from Sierra Leone has been hitting baskets for fun for Goldridge Estate Agents in Yorkshire Guernsey Division Two since arriving in the island during the summer and is the leading point scorer in the leagues.

There have been questions raised as to whether he could replicate this in the first division or for Guernsey.

Island player-coach Stuart believes that the former Worthing Bears player can and has named him in his squad.

The Collas Day-sponsored Guernsey side are taking on Jersey on Saturday 19 April.

‘I’ve seen only a small amount of him but he’s got a good pedigree in terms of basketball,’ said Stuart of Sesay.

‘Whether he gets picked or not, if he’s a force in training, he’s helped us out. That goes for everyone picked in the 16.’

Stuart has also named Australian Paul Wilkes in his squad for the first time.

There is a recall for James Robert, Jim Rowe, Liam Smyth, Nick Leale and former St Martin’s footballer Pierre Jehan.

He has also placed Paul van Beek and Lee Ogier, who both featured for Guernsey in last year’s Island Games in Rhodes, in the reserve list as the Collins Stewart Inferno pair are not available for the inter-insular.

‘They played well in Rhodes and they would have been in contention but unfortunately they are not in a position to be selected for the training squad,’ said Stuart.

As expected, he was not keen to go into too much detail about individual players.

The Welshman was appointed island coach at the start of the last season and what became quickly evident is that he puts a strong emphasis on teamwork and spirit.

It was noted how tight a group the basketballers were in Rhodes and a lot of that came down to Stuart’s leadership.

He will reduce his squad to 12 during March and said that places were still open to players not included in this 16.

The final squad will also go over to the UK to play some national league opposition before the Jersey match or will face them in the island.

‘The final squad will not exclusively come from the 16-man training squad,’ he said. ‘I will go for the best 12 available to me. I am not a respecter of status or reputation.

‘I am looking for the 12 people who will work the best as a team to achieve the goals that we set as a unit.’