This is Devon --RAIDERS Academy boss Jay Marriott wants to start recruiting Plymouth players and stop heading overseas to discover talent.
Raiders Academy remains in its infancy and is entering its second season in the city at Discovery College.
It offers school leavers the chance to continue playing basketball seriously for two years alongside staying in education.
The ultimate goal is to send graduates at 18 to the USA to begin four-year college scholarships before trying to turn professional.
"We want to encourage more local players to step forward and be braver perhaps," said Marriott, who himself is Plymouth-born.
"We haven't really got anybody locally stepping up at under-18 level to join the academy."
Last season, four of the academy's brightest prospects were guards Jordan Blount, Dermott Hakan, Tristan Hall and Ryan Peard.
Blount is from Ireland, Hall is from Portsmouth, and Hakan and Peard are both from Plymouth.
Only Blount is set to leave the academy this summer for a two-year apprenticeship at Spanish top-flight club Gran Canaria.
Hakan, Hall and Peard all tried but failed to win full American college scholarships at trials this April.
Next season, Raiders Academy is set to boast 24 elite prospects on its books – but 10, nearly half, will be Irish and unable to vie for fringe minutes on the BBL club's senior roster.
Top-flight teams in British basketball are only able to recruit five non-British players per season and naturally fill those spots with senior professionals.
Marriott believes an innate lack of confidence in British basketballers is preventing them joining Raiders Academy.
"I think a local trend is psychologically people don't think they're going to make it," said Marriott.
"We're broadening the education spectrum at the academy next season, so we're able to offer players everything, including A-levels, and they can keep their studies at a high level.
"Last year I understood that not everybody locally perhaps would step forward and join us, because we didn't offer everything educationally.
"But now we do the crux is saying to yourself, 'Okay, I believe in myself, I'm going to give it a go'.
"Basketball then becomes, 'Why not?' Maybe then they'll take that leap of faith."
Marriott added: "Hopefully parents will say, 'Okay he's still going to get his education and he's still going to have the chance to go to university'.
"But at least they will also know he had a real shot of trying to make it in basketball."
Why so many players from Ireland?
Marriott, who was in Dublin scouting players at a camp last Saturday, said: "I played in Ireland so I have a love affair with Irish basketball.
"I think alongside Gaelic football, basketball is the thriving sport in Ireland for youth development.
"But coaches in Ireland are worried the talent they're producing isn't getting the chance to go elsewhere.
"They don't want their best talent to dry up out there."
If Blount, 16, from Cork, does join Gran Canaria in the best domestic competition in Europe this summer, it proves Marriott and Raiders can successfully nurture top talent.
Marriott, who went the extra mile and gave Blount digs in his own home last season, said: "Jordan was one of the best young players they've seen come through in Ireland in a decade. A lot of the guys we're recruiting now are coming off the back of that.
"I think people were watching us to see how things were going to go with Jordan."
Marriott believes recruiting top Irish imports is only a stop-gap solution while young Plymouth prospects catch up.
Quality competition will arguably raise the standard of city players on fast-forward.
"I don't think there has ever been a plethora of basketball talent coming through in Plymouth. I want to try and change that," said Marriott, who is bold, ambitious and unafraid to work long hours.
"I don't know how easy or hard that is going to be, but we've got to try."
Marriott added: "Bringing in so many Irish lads into the academy is only temporary.
"Eventually the number of Irish players we bring in will drop and the number of local players will increase.
"We've got two lads from London coming down to have a look at us, which is a great step forward, but we'd just like those lads to be more local, even if it's from Exeter or Torquay.
"If at the moment we have to outsource to Ireland to get the talent in, then that's what we have to do.
"You could argue we should build from the ground up, but I think that's already been tried and people have still failed to hit the mark.
"The last person to really come through from Plymouth and have a big impact is Anthony Rowe, but that's a long time ago now."
Plymouth product Rowe, now 27, turned professional and rejoined Raiders in 2009 after leaving the city to start a full, four-year scholarship at North Georgia University in the USA.
After three years, Rowe left Raiders early last season and joined BBL rivals Leicester Riders, who he helped transform into a treble-winning powerhouse in 2012/13.
Marriott knows the road ahead to find a new Anthony Rowe and then another is not an easy path.
"More than anyone, I would love to see local talent playing BBL minutes for the club, but it's not that simple," said Marriott.
"We've got to try and get guys ready to make sure they are of the right calibre.
"I want to make training at the academy next season even more intense, athletically and skill-wise, to get them to the level where (Raiders head coach) Gavin Love then has the faith to say, 'Okay, we'll give you minutes'.
"Last year was a pilot year for the academy. Yes, we wanted to hit the ground running but we've worked all year to make sure we're bigger and better next year.
"Hopefully we've done too much homework now not to continue getting results."
Marriott may this off-season persuade Love and Raiders chairman Bob Widdecombe ask the BBL that under-18 players should not count towards clubs' permitted five non-Brits. Raiders fans, even if only at the end of BBL games when contests have already been won and lost, would then be able to enjoy watching talents like Blount blossom.
"We're thinking of talking to the league about the rule and argue that it shouldn't apply to under-18s," said Marriott.
"I couldn't name a player who's come into the league at the age of 17 and had a massive impact on a result. Sadly, as a country at the moment, we have to send our best young players elsewhere to become good enough to come back and play in our top league." Reported by This is 12 hours ago.