IT’S not every day you get noticed by coaches from the best basketball nation in the world.

Now one of Coffs Harbour’s brightest young basketball prospects has received a fantastic opportunity to pursue his basketball dream.

Jake McMillan is headed to the United States after being offered a basketball scholarship to attend The Linsly School in West Virginia.

The 17-year-old was offered the scholarship when his talents were noticed after having the game of his life playing for the Coffs Harbour Suns under 18s.

“I had 57 points against Maitland, and my coach Kiah Bowen used to play high school basketball in Wheeling (the same town as The Linsly School), and she posted a photo of my game on her Instagram,” he said.

“A coach at the college she was going to play for before she got injured knew people at Linsly, and they asked to see some footage of me.

“They liked my skill set and frame, and the ability to shoot and do a lot of different things, and they see me as a combo guard playing shooting guard primarily,” he said.

McMillan said it would be a big adjustment stepping up to the level needed to compete in the US high school system.

“It will definitely take time to adjust to the different speed and physicality and the different systems, as my Coffs rep team only runs five plays but their coach said he runs 25, so it’s going to challenge me mentally more than anything,” he said.

“I’ve definitely got to improve my defence, and I’ve got to get stronger physically and work on that.”

The US high school recruit has only been playing basketball for the past two years, having grown up playing cricket from a young age.

He told News of the Area what he was most looking forward to about his time in West Virginia.

“Just the basketball, the facilities, and the competition,” he said.

“Having 24/7 access to a gym will be great, and I’m also getting to travel the world doing what I love.

“I’ve also been told to go to at least one NBA game, one NCAA, one NFL, and one NHL game,” he said.

McMillan will step onto The Linsly School campus as a junior with an option of staying for his senior year, with the possibility of attending a US college.

“I’ll see whether I like it, as I’m there for two years so I’ll see where I fit,” he said.

“The potential is there to attend college as the school has a 100-per-cent college acceptance rate, if not I could come home and play in a league here.”

The Linsly School season is played from November to March and features 29 regular season games plus invitational tournaments.

By Aiden BURGESS