Max Jones is keen to continue his 'surreal' adventure with Cheshire Phoenix after establishing himself as part of the first-team set-up at the BBL club.
The 17-year-old, from Warrington, has played increased minutes off the bench in the last two games for the Nix owing to their threadbare roster, acquitting himself well in both appearances.
The talented teen, a product of the club's burgeoning youth set-up, played seven minutes in the loss to Manchester Giants at the start of the month, getting on the stats sheet with a three-pointer, before following up that display with five minutes in the superb 94-85 win over Worcester Wolves at the Cheshire Oaks Arena on Sunday.
And in a league where most players have plentiful experience in the professional ranks both at home and abroad, and where many have played high-level college basketball in America, Jones hasn't looked out of place and insists that pitting his wits against the elite of the British domestic game holds no fear for him.
"It has all been quite a bit of a surreal experience so far, but it has been amazing," said Jones.
"I wasn't expecting any game time, really, at the start of the season, but I have just been trying my hardest and trying to impress the coaching staff and things have worked out well so far.
"To know that the coaches like me and that they think I'm able to hold my own in this league is a real boost for me.
"I'm at a good team for me as a youngster as we have the likes of me, Ben (Goodacre) and Luke (Gosney) being part of the first-team squad this season and Sedale (Hanson-Young) has been doing brilliantly.
"As a youngster you want to be given the chance to grow and get better and, although we have had some struggles on the court and had a few players leave this season, it has been a great place to do that."
Jones makes no secret of his desire to earn a scholarship to play his basketball at college in America, with the next few months likely to prove pivotal in that respect as scouts at top NCAA schools begin to approach recruits for their respective programmes.
And playing on a team that has both US and UK players who have played college basketball in America at NCAA Division One level, Jones has plenty to draw inspiration from.
"The likes of Kinu (Rochford), Akeem (Ellis) and David (Aliu) have all played basketball in America at top colleges and that is something that I want for myself," said Jones.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to achieve all there is to achieve in basketball, of course I do. But I really would love to get into a Division One or Division Two school, it would be amazing.
"The likes of Akeem have played in the NBA D-League, and I'm learning from these guys every day. They put an arm round me when I do things wrong and they give me loads of encouragement on how to improve. They all say that they were in my shoes once and they know where I'm at.
"But I'm in the process of putting together some highlight videos for colleges, so hopefully that will attract some interest. But the very fact that I've been getting minutes on the court for a professional team in the BBL should mean I get a good head start.
"For the time being, though, I just want to keep on improving and trying to get more minutes under my belt. I just want to enjoy the rest of this season with the Phoenix and then we'll see where that takes me. It's been unreal so far."
