Sheffield Sharks’ Jalon Pipkin has been selected by the public for the basketball All-Stars game this Sunday.
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He said: “I first found out when I was just getting out of the shower. My manager was congratulating me on making the All-Star. I was in shock, I was happy, it was just a good feeling, you know?
“It always feels good to be noticed for your craft and what you spend time, hard work and dedication for it and I wouldn’t be here without God.”
The Sharks player, who plays as a guard, has promised to not let down fans at the All-Stars this weekend.
Pipkins was battling an injury when he was chosen, but he now believes he is ready to, ‘put on a show’, for the fans.
The Texan-born player looked forward to facing other stars and hoped they would not take the game as a break.
He said: “I’m ready to test some of the guys. For me it’s kind of like second nature. Once I get in between the lines, it’s like ‘let’s hoop,’ and I don’t think about anything else but hooping and trying to excite the crowd.”
Pipkins does not expect any competition in the dunk contest, hoping to get a perfect score and aims to use ex-captain Mike Tuck as a prop.
He was permanently signed by the Sharks last year in July after having a major impact for the team in his first season there.
The player believes he was always meant to play basketball, with his father finding him playing with one when he was three years old.
Despite the big move away from America, he has found it easy to settle into Sheffield.
He said: “It’s not too loud, it’s not too quiet because it’s outside the bigger cities so it’s just like home. The only thing I can say is, the weather here is a little different from where I’m from but other than that I love it here.”
The All-Star weekend is set to take place at London’s Copper Box Arena on March 17.
All information on the weekend and to buy tickets for the game can be found here.