THE HAGUE--Basketball player from St. Eustatius Casey Lopes has committed himself to play for The Hague Royals in the 2020-2021 season if the Royals receive its license for the Dutch Basketball League.
Lopes is a 23-year-old combo-guard with a height of 1.90 metres. He used to play for Western High School Auburn in the United States until 2015. During the 2015-2016 season, he redshirted for Broward College. Last season, he played for Statia All Stars in St. Eustatius.
He decided to study in The Hague, which is why he participated in the try-outs for the team of The Hague Royals.
During the try-outs, Lopes was very impressive as a team player. He is a very hard worker, who will do anything for the team to have success. He brings strength and mental toughness to the guard positions in The Hague, next season, The Hague Royals said Tuesday on their website.
The Royals’ head coach Bert Samson is excited about working with him.
“I expect a lot from his leadership, and his versatility will be very useful to our team. He is a diamond in the rough,” said Samson.
Samson has a lot of experience at the highest levels of Dutch basketball as a player. In his career as a coach, Samson has coached Dutch national youth teams in most categories, and other teams in the First Division, Promotion Division and Eredivisie. Samson’s last job in the Dutch Basketball League was assistant coach at ZZ Leiden during the 2018-2019 season.
“I am looking forward to play for The Hague Royals,” Lopes said. “I cannot wait to step on the court and represent The Hague, but also the island of St. Eustatius. I am very grateful for this chance to start my professional career and I will give my everything to make a success out of it.”
The Public Entity St. Eustatius said it is “very proud” that Lopes will play for The Hague Royals. In the coming weeks, several Statia youngsters will be heading to The Netherlands to pursue careers in basketball.
According to Director of the Directorate of Social Affairs Carol Jack-Roosberg, Lopes is a role model for many youngsters in Statia. “His achievement will continue to guide him and will help to lead our youngsters to a brighter future through sports. We are very proud that he has been signed to play professional basketball in the Netherlands.”
Lopes said he is thankful to his coach Miguel Chiverton for helping him with obtaining the contacts to have the chance to try-out, “but I truly want to give thanks to my parents for always being there for me and helping me through this journey. They have sacrificed so much to send me to the USA to play the game I love and doing that has giving me the skills I need to play abroad.
“My father worked extra hard to support me while I was gone and my mother came to every practice after a long day of work just for ‘my dream.’ They really are the ones who should get the credit. I did the easy part. here are not enough words to let them know how thankful I truly am,” said Lopes after he signed with The Hague Royals.
Last week, Lopes left family and friends behind to pursue his long-awaited dream. According to the coach, everyone is blessed with a gift in life and so is Casey Lopes. “We are a small island and there will be many more success stories to come. Statian youth will stand out in other countries. Give them dreams, work on their dreams and keep them going on the right path. This development can only bring positivity for our island Statia.”
