He is the 6'1 basketball sensation from Texas whose buzzer beating three pointer propelled his team closer to the NCAA finals last month. His name is Kenton Paulino and he is on the news tonight because the 19-year-old point guard for the Texas Longhorns has roots deep in Belize. Kenton was born in Los Angeles but his mother Melva Rose Usher and six of Kenton's brothers and sisters are from Punta Gorda. The rest as they say is history as Kenton rose from the ghettoes of South Central L.A. to basketball stardom starting in high school and eventually to the University of Texas on a Fullbright Scholarship. And so Kenton, the man known on campus as Grandpa, arrived in Belize today for a family reunion. Keith Swift was at the airport.
Kenton Paulino,
"I am just glad to be back home right now. I'll be driving to PG for a family reunion and I'm looking forward to coming back May 5th and playing on the Belize National Team."
Keith Swift,
You were born in L.A., do you consider yourself a Belizean?
Kenton Paulino,
"Yeah I consider myself a Belizean."
Keith Swift,
How much are you looking forward to playing on our national team?
Kenton Paulino,
"I am looking forward to representing Belize. My dad, my mom, and my whole family are from Belize and I am hoping to make them proud."
Keith Swift,
Tell us about your skills on the court?
Kenton Paulino,
"My skills? I am pretty modest, I don't like to talk about myself, to toot my own horn so you'll just have to come out and see on May 5th."
Keith Swift,
Let me do it for you then, in.8 seconds you won the game for the Longhorns. What was that like?
Kenton Paulino,
"It was an incredible feeling you know to in the spotlight playing in front of people. Just to make that shot I know I made Belize proud when I did that and it was just a great feeling."
Kenton leaves Belize on Monday. And if you are wondering, he is studying ethics and is due to graduate in December. He leaves on Monday but national team coach Kevin Siroke met Kenton at the airport this afternoon and told us that if all goes as planned, Kenton will play on the Belize national team in a game against Guatemala as early as May 5th.
