Vince Habermann | 13th July 2011| NewsMail Bundaberg

AFTER being named as a shadow player for the School Sports Queensland open boys' basketball team, Nathan Marsh would love to get a call-up into the team for the nationals.

But if he doesn't, the 17-year-old St Luke's Anglican School Year 12 student will just keep working hard towards his goal of ultimately playing at the top level.

Marsh was born in Gatton but moved to the Gold Coast at the age of five before his family relocated to Bundaberg six years ago.

He has always excelled in basketball, and he was rewarded for another series of outstanding performances as captain of Wide Bay in the state titles at Boondall when chosen as a shadow for the Queensland side.

A natural leader, Marsh has the distinction of captaining Wide Bay school teams since Year 8.

He was formerly a member of the state under-16 side, and played with a Logan team in a State Classics event in Cairns.

Marsh has also led as captain of the Bundaberg association under-18 side for the past two years, and been a member of the Bundaberg Radiology Bulls team in the Queensland League for the past three seasons.

A specialist point guard, he has received bigger minutes on the court for the Bulls against teams which include many NBL and well-performed overseas players.

On Sunday, he filled the void superbly for the Bulls after one of their big guns was fouled out midway through the third quarter, and he contributed to their 94-86 victory over Caboolture, drawing praise from new team coach Danny Page.

Marsh said former Bulls doyen Adam Curran and his Bundaberg U-18 coach and Bulls teammate Kyle Keirnan were the two coaches who had helped him most.

But he is also grateful for the help he has received from another former Bull and Celtics Basketball president Anthony Parry, with whom he has coached young players at the YMCA and assisted with their Special Olympics basketball program.

Marsh said if he gets the chance to play at the Australian championships, it could open more doors for him, and to be promoted into the actual team would realise a dream.

“I would love to play college ball or NBA one day, but I will just keep going in the sport and see how far I can go,” he said.

“If I get to play at the nationals, I will learn a lot more - they will play at the skill level America has to offer and it would bring a whole new aspect to it, I guess, but if it happens, it happens.

“If not, there are five games left for the Bulls and we probably need to win all of them to make the finals, so there's plenty to play for.”