He's been called 'a phenomenal player' by numerous coaches and fellow basketball players in the Yukon.

In fact, he was nearly impossible to keep off the scoreboard in local basketball tournaments this past season, grabbing MVP honours despite the fact his Porter Creek Rams lost to the Vanier Crusaders in the high school championship.

Last week, Robert Driscoll-McKinnon set out to prove that he could excel at more than just the territorial level, joining 54 of the best high school ball players in the country at the Nike All-Canada Camp, the official elite development camp of Canada Basketball and the most high-profile camp in the country.

'The Nike All-Canada camps are an example of Nike and Canada Basketball's commitment to developing elite-level athletes,' said Fred Nykamp, Executive Director and CEO of Canada Basketball.

'We are pleased to be a part of this camp that brings together players from across the country and is congruent with Canada Basketball's Be One' philosophy.'

Athlete selection for the men's camp is determined by each provincial or territorial basketball association and Canada Basketball, based on agreed criteria last year, Jared Hougen was the Yukon's representative.

'We look at our own athletes and decide who we think can compete at a fairly high level, are mentally tough and have a reasonably high skill level,' explained Tim Brady, president of Basketball Yukon, in an interview. 'Basically, who can hold their own at this camp.

'We thought Robert was maybe one of our better basketball players in the territory.'

Driscoll-McKinnon has been to two national-level competitions before as part of Team Yukon, the midget championships and the Western Canada Games, so Brady knew he had the competition experience under his belt.

'I've never really coached him directly but I've worked with him as a player,' said Brady. 'He's a very coachable kid and player, and he brings a tough, relentless type of approach to playing.'

Based on the prestigious Nike All-America Camp, the Nike All-Canada Camp has uncovered NBA megastars such as Vince Carter, Jason Kidd and Rasheed Wallace.

This invite-only opportunity for Canada's basketball future encourages them to learn advanced techniques, sharpen their playing skills and be taught a series of valuable life lessons that will help enable them to prepare for the challenges of life as a student-athlete.

The athletes at the camp trained at Humber College, with four full days of on-court and in-class skill development.

Players were treated to an impressive lineup of guest speakers, including an elite coaching staff, former athletes and sports psychologists, resulting in first hand experience of what it takes to succeed in the world of high-profile university/college athletics.

In addition to on-court skill development sessions, inter-squad scrimmages also gave attendees the opportunity to showcase their skills for a host of CIS and NCAA scouts and recruiters.

'It's been awesome,' said Driscoll-McKinnon in an interview from the camp last week. 'We're basically just learning new stuff in practice, lifeskills and how to treat injuries, as well as how to talk to interviewers.'

Driscoll-McKinnon said his favourite part of the camp was just the opportunity to play with the best players in the country, who he described as 'big, strong, fast, talented and smart.'

While the camp was a lot of fun in some aspects, it was also a lot of hard work, said Driscoll-McKinnon. A typical day involved waking up at 6:30 a.m., practicing for a couple hours and taking in a lifeskills session all before lunch.

After lunch, it was another practice, another lifeskills session, dinner, a game and then a final lifeskills session.

'By the time we get back to our room, it's like 11:30,' said the Yukon athlete. 'It's pretty tough work. I'm still sore, but it's fun.'

Brady said the most important thing for the Yukon players that attend the camp is not necessarily to impress the various scouts and coaches, but to realize where they stack up against the best players their age, and how much work they need to do in order to get there.

Driscoll-McKinnon is hoping to play college or university basketball after he graduates next year, which is a goal Brady believes is achievable if he puts his mind to it.

'A lot of that depends on him at this stage,' said Brady. 'That has to be a goal that he has set for himself and one that he's pursuing.

'If he commits himself and dedicates himself to play at the next level, he could definitely make that jump.'

Entering his senior year of high school, Driscoll-McKinnon has a more immediate goal in mind with the Rams.

'We're going to have a wicked season,' he stated. 'We're going to win the championship for sure.'

Vanier head coach Sean McCarron might have something to say about that. McCarron was the territory's coaching representative at the Nike camp last week.

'We try to send a coach so that our coaches can have a similar experience (to the players),' explained Brady. 'They get to see some of the elite players in Canada in a practice or camp setting. Each of them is assigned to a group of players from the camp.

'It's kind of awe-inspiring to have a team of seven to 10 players of that calibre.'

Brady said McCarron was selected to go because of his passion and dedication to the game.

'We think that Sean has done an outstanding job as a coach in the territory. The kids have really enjoyed playing for him. We really believe Sean is one of the up-and-coming coaches in the territory and he's a coach that we want to support in his efforts. We also appreciate the work he puts in.'

Driscoll-McKinnon and McCarron weren't the only two Yukoners who were invited to Toronto this month.

The women's Nike All-Canada Camp took place from July 5 - 9 and Amy King, who is entering Grade 11 at F.H. Collins this fall, represented the territory as an athlete while Haines Junction's Shirley Karman was the women's coach.

'Shirley is a Level 3 coach,' said Brady. 'She's coached at a very high level, not only in the territory, but at a national championships as well. She was the Canada Games coach while in London (Ontario).

'We're really appreciative of her and the efforts she's put in both now and in the past.'