How the Quebec town of Thetford Mines became a basketball hotbed

When French basketball prospectTidjan Keita talks about the time he spent in Thetford Mines, Que., he doesn't mention the abandoned open pit asbestos mines or how different the winter landscape looksfrom his native Paris.

For him, Thetford Mines means elite basketball, intense trainingand the start of a journey that got him to the doorstep of the NBA.

"To me, it was the perfect path to take to accomplish my dreams," said Keita, 20.

The town 230 kilometres northeast of Montreal, which once billed itself as the"asbestos capital of the world," is nowchurning out a much different resource world-class basketball players.

The former mining town's reputation as the hub of elite basketball in the province has grown in recent years due to the basketball academy at the Thetford Mines CEGEP, the local junior college.

Away frombig city distractions

The coach, Igor Rwigema, helped found the program six years ago at the Collge d'Alma CEGEP in the province's SaguenayLac-Saint-Jean region. Two years later, hemoved it to ThetfordMines.

Rwigemapreviously coachedin the Montreal area, but found that thecity wasn't the right place to get the best out of his players.

"They were finding excuses to miss practice 'I can't take the Metro, I don't have a bus pass' so it was always a fight to make sure they were there," he said.

Away from big city distractions, he said, players were able to focus more. They liveon campus and walkto class.

TheThetfordGoldfaceoff against elite university teams in Canada and the U.S., including those in the National College Athletic Association (NCAA).

In constant search oftalent, Rwigema regularlytravels to France on recruiting missions.During his 2014trip,Rwigema set up a meeting to see Keita play.

"So when I got into the gym, hewas there and I'm like, 'Whoa, this kid is something,'"Rwigema said.

Rwigema persuaded Keita to make the move from the bustling French capital to the sleepy Quebec mining town, population25,000.

The move paid off. It was "like a giant springboard," Keita said.

Road to the NBA

Keita believesRwigema's coaching skills are what got him noticed by the NBA.

"The training was always intense," said Keita. "Heknows how to drag out potentialand how to develop it to get to the next level."

Earlier this month, the 6 foot 10 inchforward signed with the Phoenix Suns.

"I thank God every day," said Keita."This is such a big opportunity."

Right now, Keita plays with the Phoenix Suns farm team, the Northern Arizona Suns, in the NBA's minor leaguethe G League.

His first game isin November.

Keita isn't the only one who has benefited from Rwigema's coaching prowess.

A playerfrom Rwigema's Alma days, Chris Boucher, is also pursuing his NBAdream. This summer, he was picked up by theGolden State Warriors, the league'sdefending champions.

Meanwhile, another one of Rwigema's players, Quincy Guerrier, has a difficult decision to make.

A total of 14 different universities across the U.S. have offered him a full scholarship, including Syracuse University, the University of Floridaand the University of Oregon.

"I think it's a testimony of the coaching staff that we have, and the structure that we've put in place," Rwigema said.

"I always tell the kids everything is possible if you are put into the right situation and basically believe in your work."