Davenport’s dream is to play for Australia and if he performs well at the camp he will be one step closer to realising that dream.

Thirty of the 72 boys at this week’s state-wide jamboree will be selected to play at the Great Murray River International Jamboree to be held in November.

Davenport, 11, gained selection for this week’s camp by shining at a regional selection day in Goulburn. He was one of only two boys to be picked from the Southern zone.

The St Thomas Aquinas Year 5 student describes himself as an all-rounder who likes working with others to get the best result for his team.

What makes his effort more remarkable is that Alex has a degenerative eye condition that means he has already lost almost a third of his vision.

It’s a hereditary condition called x-linked retinoschisis, a condition that doctors do not have a cure for and glasses cannot fix.

He has to wear protective eyewear when on the court because one bump or an accidental poke in the eye could see him blinded.

But Davenport has never known life any other way. The worrying is left to his dedicated parents Helen and Andrew.

“It’s scary, yeah,” Helen Davenport said.

“To think one accident means he could be blind for life.

“We do what we can to prevent that from happening but we have made a conscious decision to let the boys be boys and still have a good life.”

While Davenport isn’t wrapped up in cotton wool, his parents do prevent him from certain activities.

“We all love going to the beach in summertime but if the surf is too rough we need to choose another spot as a big dumping wave could cause permanent damage to their eyes,” Mrs Davenport said.

But watching Davenport is like watching any other 11-year-old. He is happy to skylark with his two brothers Ben and Luke and is obviously happy taking life one basketball game at a time.

The five-day Port Macquarie jamboree wraps up on Wednesday.