The 14-year-old makes an impact playing for Bomaderry High School and the Shoalhaven Tigers, but his performance for NSW Country at the recent Australian Championships, earnt him a spot playing for Australia Country.

The 188 centimetre small forward and his NSW Country team went all the way to the semi-finals at the Australian Championships, but lost by a small margin to be eliminated from finals contention.

The team is usually announced at the championships, but because of a technical difficulty, Hilaire had to wait until a few days after to receive the good news that he had been picked.

“I was pretty stoked to get the call. I had a fair idea that I was close, but I didn’t know that I would get picked,” he said. 

Because of this he jetted to New Zealand this week to play the best young basketball players the country has to offer.

Hilaire has been playing basketball for four years but said that touring New Zealand will be the highlight of his short career.

“It should be pretty hard because we will be playing the best New Zealand team. But I think we should go good because we have a strong Australian side so hopefully we can win it,” he said.

Hilaire also hopes the tour could lead him to make the squad for the National Intensive Training Program, which could be a pathway to the state and youth Australian teams.

In the lead-up to the tour Hilaire said he trained twice daily and aims to bring intensity and speed to his Australian Country team.

“I want to thank my parents and the Shoalhaven Basketball Association, and all the coaches and staff that have helped me out,” he said.