Bud Johnston is being given a basketball chance of lifetime, thanks to the skills he honed on the outdoor courts of Brighton and Hove.

The 17-year-old, 6ft 2ins guard is set to sign a one-year deal with Brighton Bears after impressing in outdoor action and indoors at the Hosana Pro-Am Summer League.

He will combine his first year on the BBL club's staff with studies at BHASVIC and may have the chance to spend two years in the United States at the end of the coming season.

It is a dramatic rise to prominence for a player Bears coach Nick Nurse first spotted while taking a stroll past the court on Brighton seafront.

Johnston played for Brighton Cougars in NBL Two South, effectively England's fourth division, last season.

No one who saw his silky shooting skills on display for South Coast, however, in their recent Hosana clash will be too surprised by his progress.

Johnston, who comes from Hove, was brimming with confidence from the start, knocking down two early three-pointers and playing a full part in the 116-101 defeat of Sutton Pumas.

He added a couple more threes later in the game and earnt plenty of mentions in dispatches behind Andy Smith, who stole the show that night.

The Pro-Am regulars hope to see something similar tonight when South Coast tackle Hackney at Crystal Palace (8pm).

Nurse missed the first match but is likely to be in attendance this time.

Johnston said: "I have been talking to Nick trying to sort things out and I hope to sign within the next couple of weeks.

"I am looking forward to it. Playing in the Summer League has given me a little taste of what it is like.

"I have already been training with the Bears guys and having a few games with the likes of Mike Brown, Mark Jackson and James Brame.

"I am quite good friends with those guys and we play at Brighton seafront and Angmering."

Home court for Johnston is Hove Park and he has been practising his shooting skills since getting into the game as a 12-year-old.

He was introduced to basketball by friends and quickly moved into youth set-ups at Cougars and Bears.

Last season saw him return to Cougars to play for their senior side and, after taking a while to settle in, he recorded some decent stats.

He added: "It's nice to play in something that is really well organised like the NBL or the Summer League.

"That is not really the case in junior basketball. Now I have seen I can make the step up.

"Nick and Steve Swanson at the Bears have both said they would help me get a scholarship to the States at the end of the year and that is what I am aiming for."

Daily training at Falmer will have to be fitted in with his communication studies and sociology courses and Johnston and Nurse are currently working out a timetable.

Nurse revealed: "It all started on one of my first days in Brighton last summer when I saw Bud playing at the beach.

"He had the size and the skills and I started talking to him. Bud is a very bright young talent with lots of potential.

"It's a big step up. He will be starting way above his own level and will have to use his instincts to survive but one thing he has on his side is he knows how to shoot the ball."