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Basketball has taken Gastonia native Nate Hinton places he could have only dreamt of. This weekend, he looks to assist local youths in creating hoop dreams of their own.

Just before the start of a new school year, the Gaston Day product and former University of Houston basketball star will host a bevy of activities geared toward Gaston County youths through his organization TIMT, short for ‘Talent Is My Testimony.’

“This is something I’ve always wanted to do, I’ve always wanted to give back to the place that made me who I am,” Hinton said. “This event has been years in the making. I wanted to do it some time ago, but the scheduling wasn’t right; I was playing in the NBA Summer League, getting ready for a new season, this or that. But right now, the time is right and I have the right people in place for us to dive right into it. The motto ‘Talent Is My Testimony’ is really using my platform to be a mentor and show that anything is possible.”

Basketball camps for ages 6 through 13 are to be held at Gaston Day from 1-5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Staff will consist of former college basketball players and professionals.

Sandwiched between those two camps is the TIMT Gastonia All-Star Game, pitting Gaston County hoops standouts both past and present. Opening tip is set for 6:30 p.m., with tickets priced at $10.

“When I was young, a lot of us looked up to those who came before us,” Hinton said. “Now we have plenty in the AAU scene, the high school scene, in college doing big things. The young guys lean on the older ones, and the next generation picks it up from there; for me, everything is kind of coming full circle.”

Team Talent will feature Winston-Salem Christian’s Bradley Floyd, Gaston Day’s Dyson Britt and Braylen Todd, Hunter Huss’ Antonio Worthy, Carolina International’s K.J. Shouse, Providence Day’s Dylan Bradley and Jackson Day’s Tradyn Phillips, as well as recent high school graduates in Ashbrook’s Isaac Byers (Livingstone), Christian Petty (Erskine) and Elijah Sherrill (Tuskegee University). Joining Hinton on Team Testimony are local products who either played or are playing college hoops in M.J. Armstrong (Pfeiffer), Derek Bradley (Wingate), Cress Worthy (UNC Asheville), Will Kelly (Columbia International), Isaiah Whaley (UConn), Quan McCluney (Queens), Adrian Delph (Appalachian State), Jalen Kennedy (Winston-Salem State), Keyshawn Woods (Ohio State) and Dame Adelekun (Loyola-Chicago).

In Nate Hinton's senior season, he was named a NCISAA 2A all-state and All-Metrolina Athletic Conference selection, averaging 19.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 4.0 steals per game.

Hinton spent his high school career at Gaston Day, scoring 2,217 points en route to earning NCISAA all-state 2A honors. The Spartans finished as 2018 NCISAA 2A state runner-up, falling to Carmel Christian in overtime.

A four-star recruit, Hinton played 68 games in his two seasons at Houston. The Gastonia native averaged just shy of nine points per game, along with 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

After going undafted in the 2020 NBA Draft, Hinton signed a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks. In the time since, he’s spent time with the Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets organizations and been on the NBA G League rosters of the Cleveland Charge and Memphis Hustle.

Hinton has played with six teams this calendar year, including a stint with German Basketball Bundesliga team Ratiopharm Ulm. Ulm finished a league runner-up, falling to Bayern Munich in the league finals. Shortly after returning stateside, he played for the Memphis Grizzlies on the NBA Summer League circuit.

“It’s been a busy several months, but this is what I signed up for, this is what I prayed for,” Hinton said. “I wanted basketball to be my job, and now I have that.

“Gastonia is home to a lot of guys who have played or are playing basketball at a high level. This is what we hope is the first occurrence of a yearly event. I’m expecting great energy, a great atmosphere and hopefully a great experience for the community and those involved.”