The 200-centimetre-tall centre is one of just 18 teenagers who will be screened at the three-day camp in Canberra, starting on Friday. Ryan, 17, knows opportunities like this don’t come around often.

Now is his chance to get noticed.

“I’m still a bit nervous,” he said yesterday. “But I’m looking forward to it. I just want to go and meet everyone and learn as much as I can.”

Australian under 17 coach Guy Molloy was impressed with Curtis’ performance in two exhibition matches against China last month and subsequently invited him to Canberra.

“He wanted to look at 30 people,” Curtis explained.

“But they only had the funding for 18. I originally wasn’t in it but another tall guy pulled out so they called me.” The Emmanuel College student admitted he was pleasantly surprised by the attention, given he was hobbling around with a toe stress fracture less than a year ago.

Curtis was part of the Warrnambool Seahawks’ development squad and contributed to three matches before he was sidelined with the injury and confined to an oversized recovery shoe.

Curtis flies to the nation’s capital on Friday morning and will leap straight into two training sessions.

Saturday features a further three sessions, followed by two on Sunday before he jets home. He said the activities were based on skills and development more than fitness.

The final team to represent Australia at the FIBA under 17 world championships will be largely selected from this group.

Ryan’s call-up is another step towards his dream career, after joining the Victoria Country squad of the National Performance Program (NPP) late last year.

“I’d love to get to the NBL one day,” he said.