When Biwali Bayles was 11, his mother asked him to put aside rugby and soccer — just for a bit — and give basketball a shot.

“I tried it for a year, focused on basketball, and I stuck with it,” said Bayles, who was born and reared in Australia. “I love the game.”

Bayles became one of the top youth point guards in the land Down Under, a standout on the club level, and now a participant with Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence, a national basketball program for elite players. On Monday, he announced his acceptance of a University of Hawaii basketball scholarship.

Bayles completed his high school studies in December — Australia’s summer — and will train and compete with the Centre until he enrolls at UH this summer.

“He’s very competitive and energetic and really athletic,” said Adam Caporn, head coach of the Centre of Excellence. “He has really good point guard qualities. He’s an elite ball defender. He’s a leader on the floor with more than just his vocal ability. … He cares about his teammates. He plays hard for them. He picks them up. He has genuine charisma and competitiveness.”

A scout noted Bayles’ skills — ball-handling, tenacious defense, passing — are at the Pac-12 level.

Bayles took an official recruiting visit to Hawaii two weeks ago and based his commitment largely on the support for the program.

“I love the culture over there,” Bayles said. “It reminds me of my culture over here. When they were talking about how they have aunties and uncles and stuff like that (supporting the program), I felt it was something I could really relate to. … It’s that family vibe, man.”

Bayles’ first name means “Elegant” in Birri Gubba, one of the indigenous languages in Australia.

Bayles said he honed his game on outdoor courts. “I never had any court outside my house,” Bayles said. “I would catch a train every day after school and just play outdoors, 20 minutes away from my house. I’d catch a train everywhere.”

It was in the parking lot behind the apartment complex where his family lived where the right-handed Bayles worked on his ambidextrous ball-handling. An old ball, filled to bloated, was a useful teaching tool.

“From a young age, you don’t think about, ‘Oh, I’m a point guard,’ ” Bayles said. “You’re just running around with friends and having fun. Once it gets more serious, that’s when I loved it even more.”

Bayles eventually played on Australia’s junior teams. “One of the great explanations of him is his competitive personality and passion,” Caporn said. “He does lift a team. He’s always competing. His personality is always brimming. He has a lot of life and personality. Real charisma.”