Jack Piatt
Daily Egyptian
Normally our NBA All-Stars compete with foreign Olympic teams, but this past week, SIU star guard Kent Williams traveled to Poland to test his skills against Europe's best basketball players.
Athletes in Action, an organization that promotes Christianity, invited Williams to join their international team June 1-11 for a tournament in Poland.
When Williams arrived at the airport in Detroit, he expected to meet someone from Athletes in Action, but he soon found that no one was there to meet him. He started to worry, but figured he would meet someone in Amsterdam.
When he reached his next stop, there was once again no one to meet him.
Williams was now in another country without anyone he knew or anyone affiliated with the basketball tournament.
"This is where I really started to worry," Williams said.
Finally, when he reached Poland, there was a man with a small piece of paper that said "Athletes in Action," allowing Williams to relax.
The international team was made up of two players from the United States, including Williams, one player from Canada, two players from Croatia, two players from Lithuania, two players from Poland and three players from Macedonia.
Williams, who recently turned 21, was the youngest player on the team.
The team spent the first day acquainting themselves with each other and the next three days practicing in Warsaw.
"Everyone got along well with each other," Williams said.
Everyday the team spent an hour in fellowship and having Bible study together.
After practicing in Warsaw, the team traveled three hours to Gdansk, where the tournament would take place.
The first day in Gdansk, the team practiced and spent some time taking in the view of the Baltic Sea.
In the first game of the tournament, the international team played Poland's Olympic team and lost by seven points. The next day, the team played Sweden's team and lost by only two.
In the final game of the tournament, the international team defeated Netherland's Olympic team and finished the tournament with a win.
Williams averaged 11 points throughout the tournament and drained three from beyond the three point arch against Poland.
Williams described the players from the European teams as "crafty players." He said it was a good chance to learn their style of play.
SIU basketball head coach Bruce Weber said Williams has traveled overseas before to play for the NIT All Star team in 2000, but this trip will give him added experience playing against better competition over the summer.
Williams said the trip was a good opportunity to make his name known overseas and experience what it would be like to play professional ball there.
"This trip was a good opportunity for me to see where I am at in my game," Williams said.
The highlight of Williams' trip to Poland was the night they all arrived in Warsaw.
"We were all walking down the street about a mile to the arena when a Croatian player started singing the United States National Anthem," Williams said. "Me and the other player from the U.S. joined in with him, and then everyone started singing their own national anthems. There we were walking down the street singing our national anthems and smiling at each other. It was a great experience."
Reporter Jack Piatt can be reached at jpiatt@dailyegyptian.com
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
