Lycoming men's basketball players Jerald Williams and Kevin Anthony are joining a handful of Division I?players in an international tournament this summer under Lycoming coach Guy Rancourt.
The remaining members of the team consist of Quinn Cook and Marshall Plumlee from Duke, Juwan Staten and Kevin Noreen from West Virginia, Nick Faust from Maryland, Brad Redford from Xavier, Michael Holton Jr. from St. Michael's, Dwight Powell from Stanford, and Zach McCabe from Iowa.
"It's just the beginning stages right now and this is a very humble experience. I am really looking forward to what's next to come. I'm really excited and can't wait to start playing in games. This is a very good opportunity and it means a lot to be selected with these guys and not only to represent my school, but I also get to represent my country," said Anthony.
The team is preparing to represent the United States and compete in the Foreign All Star Tour known as the Four Nations Cup. The team left early Wednesday morning to take part in the tournament in Tallinn, Estonia, after its first practice Tuesday night at Lamade Gym.
"This is a tremendous opportunity to get together and familiarize yourself with some of the players from our side of the ocean and be able to make new friendships. We will be playing against NBA players and veterans who know what they are doing," said Plumlee.
The East Coast All-Stars began play with an exhibition game on Wednesday following a practice on Thursday and the Four Nations Cub will start play today. The All-Stars will play three games. The first against Georgia National Team today, then they will play Estonia national team on Saturday, and will play their final game on Sunday against the Czech Republic national team.
"This is a great opportunity. Personally, I'm from Canada but I've been in the United States for the past five years," said Powell. "So far this has been a great experience and we have been taken care of very well. I expect to compete, we have a great group of guys and everyone is on the same page."
Williams, holds the NCAA Division III record for assists in a game with 21. He also finished top 10 in the nation in steals, and assists last season. and holds the records for steals and assists at Lycoming College.
"I just feel like this is a great experience and it is giving Lyco more exposure. It feels really good to be here and I have learned a lot from all of the others players. What I really want from this experience is to make myself a better point guard,"?said Williams.
Cook leads the team with experience overseas. He helped the USA Team win the 2011 Nike Hoop Summit, Cook was also the captain of the 2010 USA U-17 World Championship team and the 2009 USA U-16 National Team.
"My expectations are to win every game and go undefeated. We will be playing against great competition and we have a lot of great players here. This is very special to me, they could have picked anyone and luckily I was one of them and it's an honor to represent our country," said Cook.
Plumlee redshirted last season at Duke as a freshman after being a McDonald's High School All-American. Plumlee also received the Gatorade National Player of the Year in North Carolina.
"To me there is nothing more exciting than to be something that is better than yourself. There is no better feeling than representing your country and wearing the USA on your jersey," said Plumlee.
"This is a wonderful opportunity and the Four Nations Cup has a lot of competition so this will be a challenge. Everyone here has aspirations and this is good for everyone. I am able to help these young men who want to make it to the next level and experience the world and anyway I can help them understand the knowledge of other society's is awesome," said Rancourt.
