Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Junior Cory Johnson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East [Iowa State]) and incoming sophomore Brandon Wood (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo [Highland (Ill.) C.C.]) will represent the Valparaiso men’s basketball program as they join eight other Division I players on an Athletes in Action team that will embark on a one-week competitive tour against teams in Poland and Berlin, Germany later this month.

Joining Johnson and Wood on the squad are Quincy Acy (Baylor), Robbie Cowgill (Washington State), Koang Doluony (Indiana State), Marek Koltun (Lafayette), EJ Kusnyer (Mercer), Dwayne Lathan (Indiana State), Abe Lodwick (Washington State) and Dwight Thorne II (Colorado).  Indiana State head coach Kevin McKenna will coach the team, while Illinois head coach Bruce Weber will travel with the team to help conduct coaching clinics in Katowice, Poland and Berlin, Germany.

The team will depart from the states on Monday, May 18 and begin a training camp in Katowice, Poland on Tuesday, May 19.  The squad will then begin play on Friday, May 22, competing in three games in Poland and two in Berlin before returning to the U.S. on Wednesday, May 27.  The goals of this tour are to provide a rich cross-cultural experience for each team member and for team members to grow in their personal faith.

Athletes in Action is a Christian sports organization that is active in 75 countries, on nearly 125 U.S. college campuses, and with 35 professional sports teams.  Numerous Crusader basketball players and coaches have taken advantage of the opportunity to travel with AIA squads in the past, most notably last year, when players Howard Little and Michael Rogers and assistant coach Chris Sparks traveled to Poland, while players Jake Diebler and Urule Igbavboa and assistant coach Luke Gore embarked to West Africa.  To learn more about Athletes in Action, visit its website at www.athletesinaction.org.