Thursday, October 06, 2011

Former Valparaiso men’s basketball player Ron Howard is one of 21 players who has been invited to the USA Pan American Games Team training camp from Oct. 14-22.  The training camp will be utilized to select the USA’s 12-man roster that will compete in the 2011 Pan American Games that are being held from Oct. 26-30 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Howard, like all 21 players who have been invited to the camp, is currently under contract to play in the NBA Development League in 2011-2012.  The Chicago native has spent his entire NBDL career with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and is entering his fifth season in the league.  Howard, who enjoyed his best season in 2009-2010 when he averaged 20.6 points per game, currently ranks ninth among active D-League players with 2,108 career points.

The Pan American Games, held every four years in the year prior to the Olympics, are being held Oct. 13-30 in Guadalajara, Mexico. The men’s basketball competition, which features eight teams, is being conducted Oct. 26-30.  The USA men were drawn into Group B for the Pan American Games and are joined by national teams from Brazil, Dominican Republic and Uruguay.  The final 12-man USA squad for the Pan Am Games will be selected before the team departs on Oct. 23.