By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
International basketball players like Slovenians Martin Vimos and Vid Jeric will obviously get the opportunity to see some of the sights the United States has to offer during their month-long stint with College Star International under the Darting Basketball Academy umbrella.
But the trip is probably one percent about sightseeing and 99 percent basketball as the 80 players (72 boys, eight girls) that will take part in this summer's program are looking to get accustomed to American basketball while also hoping to earn an opportunity to eventually play at the college or prep school level in the U.S.
The international boys teams took took part in a showcase event on Tuesday at Shawnee Heights, facing off against area stars representing Spradling Skills Academy, including Washburn Rural's Cooper Schmidt and Highland Park's JoJo Kingcannon.
The international teams got a stern test from the local players, which Vimos said was a good thing.
"The program they have here is very good,'' Vimos said. "We played a warmup tournament last weekend in which the competition wasn't really strong. That was kind of to get the team going and right now we played a stronger match with better competition.
"My experience here in the U.S. is that the game is more physical and more fast. In Europe the game is much more slower and I would say it's more tactical. In Europe we run the plays a lot more and here it's more transition. I like it.''
Jeric agreed.
"I'm liking it,'' he said. "It will improve my game. I play point guard, so I move the ball and I like to involve all the five players. That's what I do here, so I appreciate the opportunity.
"I just turned 17 and I have two more years in high school and then I want to play college. Mostly this will help me to get my rhythm down and get my vision, my dribbling and court awareness all ready for next season.''
The DBA/CSI international program has brought in athletes from Australia, Italy, Spain, Lithuania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Norway, Turkey, Germany and Sweden since it launched in 2024.
Up next for the international contingent is tournaments in Omaha, Kansas City and Chicago.
