June 29, 2006
Lobo men’s basketball junior Tony Danridge and sophomore Daniel Faris will take part in the William Jones Cup in Tawain as members of Athletes in Action on July 8-16. The William Jones Cup, a long-standing FIBA basketball tournament, has extended an invitation to AIA Basketball for the July event. AIA will head into the tournament as a sanctioned USA Basketball team and will compete mostly against national teams. For eight straight days, the team will see action against some of the better teams in the region, including Japan, Korea, Philippines, Qatar, Chinese Taipei and Australia.
Led by former St. John’s head coach Mike Jarvis, the AIA squad will also feature former Lobo Troy DeVries, Josh Carter (Texas A&M), Boomer Herndon (Belmont), JeRon Jefferson (Montana State), Dominique Kirk (Texas A&M), Christian Moody (Kansas), Mark Schiavoni (The Citadel) and Luke Zeller (Notre Dame).
The team will meet first in Ohio at the AIA campus on July 1 for a brief training camp that will include six practice sessions. Jarvis has spent many years in the coaching ranks at Boston University, St. Johns, George Washington, USA Basketball and currently serves as an analyst for ESPN.
“This is a great opportunity for us to work out in a very competitive setting during the offseason,” stated Faris. “I am also very excited about the chance to travel and see parts of the world I never thought of visiting before. It is going to be a great learning experience for both of us.”
After training camp, the team will head to Taiwan and begin the round-robin pool play in the Jones Cup. After the tournament in Taiwan, the team will visit schools, orphanages and perform clinics. Following the Jones Cup, the team will travel to Hong Kong and return to the U.S. on July 20.
“Any time you get a chance to go overseas and play against the type of competition Tony and Daniel will see, it is good for your development as a basketball player,” stated UNM head coach Ritchie McKay. “To be able to travel to a part of the world they have never seen before will also be an invaluable learning experience for both of them.”