July 6, 2006
LAS VEGAS - UNLV men's basketball student-athlete Joel Anthony has been selected to join the Canadian Senior National Team this summer, while Runnin' Rebel teammate Michael Umeh has been invited to the second phase camp in his attempt to make the Nigerian National Team.
Anthony, a senior center for the Runnin' Rebels, was invited to compete for a spot with the Canadian National Men's Basketball Team, as tryouts took place from June 30 to July 3 at Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario.
Anthony was selected to become a member of the team and will now participate with the squad in three tours in three European countries this summer: Italy, Germany and Slovenia. Anthony will also participate in the team's training camp, which begins July 10 and lasts for a week, before heading to Italy.
The 2006 season for Canada will tipoff July 21-23 in Bormio, Italy, in a four-team exhibition tournament with Greece, Serbia and Montenegro, along with host Italy. The team will then travel to Germany where it will play in a two-game exhibition series against the Germans in Hamburg on July 28 and Nuremburg on July 30. Finally, the team will compete in Maribor, Slovenia, August 4-6, playing in the International Alpos Cup against Venezuela, Lebanon and Slovenia.
Anthony sat out last year after playing for the Runnin' Rebels in 2004-05. As a junior, he played in 31 games, started three and averaged 1.9 ppg and 2.7 rpg in just over 13 minutes per contest. He led UNLV in blocked shots with 48, which was fourth in the Mountain West Conference.
Umeh, a senior guard, was trying out for the Nigerian Senior National Men's Basketball Team in Dallas at the first phase camp. He was among 32 invited players and has made it to the second phase, which will take place in Las Vegas from July 8-23, with exhibition games scheduled against USA Basketball, Puerto Rico, the NBA's Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets.
The third phase will be back in Dallas from August 6-13.
The final Nigerian squad will be limited to 15 players and will compete at the FIBA World Championship in Japan from August 19 to September 3.
The team will also face Turkey, Slovenia and Lebanon in a four-nation invitational tournament scheduled for July 26-30 in Ankara, Turkey.
Umeh had his junior season at UNLV cut short with a knee injury. He appeared in 16 games and started 12 for the Runnin' Rebels in 2005-06, averaging 11.0 ppg (second on the team) before undergoing surgery.
