Former NKU player Tayler Persons (left) and current Norse standout Drew McDonald (right) will represent the United States at the upcoming FISU America Games in São Paulo, Brazil.
By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter
A pair of basketball players very familiar to Northern Kentucky University fans will represent the United States at the upcoming FISU America Games in São Paulo, Brazil.
Current NKU standout and All-Horizon League performer Drew McDonald is one of the 10 players selected for Team USA, which will compete July 24-28 at the Brazilian Paralympic Center. Also on the squad is former NKU star Tayler Persons, who was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Year in 2015 before transferring to Ball State.
McDonald averaged 17.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game as a junior. His 18 double-doubles ranked 11th nationally in Division I last season as NKU finished 22-10 and played Louisville in the NIT.
Persons averaged 13.1 points per game at NKU during the 2014-15 season. He has played the past two years at Ball State and averaged 15.0 points per game this past season.
In addition to McDonald and Persons, Team USA’s roster includes Shannon Bogues (Stephen F. Austin), Eli Cain (DePaul), Plandrous Fleming (Charleston Southern), Markus Golder (Valparaiso), TJ Holyfield (Stephen F. Austin), Joshua Nebo (Texas A&M), Frederick Scott (Rider) and William Wampler (Wright State).
Team USA is scheduled to report to the Athletes in Action training facility in Xenia, Ohio, on July 14 for training camp. The team departs for São Paulo on July 18. The opening ceremony is set to take place July 20 in in São Paulo, Brazil.
Athletes in Action, a Christian-based organization that emphasizes the intersection of sports and the Bible, was delegated by US-IUSF to select the squad to represent the United States. FISU is the governing body that supports the America Games, which is a 13-sport, collegiate-level tournament featuring 20-25 nations from North and South America. The event is similar to the Pan American Games.
