U-18 Players' Tough Call: Country or Camp?

For Lance Stephenson, bringing in the mail has become quite a hassle. As one of the most highly recruited basketball players in the nation's class of 2009, the 6-foot-5 Stephenson receives piles of personal letters and scholarship offers on a daily basis.

Most go unopened, and only a select few -- those with labels from Georgetown, Kansas, St. John's, UCLA and USC -- spark his interest.

But in early May, an envelope from another prominent team arrived at Stephenson's Brooklyn, N.Y., home and caught his eye.

"My dad showed me the letter from USA Basketball," said Stephenson, who felt a rush of excitement at the sight. "I was just hyped and honored by the opportunity to represent my country."

In the letter, USA Basketball offered Stephenson an invitation to its men's under-18 national team trials and training, which began Tuesday at Verizon Center and end Thursday at McDonough Arena. Stephenson, who already was scheduled to attend a number of shoe company-sponsored summer basketball camps and tournaments when the letter arrived, was suddenly faced with a decision.

This year's top international under-18 competitions, the Team USA trials and the July 14-18 FIBA Americas U-18 Championship in Formosa, Argentina, coincide with the NCAA's July 5-16 summer evaluation period for college coaches.

Stephenson and other rising high school seniors had to choose from two options: gain the exposure and recruiting interest that comes with excelling in the annual summer camps, or try out for a spot representing the United States in international competition -- the latter of which also carries the risk of being cut.

Eighteen players chose the trials, and the list was whittled to 14 yesterday. The 12-member team will be finalized by Tuesday.

"There was no decision to make," Stephenson said this week following the under-18 team's first workout. "This is Team USA, it's a chance to represent your country. I'm honored to just be invited. Those camps don't mean nothing compared to this."

But for some, the decision was not as simple. Forward Terrell Vinson, an All-Met from Montrose Christian, originally accepted Team USA's invitation, only to decline it days before the trials. His reason: to attend two Reebok-sponsored events and show that he is more than just a post player.

"I just told them that I didn't want to do it," Vinson said. "I want to work on my perimeter game up at Rbk U, I need to get my game ready for college."

Dominic Cheek, considered the nation's No. 3 shooting guard, eagerly accepted USA Basketball's invitation. The New Jersey high schooler said he chose Team USA over the Nike-sponsored LeBron James Skills Academy both to represent his country and for the opportunity to learn from the Team USA coaches: Davidson's Bob McKillop, Georgetown's John Thompson III and Virginia Commonwealth's Anthony Grant.

"I've done the summer leagues for years; you only get one shot at something like this," Cheek said as he sat courtside at Verizon Center. "The things that I can learn from the coaches here, I probably wouldn't have learned at those camps."

Jeffrey Rogers, Nike's director of grass-roots basketball, said this year's international events movedup dates because of the Beijing Olympics, but he did not believe the change in schedule would diminish the talent level of the LeBron James camp.

Nike also is a sponsor of USA Basketball, whose officials say they understand that the under-18 competition might not fit into each athlete's schedule.

"I've been involved with Team USA for many years," said Jim Boeheim, USA Basketball's collegiate committee chair and coach of the men's team at Syracuse University. "Every year we lose some kids, whether it's to the camps, a family vacation or summer school. This year, we even lost one to a wedding."

Cheek recognized an opportunity beyond the Team USA experience. Though he is undecided about his college choice, he conceded that after only one practice with Thompson, he could see himself in a Georgetown uniform next year.

"Hopefully if I play well enough, and he likes me, we can sit down and talk about that once this is all over," Cheek said. "He's a great coach, and it's a great program, but we'll see what happens."