TERRE HAUTE — Indiana State’s Koang Doluony and Dwayne Lathan hadn’t played a competitive game in more than a calendar year. Doluony because he was redshirted, Lathan because he had to sit out a year after transferring to ISU from Louisiana Tech.
So when an Athletes In Action trip gave them a chance to hone their game-skills ahead of the usual college basketball curve, they jumped at the chance to play … even if it meant traveling to Poland and Germany to do so.
Actually, going to Europe was a pleasure for the Sycamores, who went with ISU coach Kevin McKenna on the week-long trip in association with the non-profit Athletes In Action organization in late May.
The Sycamore pair was part of a 10-man squad coached by McKenna and Illinois coach Bruce Weber. McKenna’s son Bobby, who plays at Terre Haute South, also went on the trip and participated in one of the games.
“It was a real good experience. We shared a new culture and got to see the world, we got to see how other styles of basketball were played.
“We got a chance to be able to mix what we saw there with our game here. A lot of what we saw is going to help [at ISU],” Lathan said.
The AIA team traveled to Katowice, Poland and Berlin, Germany. It went 4-1 against Polish and German competition that got better as the trip went along, according to the players and McKenna.
“The teams were decent at the beginning and better as we went along,” McKenna said. “Alba Berlin’s youth team had four or five signed pros. ... Dwayne and Koang both played well. We had 10 guys, we split them up and subbed every five minutes. I was trying to get everyone to play an equal amount of time.
The only loss was a 79-71 setback to professional Alba Berlin’s youth team, the best team the AIA competed against. Three of the four wins were relatively easy, though AIA had to sweat out a 109-105 triple overtime victory over Team Polonia 2011 in one game.
Both Doluony and Lathan admitted it took some time to get back into a game groove.
“It was kind of hard at first to get back into it. I mean, it was a rush to play, but my body went through one thing and my mind went through another. It took about two games, better shots driving to take, got better as it went,” said Lathan, who averaged 12 points during the trip, including a game-high 17 points.
“The speed of the game, it took some time to get that back,” Doluony said. “Once I got my rhythm, I did OK. The trip gave me confidence. I felt like I could compete with those guys. I feel like I could play a lot of better than I did and get better.”
McKenna said the translation from the European games to any ISU-related benefit was mainly the game experience gained. The nature of the trip did not allow much Sycamore integration into the game plan, especially when eight of the players play elsewhere.
“From Dwayne and Koang’s perspective, it was an opportunity to play five games with referees against good competition. It’s tough to sit out a year, so five games is better than zero games,” McKenna said. “We ran some of our stuff, but we had two practices to get ready after travel and sightseeing, so it’s not as if we could run a lot of our stuff, we just wanted to get them on the floor playing.”
When Doluony and Lathan took the floor, they showed they were capable scorers — Lathan was one of the team scoring leaders — but it was their defense that stood out.
“They can both be really good defenders and that’s important for us. We showed we could score late last season, now we have to be tougher defensively and both of those guys can bring that to the table,” McKenna said.
“I felt good about my defense,” Lathan said. “It’s the one thing I know I can control. It’s the one thing I know I can bring to Indiana State right away.”
During their time in Poland and Germany, the players and coaches took part in clinics, sightseeing (which included a trip to the Auschwitz concentration camp, located in Poland) and other activities.
Doluony, who is a native of Sudan, had some trouble getting to Poland, having to sort through customs red tape before he arrived one day before competition began. He spent 12 hours in the Frankfurt, Germany airport as he sorted through his delays. He admitted it took some time for him to get his legs under him.
Lathan and Doluony are eligible to play next season. Both figure into the Sycamores’ plans. Lathan as an athletic swingman, Doluony as a long, good-shooting forward.
AIA RESULTS
Alba Berlin L 79-71
Stahansdorf W, 87-68
Team Polonia 2011 W, 100-88
Team Polonia 2011 W, 109-105 3OT
Silesia Select Team W, 83-71
ROSTER
Dwayne Lathan G Indiana State
Koang Doluony F Indiana State
Abe Lodwick G Washington State
Dwight Thome G Colorado
Cory Johnson F Valparaiso
Brandon Wood G Valparaiso
E.J. Kuysner G Mercer
Marek Koltun C Lafayette
Hubert Radke C ex-Loyola
Quincy Acy F Baylor
Coaches: Kevin McKenna, ISU; Bruce Weber, Illinois
College
ISU men's basketball's Doluony, Lathan hone game-skills
Sycamore pair joins McKenna, Weber on Athletes in Action trip
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