XENIA, Ohio — Missouri State men’s basketball standout Chris Kendrix has been selected to be part of an elite team of Division I all-stars for a summer tour of Poland as part of the Athletes in Action ministry, the group announced Thursday (April 21).
The team will depart May 27 and begin training in Warsaw on May 29 before beginning a three-game exhibition slate against the Belarus National Team, June 3-5. The Athletes in Action team will be coached by Gonzaga assistant John Lakus, who will also speak at the Polish Basketball Federation coach’s clinic on the trip.
Other players confirmed for the trip are Baylor’s Ishmail Wainright and King McClure, Northwestern State’s Devonte Hall, Ball State’s Trey Moses and UAH’s Seab Webster. Two players from the Poland U20 team will also be part of the Athletes in Action squad.
Kendrix averaged 12.1 points and 4.8 rebounds as a sophomore in 2015-16 while earning a spot on the Missouri Valley Conference’s Most-Improved Team. He is the fourth-best returning scoring in the MVC for 2016-17 and says he is honored to be selected for this opportunity and looks forward to a memorable experience.
“This is a great opportunity to experience a mission trip and expand my skill level on the court at an international level,” Kendrix said. “I’m blessed to have this opportunity, and I feel it will be a great stepping stone for my basketball career as well as my spiritual side.”
The U.S. squad will also embark on local tours and site seeing expeditions while in Poland.
The last Bear to be selected for an AIA international summer tour was Kyle Weems during the summer of 2010. Weems scored in double figures all four games of his tour to Poland and later parlayed that experience into helping the Bears to the 2011 MVC regular-season title and MVC Player of the Year honors his junior season.
Athletes in Action, founded in 1966, works with athletes and coaches to use the unique platform of sport to help people around the world with questions of faith.
Editor: This is a press release from missouristatebears.com
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