Lamonte Turner, a rising junior on the Tennessee basketball team, has been invited to compete with a collegiate Athletes in Action team this summer. The squad will travel to the Czech Republic and Spain.
“I’m excited to go on this tour to the Czech Republic and Spain with AIA to grow in my faith, to learn and to meet new people,” Turner said. “I get the opportunity to play basketball and travel the world. It should be fun.”
Turner, the 2018 SEC Co-Sixth Man of the Year, joins a group of eight other Division I players and one Division II standout from schools across the country. Baylor assistant coach Bill Peterson, who spent seven seasons as a coach with the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Mavericks, will serve as the head coach of the AIA team during the 14-day tour.
The team will conduct a three-day training camp at Baylor before traveling to Prague, Czech Republic, to play a pair of games vs. the U20 Czech National Team on May 27-28. Turner and his AIA teammates will then head to Madrid, Spain, for three games against pro teams May 30-June 2 before retuning home. The goals of this trip are to provide a rich cross-cultural experience for each team member, an opportunity to compete internationally and for team members to grow in their personal faith.
Turner, Tennessee’s third-leading scorer this past season with 10.9 points per game, led the Volunteers in 3-pointers made (70) and 3-point shooting percentage (.395) this season en route to an SEC regular-season championship, a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, a 26-9 overall record and a final national ranking of No. 13. During conference play, he led the SEC in free-throw shooting (.940; 47-50) and 3-point shooting (.452; 38-84).
Turner becomes the latest in a long line of Vols whose association with the Tennessee basketball program has allowed them to travel the world and experience different cultures. Since enrolling at UT, Turner has already traveled to Maui, Spain (Barcelona and Valencia) and France (Paris).
Athletes in Action is an international sports organization that focuses on developing athletes and coaches as leaders of influence, in and away from their respective venues of competition.
Full Roster
Lamonté Turner Tennessee
Ross Cummings Mercer
Zach Glotta Austin Peay University
Mario Kegler Baylor
Tevin King South Dakota State University
Corey Kispert Gonzaga
Ishmael Lane Northwestern State Louisiana
Zach Simmons North Texas
Noah Starkey Southern Nazarene University
MaCio Teague Baylor
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