Greg Echenique’s stellar play at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship has earned him a prestigious invite.
The 6-foot-9 Echenique, an incoming freshman at Rutgers who played at St. Benedict’s Prep under Dan Hurley, was invited to play for Latin America in the upcoming adidas Basketball Experience in Dallas Aug. 7-12.
“They saw him play down in South America and he’s going from Venezuela to Brazil up to Dallas,” said Scott Smith, a St. Benedict’s Prep assistant who is close to Echenique.
Playing for his native Venezuela, Echenique was among the tournament leaders in scoring, rebounding and blocks at the U18 Championship, which ended with Argentina beating the USA in the title game.
The adidas Basketball Experience includes seven international teams, each of which will be coached by a former NBA head coach and will include current NBA players as mentors. Paul Silas is the Executive Head Coach of the American team. Each of the seven regional teams will consist of 12-15 of the top players from each region.
The American team includes Derrick Favors of Atlanta, perhaps the No. 1 player in the Class of 2009; Brooklyn Lincoln star Lance Stephenson; Dominic Cheek of St. Anthony; and North Carolina commit Dexter Strickland of St. Patrick.
