XENIA, Ohio – Gardner-Webb forward Jerome Hill will begin play with Athletes In Action later this month, leaving for the Philippines on July 23.
Hill (Adel, Ga. / Cook County HS) will head to Dayton, Ohio, on July 18 for a five-day training camp, before heading overseas. His team will play eight games over a 12-day stretch before returning to the U.S. on August 5.
Joining Hill on the tour will be Alex Caruso (Texas A&M), Kellen Dunham (Butler), Demonte Flannigan (Cleveland State), Toddrick Gotcher (Texas Tech), Traevon Jackson (Wisconsin), Lotanna Nowgbo (Longwood), Aaron Scales (Cleveland State) and Quincy Taylor (Longwood).
Morris Michalski will coach the team, which is set to take on three of the top collegiate-level basketball teams in the Philippines in addition to three teams from the country's professional PBA (Philippine Basketball Association).
"We fully expect the personal growth and cultural exchange to be rich and life-changing," Michalski said in a statement. "We are looking for victories both in and beyond competition and pray that we will receive them.
"This will be a whirlwind experience that I believe everyone on our team will embrace with arms wide open. The tour is looking for great battles to fight, great adventures to live, and great opportunities for personal growth, making better men not just better players."
Athletes in Action, a strong Christian organization, was founded by Dave Hannah in 1966. AIA's outreach range includes ministry to college and professional athletes and coaches globally across a great number of sports. International competing teams partner with in-country staff and other mission organizations to resource Christian ministry around the world.
Hill, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound rising junior, was one of the catalysts for Gardner-Webb's second consecutive winning season in 2013-2014. He averaged a team-high 14.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, steadily improving against Big South Conference competition.
Hill's efforts earned him second-team All-Big South Conference honors – and his play in two Big South Tournament games vaulted him onto the league's All-Tournament Team.
Hill, who averaged 17.0 points and 16.0 rebounds in those two games, shot 57.1 percent from the floor for the event.
Hill is one of three returning starters for head coach Tim Craft in 2014-2015, with standout point guard Tyler Strange (9.5 ppg) and All-Freshman Team center Tyrell Nelson (8.9 ppg) also back from a team that won 18 games – Gardner-Webb's first back-to-back seasons with at least 18 wins since moving to NCAA Division I in 2000-01.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will announce their full 2014-2015 schedule later this summer.
