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| Northern Illinois guard Xavier Silas (middle) and center Sean Kowal (not pictured) are in China with the touring team Reach USA. (Scott Walstrom – NIU Media Services) |
New country. New culture. New position?
Well, sort of.
Northern Illinois guard Xavier Silas and center Sean Kowal have just started a two-week trip through May 31 to China with touring team Reach USA. The team will play nine games against Chinese Basketball Association teams in two weeks and is coached by Nevada assistant and former NIU assistant coach Dennis Gates.
Aside from the differences in culture and style of play in a foreign land, Silas will be doing something different for these nine games as well – playing some point guard.
"It's just something coach Gates brought up and thought I should be doing," Silas said. "I'm just going to roll with it."
The 6-foot-5 shooting guard said point guard isn't new to him, especially in the summer. He played it all last summer when he trained in San Francisco with trainer Frank Matrisciano but did not play it for the Huskies.
Silas said he's looking forward to experience China's culture again. He went in 2008 with Reach USA.
Silas also is excited to play against the different style of the Chinese Basketball Association teams.
"It resembles more of the European style," Silas said. "They're a lot bigger than people think. One of the teams we'll play is going to average 6-8. They can play. It'll be good."
Meanwhile for Kowal, experiencing China will be something brand new for him.
"I haven't really been out of the country," he said. "I'm chomping at the bit. I'm really excited."
Kowal said Silas has given him a heads-up on a few things, but not too much to let Kowal experience China first-hand.
"I'm excited to see the culture, just to be a part of it," Kowal said. "We're going to be over there for a little more than two weeks. By the end of the two weeks, I think I'll have a much better understanding than what I had before I leave."
Kowal, who averaged 14.2 points and 9.3 rebounds a game in the last six games of the season, hopes to use this trip as a springboard to successful offseason.
"I plan on doing a lot of training this summer and this is a great way of starting off," Kowal said. "I'm heading out and playing great competition early on, figuring out what I have to work on, what I need to improve on. Then I've got the rest of the summer to work on that."
Other members of the team will include: Brandon Barnes (Lipscomb), Skylar McBee (Tennessee), Carlton Fay (Southern Illinois), Peyton Siva (Louisville), Steffphon Pettigrew (Western Kentucky), Josh Harrellson and Jon Hood (Kentucky), Malik Story (Nevada) and Jeremy Williams (UTEP).
