Porter to Participate in All-Star Event
April 22, 2008
SHREVEPORT, La. – LSUS guard Josh Porter has been selected to participate in the 2008 Collegiate Basketball Invitational (CBI), an all-star event of out-going men’s basketball seniors from the NAIA Division I & II, NCAA Division II & III ranks. The event consists of 13 contests from April 24-26, culminating in the All-Star Game scheduled for Saturday, April 26 at 8 p.m. EST and aired lived on ESPNU.
In addition to being selected as a CBI participant, Porter was named to four All-America Teams and the All-Louisiana Team following the 2007-08 season. Porter was also honored this season as the Louisiana Small College Player of the Year, the Basketball Times NAIA Player of the Year and the 2008 GCAC Player of the Year after averaging 22 points per game and guiding the Pilots to a school-record 31 wins, including the GCAC regular season and tournament titles.
Overall, there are 22 NAIA players listed on eight rosters. Porter, Ollie Bailey of the National Champion Oklahoma City Stars and NAIA Division II Player of the Year, Ryan Fiegi of Oregon Tech, headline the list of NAIA players.
Eight teams, which are sponsored by area businesses, will compete in Wadsworth, Ohio at Wadsworth High School. This year’s event, which features 65 of the country’s top basketball players, is the second annual event. Last year, there were 60 players split up into six teams that played a total of nine games over three days.
John McCarthy, founder of McCarthy Sports, Inc. and organizer of the event, mentioned that this was created in 2007 to give non-NCAA Division I players just as good of a chance to play professionally.
“I sincerely congratulate the 65 players that have been selected to compete in this prestigious event,” said McCarthy, who also is the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Director. “We are proud and excited to have the top NAIA seniors from both Divisions I and II participating in the Collegiate Basketball Invitational.
“Like many tremendous NAIA players that have gone before them, I think that these players will show the public, the media and the professional team representatives the high level of basketball that is available in the NAIA today. In the process of selecting players, there is a great deal of research about the character of the players. With this in mind, we are proud to have these young men represent the Collegiate Basketball Invitational."
There will be a tip-off banquet, sponsored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), on Wednesday, April 23 at 6:30 p.m. EST. The banquet will feature Porter and the amazing story of his miraculous comeback from a life-threatening neck injury suffered in the 2006-07 season.
