Murray State University Athletics
Racers' Victor To Challenge Team USA
8/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
It's doubtful that first-year Racer basketball coach Mick Cronin will ask Cuthbert Victor if he worked on his game this summer. Not after what the Racer senior is about to undertake.
As the top player on the U.S. Virgin Islands national team, Victor will go head-to-head with Team USA and its collection of NBA stars at the FIBA Americas Men's Qualifying Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Victor and his teammates will meet Team USA on Saturday, Aug. 23 in their third game of pool play.
Victor, a native of St. Croix, Virgin Islands who has been playing for the national team since 1999 when he was 17-years old, has competed against professional players before. But not the likes of Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Ray Allen, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, etc.
"This is a great opportunity for Cuthbert and I'm excited for him. This is a great honor," said Cronin, who is getting ready to start conditioning workouts with his team. "This can only help him develop as a player and I'm sure he'll play well."
Last year, Victor led the U.S. Virgin Islands team to its first-ever Central Caribbean Basketball Championship, which earned the team a spot in this week's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Victor led USVI in scoring and rebounding with 14.0 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game.
"This is great exposure for Cuthbert and our university," said Cronin. "Basketball fans from around the world will be keeping an eye on this tournament and Cuthbert will represent Murray State very well."
As he did in 2001 when he was playing for USVI in the World Youth Games in China, Victor will miss the first two weeks of school before returning to campus. When he returns, he'll begin preparing for a senior season in which he will be one of the top players in the Ohio Valley Conference. A year ago,Victor averaged a team-high 15.3 points per game and was named second-team All-OVC.
Victor's U.S. Virgin Islands team is coached by former Racer head coach Tevester Anderson who is in his 18th year as coach of the national team.
Ten teams have qualified for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the top three teams advance to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Pool play begins on Wednesday, Aug.20 and the top four teams from each five-team pool advance to the second round.
