When Pacers forward Damjan Rudez returned to the Basketball Without Borders camp earlier this month, there were some noticeable changes.
The long, gangly European kids he competed with and against in 2003 had been replaced by bigger, stronger, more polished teenagers.
Perhaps it’s just a natural progression for the program designed to turn international prospects such as Rudez into NBA contributors and then bring back those graduates as teachers to work with the next generation of international stars. Or perhaps, the players are maturing much quicker — much like American players seem to be.
Either way, one thing is clear: BWB is helping to turn Europe into a fertile training ground for NBA hopefuls.