Goldsboro boys roll out red carpet for Australian traveling team

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on January 6, 2015 1:48 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

Rasheen Artis has seen his fair share of foreign-style basketball watching the FIBA World Championships.

But the Goldsboro guard will get to experience it first hand tonight, when Goldsboro rolls out the red carpet and welcomes a team from Australia in an exhibition game.

"I'm excited to see what they got," Artis said. "It's going to be interesting to see their style of play and how it compares to ours."

Cougars coach Russell Stephens got wind of the opportunity to play the team from Down Under through an email from Greg Grantham of the N.C. Coaches Association. He decided to give his players the experience of playing a team from another country.

"I thought it would be really cool for our kids and our community to have somebody come in from out of the norm and I think it will be a really good fit for our kids just to see how basketball is played in different places," Stephens said.

While Goldsboro has no way to know anything about their opponents tonight, most foreign basketball teams play a slow-paced halfcourt style that is taught throughout Europe. That strategy is a completely contrast to the up-tempo style that Goldsboro prefers to play.

But Stephens isn't telling his guys what they might see from their opponents. He wants to let them go play.

The Cougars obviously want to win the game, but they're more focused on taking in the experience.

"First off, we want to win," Stephens said. "But we want to be able to see something in this game you don't see every day, you know something you'll be able to talk about on film. It's also a learning tool for us. I'm excited for this game, and I hope our fans and our community are as well."