Kankakee Times

Aaron Larson, former Olivet Nazarene basketball star, recently played in the Worldwide Invitational Camp in Las Vegas, an event designed to showcase players for professional scouts from the U.S. and overseas, according to ONUTigers.com.

Larson, a two-time NAIA All-American with the Tigers, played four game in the invitational. Nine of the 10 teams consisted of players from small colleges as well as NCAA Division I programs. The other team was made up of players from China.

“It was a lot different than playing in the (Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference), but it was a lot of fun,” Larson said. “There was definitely great competition there, and it felt great to be challenged by such good competition.”

Larson said he entered his name into the camp and was put in the draft pool. The draft was held July 1, with live tweets on the Worldwide Invitational page indicating who was selected by which team. Larson was taken with the eighth pick in the fourth round by Yves DeFraigne, who coaches Belfus Mons-Hainaut in Belgium, according to ONUTigers.com.

“I was ecstatic when I had found out that I was selected to be a part of such a prestigious camp in Las Vegas,” Larson said. “I got a call from my mom because she had been watching and keeping track of all of the live tweets.”

Larson said he worked out with a trainer before the invitational and had been preparing during the summer for the event ahead of that. In his first game, according to www.wsminvitational.com, Larson scored a team-high 17 points and also took down five rebounds. The team played a second game the same day, with Larson scoring six points on two-of-four shooting on three-pointers and grabbing seven rebounds.

The next day, Larson had two points and five rebounds in the team's first game of the day. However, he bounced back strong in the fourth and final game with 16 points – highlighted by three-of-six shooting on three-pointers – six rebounds and two steals.

The team went 0-4 in the invitational. Larson averaged 10.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest.

“I think that I played well," he said. "I had a good couple games and a couple bad games out of the four games played. But overall, I was happy with how I played and got to showcase the skills that I have developed throughout my basketball career.”

Now comes the waiting game to see what professional opportunities come Larson's way. The Worldwide Invitational has a solid recent record of having its players get noticed by pro teams. Last year, 88 percent of the invitational's players played professionally in the 2015-16 season.

“I was actually able to sign an agent while I was out in Vegas and have gotten a few offers since the camp,” Larson said. “I have not decided on a place to go yet, but I should be coming to a decision by the end of August. We are expecting offers to start coming in very soon.”