NU's well-traveled Shurna having a memorable time

An internship on the Board of Exchange in June. A trip to Las Vegas in July. A 10-day visit to Italy in August.

It's a shame Northwestern junior forward John Shurna isn't a 10-year-old growing up in Glen Ellyn again, because he will have great material for a heck of a "What I Did For My Summer Vacation" paper.

Shurna, who earned second-team all-Big Ten honors last season, just spent a week in Las Vegas with 19 other top college players.

The U.S. Select team, as they were called, scrimmaged daily against members of the U.S. National team - all of which were NBA stars preparing for next month's FIBA World Championships in Turkey.

In their downtime, the college players stayed at the five-star Wynn Hotel (Shurna roomed with Wisconsin's Jon Leuer) and roamed the Strip.

"It was a blast," Shurna said. "It was the opportunity of a lifetime playing against the best NBA players."

National coach Mike Krzyzewski told the Select players they were there to serve as the scout team, so they learned plays before they scrimmaged with the NBA stars.

Shurna said he frequently was matched against Kevin Love, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Lamar Odom.

"I guess (I did) all right," he said. "I had some good moments and I got beat a couple times."

During one 10-minute scrimmage, a 10-man Select squad featuring Shurna, Illinois senior Mike Tisdale and Ohio State junior guard William Buford had the stars beat.

Then Durant grabbed a steal and nailed a 3-pointer with four-tenths of a second left to forge a tie. Buford's 3-point answer just missed at the buzzer.

"I was talking with Will afterward," Shurna said. "We were a little upset because we had them down. It's obviously good to tie them, but you play to win."

Shurna and his Northwestern teammates wrap up summer school this week - he's taking a Philosophy course entitled "Bioethics" - and enjoy a little time off before the Wildcats start 10 days of practice to prepare for Italy.

NU, which expects to contend for its first NCAA Tournament berth, planned this trip to get incoming freshman JerShon Cobb acclimated to the team's systems while reintegrating fifth-year seniors Kevin Coble and Jeff Ryan into the group.

Coble (foot) and Ryan (knee) are still rehabbing the injuries that forced them to redshirt last season.

"They haven't been able to play (in the team's informal scrimmages)," Shurna said. "But they're lifting with us. I know they're itching to get back."