THE FRONT ROW with Jason Elliott, July 17, 2013

As one of three returning players for the North Idaho College men's basketball team, finding confidence on the court might have been priority No. 1 for 6-foot-9 forward Nathan Rathbun.

He found it across the pond in London, England.

RATHBUN RETURNED from England last week after taking part in an NBC Camps travel team made up of players from age 16 to 19.

"They usually do two different tours during the summer," Rathbun said. "I knew the coach (John Fazio) that was taking the team over and he asked me and a couple of other guys if we wanted to go over and get some good competition."

Fazio runs the Varsity Academy in Spokane and also asked Kwinn Hanson - who plays at the Community Colleges of Spokane - and Kyle Johnson, who attends Whitworth, but does not play basketball, to come along.

"I'd thought about doing it as a junior in high school," said Rathbun, 19, from Deary. "But it didn't quite work out. They were trying to get some older guys to come, so they called us to see if it was an option to go, and in March, we finally decided to go."

The NBC team played against teams from the United Kingdom ranging from 15 to 19, along with a team of 25-year olds.

"My first thought was it was going to be interesting," Rathbun said. "Since they weren't all college-aged kids, some teams weren't very good and others were really good. The officiating was a joke over there because we're not used to it. Every time I'd get a post move and bump somebody, I'd get a charge call. They're just really soft over there, but it was really interesting to see how it worked."

THE TOUR started in Blackpool, then moved to Chester and Liverpool, and concluded with two games in London.

"Blackpool is probably where we got the most competition," Rathbun said. "Just from those towns, the style of play is way different."

After going 6-1, with the only loss to the 25-year old London team on the tour, Rathbun added he's more confident with his skills on the court.

"I had this baseline dunk on their best player," Rathbun said. "It was a huge boost, not only that I can do it now, but it also showed me that I need to play more physical."

But for Rathbun, he learned a lot off the court.

"NBC is kind of a Christian-based camp," Rathbun said. "When the 'B' team would play, we'd get together and sing some songs and players would share their story about why they were with the team. It was cool to get to speak to players from different countries."

RATHBUN PLAYED in 23 games, starting two for NIC as a freshman during the 2012-13 season. He'll be one of three returning players, joining Lake City High alum Jason Wheelock and Ty Higbie of Coeur d'Alene High, who was a redshirt last year.

"It's crazy," Rathbun said. "Usually you've got a few more guys coming back, but it's going to a lot different team. I'm looking forward to getting back into the gym with these guys."

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected].