Gold medal only part of reward for Elmira-area trio in trip to United World Games

What better way to spend a chunk of your summer than playing hoops with two of your closest friends?

Perhaps by doing so at an international Olympics-style event that provided an opportunity to visit part of Europe.

Throw in a gold medal as the final piece and you have a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Elmira Notre Dame student Finn Schweizer of Pine City and the Horseheads High School duo of Thomas White and Jack Starbuck.

The trio of 15-year-old rising sophomores contributed to a 46-45 victory for PhD Hoops USA over fellow American team MVP International Athletics on June 25 in the championship game of the under-16 division at the multisport United World Games in Klagenfurt, Austria, avenging their lone tourney setback.

The U-16 field included seven teams from the U.S. and representatives from Wales, Italy, India, Turkey, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Croatia within four pools of four.

White described the overall experience as "mind-blowing" and Schweizer's assessment was "really great."

Said Starbuck: "The trip was amazing and then we won gold. But everything was amazing."

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Hoops dream became reality

Los Angeles-based PhD Hoops was created by former college basketball player, TV analyst and coach Richie Schueler. It offers player development, training and competitive opportunities for players.

Finn Schweizer's mom, Kathleen, made contact with the organization last year after he expressed interest in participating. After submitting a video and going through an interview, Finn was told he could sign up. White and Starbuck, who played JV at Horseheads last season, did the same. The three are AAU teammates with Elmira-based City of Lights Hoop Group, where they're coached by Trentton Ray.

"I've been practicing a lot of basketball recently and I just love the sport," said Finn, a member of Notre Dame's varsity boys basketball team as a freshman. "I thought it would be a great opportunity to go play in Europe."

They sold gift baskets at the Sparkle holiday festival in Corning and New Energy Equity made a contribution to help fund travel costs.

The nine-player under-16 team and other teams from PhD Hoops departed John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on June 18 and spent more than a week in Europe. They visited Munich, Germany, and Venice, Italy, before reaching their ultimate destination of Klagenfurt, Austria.

"What drew me in was obviously that my friends were going, but just the experience to be able to go and travel all over Europe," Starbuck said.

Venice impresses; Dachau a time to reflect

This trip was as much about seeing another part of the world as it was showcasing and improving their basketball skills.

All three immediately mentioned Venice as the sightseeing highlight. Pizza in Italy and a scenic gondola ride made for a tough combination to beat.

"We weren't there for too long, but it was beautiful," Starbuck said.

A tour of a memorial for the World War II concentration camp in Dachau, Germany, made a different kind of impact on the trio.

"You could just see how sad of a place it was," Schweizer said.

The three also joined teammates for a visit to a salt mine in Salzburg, Austria, that Schweizer described as a really cool experience.

Different kind of environment

After watching a somewhat laid-back crowd in the game prior to theirs, Schweizer, Starbuck and White were introduced to a different kind of atmosphere when their PhD Hoops team took on the Wales Black Dragons to begin pool play.

Schweizer said Wales fans were involved from the opening tip.

"It was so loud," he said. "They had drums and horns. It was the most intimidating start to a basketball game I've ever experienced."

PhD Hoops played through the noise, building a big lead early on the way to a 44-24 triumph that was followed by a 40-34 victory against an Italian team and a 31-30 setback to MVP International Athletics.

The quarterfinals brought a 44-40 win over another American team before a 42-28 semifinal victory over a group from the Czech Republic, setting up the rematch with MVP International Athletics.

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Schweizer's hustle secured gold medal

After a go-ahead free throw from Darius Harrington with four seconds remaining gave PhD a one-point lead, Schweizer hustled back to the other end to tip away a long pass as time wound down.

"While we had a bunch of guys celebrating, there was one guy from the other team wide open that could have caught the ball and laid it up and the game would have been over because no one saw him," said PhD U-16 coach Lee Toldson, who coaches basketball at Idaho's Thunder Ridge High School. "But Finn sprinted back, hustled and got his hands on it and tipped it. I think that was one of the biggest plays of the game."

Toldson also praised the contributions of White and Starbuck.

"The one thing that I took from those three guys more than anything is it was about the team," Toldson said. "It was about winning the gold medal and they sacrificed for the team and that was something I was really impressed with. They’re great players, but good teammates. In that last game they all contributed and played some part in helping us win the gold medal."

Area trio built friendships, created memories

Playing time was spread among the three Elmira-area players and their six teammates, who hailed from California, Illinois, Texas, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

The physical play in the tournament stood out to Starbuck while White took note of teams' focus on fundamentals. The high level of play at the event also made an impression.

PhD Hoops clicked despite having what amounted to only two-and-a-half practices together. Schweizer credited that in large part to the efforts of Toldson, whose focus included starting to build the team dynamic away from the court and stressing defense on it.

"I didn't think our team would jell so quickly," White said. "Even having that one day of practice and getting to know who they are, they seemed like people who are going to have your backs and everybody on the team was ready to go play and everybody wanted to make that effort to make sure the team was going to succeed."

New teammates have become quick friends, with players sending messages daily through a group chat. Starbuck said everyone involved will be talking about the event for a long time.

"The trip, it went from I've got to remember this kid's name to wow, it feels like I've been playing with this kid for a few months," White said.

From a basketball standpoint, Schweizer, White and Starbuck are confident their time abroad will pay off when the high school seasons at END and Horseheads get going. Having a gold medal for the trophy case is the cherry on top.

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Friends from Horseheads, Pine City win gold at United World Games