Faith, basketball a good mix for Memorial alumnus Jay Frank

Jay Frank, junior guard and co-captain of The College of New Jersey men's basketball team who reaped postseason individual honors, will be taking his talents to Guatemala and El Salvador to play a series of games for Athletes in Action.

"It definitely will be cultural shock," said Frank, a former star at Brick Memorial High School, after he returned last week from a mini-vacation fishing excursion in Tampa, Fla. "At The College of New Jersey, I've been a member of a student Christian organization. A girl at a Bible study we had at school told me and another guy on my team about Athletes in Action. I filled out forms, and my assistant coach told me I have to get into the organization to do this. He got me and my teammate — [junior] Aaron Syvertsen — to the front of the line."

Frank, an All-New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) first-team selection, was also named to the 2008-09 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Atlantic All-District All-Stars second team. He was one of 10 college players selected nationwide for the Athletes in Action trip that runs from June 13 to July 4. Players were selected on the strengths of the past season and the recommendation of coaches. The organization is a branch of Campus Crusade for Christ.

Frank has been seeking donations through a letter he sent to prospective business and corporate sponsors as well as to individuals. He is more than "halfway there" to the $3,400 he needs to take the trip."

The guy in charge of this said he took the trip 25 years ago and that it was great," Frank said.

His only other trips out of the country previously were vacations to the Bahamas and to Mexico.

Frank and his team will be playing some warm-up scrimmages in Iowa against high-caliber teams from the heartland region for a week to get to know each other and their styles on the court and to bond as a team.

"I'm in really good shape right now," said Frank, who was third in the NJAC in scoring last season at 15.7 points per game and led the league in free-throw shooting at 85.9 percent (67-for-78). His 1.68 steals per game ranked seventh in the league and he led the Lions in rebounding in six games, averaging 4.9 per outing.

"I'm trying to do cross-training — swimming and biking as well as running," Frank said.

And he has been playing basketball every chance he can.

"We'll be really good next season," he said. "We're hoping to be ranked."

TCNJ graduates four seniors — two of them significant contributors — from a 10-15 season that ended in an openinground loss in the NJAC playoffs to Rutgers Newark.

Along with his basketball talents, Frank leads a Bible study group on campus. He also completed Spanish II studies this spring, which will come in handy for the trip.

"I know Spanish decently," Frank said. "It's hard for me to listen and speak sometimes but I can use small sentences."

Frank and his teammates will be speaking to people in those countries about spiritual values as well as giving pointers on the game.

"It's really cool," he said. "We'll play national and club teams against older players. It's their version of the NBA. You get to do camps, and after games you have meetings and share your faith in God. … I've always been a Christian. My priorities are Jesus first, then basketball and fishing."

On the court, Frank said his focus for this trip is "to get a lot of people the ball and in position to score and to create chemistry. And I'll concentrate also on my defense. I have to get into even better shape for that. It's coming along."

Frank is certain defense and all the elements of his game will get even better in what he anticipates to be a memorable and beneficial experience.