Interesting group of teammates for Matt Gatens at upcoming camp

Former Iowa guard Matt Gatens will start his professional basketball career Thursday as one of 64 players at the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational Tournament.

The showcase features eight senior players on eight teams, and each team plays three games. Representatives from each NBA club plus several from European professional leagues will scout the event.

Gatens, a 6-foot-5 Iowa City native, will compete with three former opponents on his squad. Campbell forward Eric Griffin decimated Iowa for 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked six shots in a 77-61 Iowa loss this year. Dayton forward Chris Johnson scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds against Iowa in the Hawkeyes' 84-75 NIT win last month.

Long Beach State guard Casper Ware, whose team beat Iowa 78-72 last year, also will play on Gatens' team. Among the other Big Ten players competing includes Wisconsin guard Jordan Taylor and Minnesota post Ralph Sampson III. Other major Division I players competing include Missouri guard Kim English, Missouri forward Ricardo Ratcliffe, Oregon guard Devoe Joseph, Pittsburgh guard Ashton Gibbs, West Virginia guard Darryl Bryant  and Syracuse guard Scoop Jardine.

Gatens, a second-team all-Big Ten pick, led the Hawkeyes in scoring (15.7 points) the last three seasons. His team opens play at 6 p.m. Thursday, then compete Friday and Saturday.