If indeed Avery Percival fulfills his lifelong dream and plays professional basketball, he'll have traveled a much longer road than even he could have fathomed.

"Road" might be the wrong word, though, because no roads directly connect the places Percival has honed his talents.

After high school, the 6-foot-6 swingman from Tortola in the British Virgin Islands went to Columbia, Mo. to play for Moberly Area Junior College. After a year that didn't match his expectations, Percival was at Reagan High School Thursday to participate in the RCSSports.com Unsigned Senior and JuCo Showcase, hoping to be noticed by one of the several college coaches present.

"I always wanted to (come to the U.S. to play basketball). I want to go pro," Percival said. "Here, overseas, it doesn't matter. I want to get paid to do what I love to do."

Percival, who plays virtually any position except point guard, does not expect to return to Moberly for the 2008-09 season.

"I was looking to get other looks from other schools because Moberly just isn't working for me right now," he said. "I want people to think I was on another level ... not so much on scoring and defense but just hustle. Stuff that a lot of players don't do that's huge in the game, and that's what I like to pride myself on doing.

"I'm not afraid to be physical. Stuff that doesn't show up on the stat sheet, that's what I like to do."

Thirty-eight participants came from across the area, representing such varied high schools as Cypress Springs, Nimitz, La Porte, Dickinson, Fort Bend Baptist and Texas City and, among other colleges, Prairie View A&M.

Jim Hicks, proprietor of RCSSports.com, split the players into several teams. Each team played three games between 2:15 and 8 p.m.

Coaches from Marquette and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi were present early in the day, and several more schools streamed in throughout the afternoon.

Then there were some like Jason Carter, a 2008 La Porte graduate who's tried in vain all summer to earn a scholarship. A trip to Blinn College and several trips with his AAU team across the area and state have come empty, so when he and his parents heard Thursday morning about the Showcase they wasted no time spiriting to the event.

Elsworth Porter, a graduated senior from University Park Academy, is being heavily recruited by Casper College in Wyoming but won't turn a deaf ear to other offers, hence his appearance Thursday.

"They've been talking to me just about every day. I'm interested in them just like they're interested in me and maybe that's where I'll end up," said Porter, who plays summer ball with Rashard Lewis Southeast Texas Elite. "But if a D-I coach comes other, that's a good opportunity too. I'm just here to play ball and hopefully coaches can see the potential in me, that I'm trying to further my basketball career. ...

"It's just an opportunity for me to try to show my skills one more time. I just want the coaches to see how I run a team. It's not all about scoring points. I have to get my team involved, and if I can do that that's what I want the coaches to see - that I'm a floor general. That's what coaches want in a point guard."

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