Cameron Blankenship has toured Spain and France to represent the U.S. on the international athletic stage. In the end, he helped Team USA bring back top basketball honors, solidified lifetime memories and prospects for the future.

And he’s just 17-years old.

Blankenship, a rising senior at Ramsay High School, was the only player from Alabama to take the floor during the recent Student Athlete World USA program.

“It was a good experience,” Blankenship said of his tour June 7 to June 18. “People aren’t really going out of the country to play basketball. I thought it was cool and I knew I could learn and gain a lot of information from this trip, which I did.”

The program pairs standout athletes to compete against peers around the world.

Blankenship was invited to participate internationally after attending an earlier camp in Tennessee. While he and his family were told that he might be recruited, they heard nothing for months until they received a surprise notice.

“Then everything started moving fast,” said his father, Lucien Blankenship, a longtime Birmingham attorney.

Finally, the young Blankenship was headed to Barcelona, Spain for exhibition games, then onto Pyrenees, France for the international tournaments.

While he had made it to the international stage, competition and challenges remained tough for the shooting guard.

“They started off a little rough, but then they got it together and started rocking and rolling,” Lucien Blakenship said.

Cameron pressed on, even after twisting his ankle. He also quickly adjusted to a different playing style and environment that included a rowdy fan base.

It was Cameron’s mother, Patrice, who urged her son to get back on the court after recovering from his injury. He had traveled too far to sit on the bench, she told her son and the coaches.

Cameron ended up scoring 14 points in the goal medal matchup.

“He made the adjustments,” Lucien Blankenship said. “I was extremely proud to see him on that stage.”

The tour was an adventure for the entire family with the novel twist that it was the younger Blankenship in the lead.

“This time he took us on a vacation,” his father said with a laugh. “We were with him. It was an excellent experience.”

Cameron said he learned lessons that he would take throughout his athletic career and beyond. He plans to attend Vanderbilt University after high school.

“I learned how important it was to play with confidence,” he said. “I had to meet their level and it ended up working.”