For many college basketball teams, foreign exhibition tours are mostly about the 10 extra practices that are allowed beforehand. The games themselves can be a formality, and the cultural experiences negligible.
That might not be the case with Arizona’s August trip to Israel and the United Arab Emirates, where UA coach Tommy Lloyd said Friday the Wildcats will probably play three higher-level games.
They will also be visiting Abu Dhabi at a time in mid-August when USA Basketball and several other senior national teams will be there preparing for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Lloyd said he expected there would be some “tie-ins” on that leg of the trip.
“The competition is going to be great,” Lloyd said Friday during his annual offseason news conference at McKale Center. “I don’t think you’re going to see us be playing a bunch of thrown-together, makeshift all-star teams. We’ll play real teams and real games in real venues, and I think that’s really valuable for us.”
Well known for a thirst for international cultures since he was a youth with parents who often housed exchange students, Lloyd said he also hopes the Wildcats can gain some life experience along the way.
“I mean, I don’t know if any of you guys have ever been to Israel. But if you haven’t, you gotta go. Amazing,” Lloyd said. “I haven’t been to Abu Dhabi. I’ve been to Dubai. And I’ve heard great things about Abu Dhabi. It’s an extremely unique place, and for our guys to go there and get that experience will be something they’ll remember more than the games for the rest of their life.”
That’s a philosophy in line with former UA coach Lute Olson, who took the 1997 national champions on a long tour of Australia. The Wildcats made much shorter exhibition journeys to the Bahamas and Spain under Sean Miller.
“College used to be about these things — you show young adults what it is to travel and maybe they get a little bug,” Lloyd said. “And I think the more people travel, the better, more well-rounded people they become and the more perspectives they see.
“If that’s something I can pass on to my players, I would love to do that. So we’re going to take this opportunity and hopefully have a great time.”
Lloyd said many of the details are still being worked out, but the Wildcats are expected to leave during the second week of August and return in time for the start of the fall semester on Aug. 21.
College teams are eligible to take a foreign tour once every four seasons. The Wildcats haven’t done it since 2017, when they went to Spain and won two games. A third was canceled after a terrorist attack near the Wildcats’ Barcelona hotel.
In 2012, the Wildcats played two games in the Bahamas, beating a team called the “Real Deal Shockers” 136-76 and the “Bahamas All-Stars” 99-57.
Arizona forward Filip Borovicanin (1) maneuvers for a reverse layup against Morgan State in their game at McKale Center on Dec. 22, 2022.
Home-country hoopers
One reason Lloyd said he’s never coached on a foreign tour was that at Gonzaga, where he was an assistant coach for 20 years, the Bulldogs always had many international players who were already committed to national-team play during the summer.
But, under Lloyd, Arizona now has nearly the same situation: Last summer, Kerr Kriisa (Estonia), Pelle Larsson (Sweden), Oumar Ballo (Mali) and Adama Bal (France) all spent time with their national programs, while this summer the Wildcats have five players doing so. All are expected to be able to return to Tucson by mid-July.
UA guards Kylan Boswell (USA) and Filip Borovicanin (Serbia) have made their teams to play in the FIBA U19 World Cup that begins this weekend in Hungary, while incoming freshman Motiejas Krivas (Lithuania) and sophomore Henri Veesaar (Estonia) are expected to represent their countries at the U20 European Championships.
In addition, incoming freshman guard Conrad Martinez is expected to play for Spain in the FIBA U18 European Championships.
“Those are awesome opportunities to represent your country in a well-respected event,” Lloyd said. With “the Under 19 World Championships, these guys have a chance to get an experience and make memories of a lifetime. I think both guys (Boswell and Borovicanin) are looking to be key contributors on their team.”
Boswell and USA Basketball are scheduled to open Saturday against Madagascar at 3:30 a.m. Arizona time, while Borovicanin and Serbia will face Egypt at 5:30 a.m. Both games will be carried on FIBA’s YouTube channel. The games are scheduled to be played through July 2 in Hungary.
All the international play does mean the five UA players will be commuting over the Atlantic twice this summer, returning to Tucson after FIBA play to begin preparations for the Israel/UAE trip.
“Zoom is an amazing thing,” Lloyd said, smiling. “But it hasn’t worked for a basketball practice yet.”
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd talked about former UA forward Azuolas Tubelis signing with the Philadelphia 76ers as an undrafted free agent.
Rim shots
While Azuolas Tubelis is set to join the Philadelphia 76ers organization, his brother, Tautvilas, will remain with the program but not as a scholarship player since the Wildcats have used their 13 allowable scholarships for next season. He could remain with the team as a non-scholarship player or as a manager or undergraduate assistant. “We’re figuring it out,” Lloyd said.
Lloyd said he didn’t know where departed seniors Courtney Ramey and Cedric Henderson might land now that the NBA Draft is over and teams are signing free agents to Summer League contracts and other deals. Both players have worked out for multiple NBA teams, and Lloyd said he’s confident both have “long successful professional careers” ahead of them.
