Spain trip offers Arizona Wildcats a chance to improve, bond

For players at elite-level programs like Arizona’s, reaching the NBA as soon as possible is not just a goal. It’s the expectation.

But the fact is that many of them will spend their pro careers elsewhere. At Arizona, a dozen players who finished their college careers during the Sean Miller era have played professionally outside the U.S., and that’s not a bad consolation prize.

Last season, for example, former UA guard Kyle Fogg made over $300,000 playing in Spain, and he says it’s a “blessing” to have played and experienced the cultures of countries such as Finland, Belgium, Germany and Spain already in his five years as a pro.

This week, when the Wildcats fly to Spain for a three-game exhibition trip, they’ll get a small taste of Fogg’s life.

“It’s a great opportunity for those guys to see that ‘OK, this is what it’s like playing in another country,’” says Nels Hawkinson, executive director of Basketball Travelers, which has organized the UA’s trip. “That’s huge.”

Hawkinson, a former European pro whose son Josh just finished a standout career at Washington State, said the trips also give coaches a chance to get early evaluations and game film on new players against live competition that they wouldn’t normally get until late October.

“They might bring in a freshman they were thinking of redshirting and it turns out he’s a gamer, so they think ‘Maybe we shouldn’t redshirt him,’” Hawkinson said. “Or they bring in a kid to play a vital role” and realize he struggles in game situations.

For many coaches, the most valuable part of an exhibition trip is the 10 full-length practices allowed beforehand, giving them a chance to install their system and culture two months before normal NCAA rules allow.

A final aspect of the trip, of course, is about just having fun and bonding.

On their itinerary, the Wildcats don’t have an intense week of basketball as much as playing a few games, seeing a few sights, hanging out on the beach and getting to know one another better.

Hawkinson says the trips can take on a “study abroad” function, since college basketball players don’t have time to take traditional semesters or summers overseas like regular students sometimes do. They get a chance to soak up a little history and culture of the cities they visit, while also doing the same on the court.

Hawkinson, whose firm is guiding the foreign tours of 48 teams this summer, says the trips give players a chance to play in some of the same arenas that high-level European clubs play in and under similar conditions and rules.

For example, the UA will open on Sunday at Valencia’s Pavelló Municipal Font de San Lluís, where the city’s high-level ACB team plays. The competition won’t be the at that level, since it is the league’s offseason and players are scattered, but the environment may be.

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“They’re not playing in big huge arenas, and if they get hurt, the athletic trainer is extremely important,” Hawkinson said. “They’re used to having handlers in high school and college, where they’ll help you with anything you need. It’s not like that in Europe. The whole European system is different.”

To that end, though, Basketball Travelers fills in the gaps by arranging venues, equipment and officials, plus a guide and translator to accompany teams everywhere they go.

Miller is expected to discuss Arizona’s trip at a news conference Tuesday, but Hawkinson says the Wildcats already have a schedule that allows flexibility in adding or subtracting activities as mood and time dictate.

As it is now, UA players are scheduled to visit the old town in Valencia, plus the 1992 Olympic facilities and FC Barcelona’s soccer facilities in Barcelona.

“Sean really understands what is valuable for his athletes to participate in, not only sights but fun things to do on the trip,” Hawkinson said. “They have an opportunity to sightsee, take in culture or (change the plan). Sometimes the night before, the coach will add or do something different. We do give the coach some flexibility.”

Already, Miller modified the standard Spanish trip somewhat. His brother, Archie, took his Dayton team on a Basketball Travelers itinerary last summer through Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona but enjoyed Valencia and its proximity to the beach more than Madrid.

Afterward, says UA basketball operations director Ryan Reynolds, Archie suggested that Sean spend more time in Valencia, so the Wildcats crossed Madrid off the itinerary.

“Madrid’s a nice point to land in and the historical aspect is pretty amazing,” Hawkinson said. “But the coastal cities are awesome, right on the beach. It’s phenomenal.”

Fogg said Barcelona and Valencia were two of his favorite cities to visit while playing for Malaga last season, too.

Fogg raved about touring Barcelona, the beaches in Valencia, and how you can eat “any kind of fish you can think of,” among other things.

“They’re going to have an amazing time,” Fogg said. “Both cities are great to go to.”

To visit, and maybe even to live in.