Arizona Wildcats share favorite memories from 'trip of a lifetime' to Middle East

Long after the Arizona Wildcats finish up their college and pro basketball careers, they may not remember details of their three August 2023 exhibition games, how they pulled away from two local all-star teams, nor how they held off a late surge to beat the Lebanon national team.

But there’s a pretty good chance they’ll remember seeing a host of Biblical and cultural sites in and around Jerusalem, bobbing in the Dead Sea, experiencing the over-the-top grandiosity of Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and riding camels through the desert (a different sort of desert, that is).

Or any number of other memories from a 10-day tour that was packed with far more off-court experiences than on-court action.

Certainly, that’s the sort of thing Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd was aiming for with the Wildcats’ 10-day trip through Israel and the United Arab Emirates that ended on Aug. 20. They have since returned to school, with two weeks off from practice to start classes and reflect.

“It was an amazing experience,” Lloyd said in Abu Dhabi on Aug. 19, after the Wildcats finished up with an 85-71 win over Lebanon. “It was probably such a rich, thick experience that we’ll probably have to take some time to absorb it all and figure out what happened. We’ll probably have some talks so we can remind everybody all the stuff we did.

“It was a life experience. And anybody whoever wanted to go, I would be the first one to recommend it. This is a trip of a lifetime.”

In the moment, Arizona players were already bubbling with descriptions. While many said the highlight was simply spending time together, this was how several players described their top memories in interviews with the Star during the trip:

Senior forward Keshad Johnson, in Jerusalem: “It’s just an eye-opening experiences all in all, seeing where Jesus was born, where he was crucified, where he was arrested and everything like that, that’s crazy. It’s something that brings all cultures and all races together.”

Sophomore guard Jaden Bradley, in Tel Aviv, after a trip to the Dead Sea: “Definitely the floating. The whole floating aspect (was a surprise). The cleansing aspect of it. And the science behind the floating. That was definitely a cool experience.”

Jerusalem also was “a crazy eye-opening experience. Growing up going to church with my grandmother, my Auntie, and my parents, it was definitely an eye-opening experience to see where it all started. Where Jesus sacrificed for us. To just kind of see that — you read it in the Bible — but now actually getting to see that in person is kind of crazy experience.”

Freshman center Motiejus Krivas, in Jerusalem, after visiting Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Center: “Back at school, we learned about it and it was interesting to learn some new things about it, but it’s kind of hard and disturbing. .. When you go on basketball trip, you don’t expect such things to learn about. Mostly we have free time and do some team-building stuff. Not stuff like this. Never thought I’d do this. Once in a lifetime experience. Try to enjoy it. Food is really good here. Trying to try some new stuff. Some desserts I tried were different, and I hadn’t tried hummus.”

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Sophomore center Dylan Anderson, in Abu Dhabi: “I’d say my favorite memories were just going out with the team, getting to know the new guys, what they like to do and all that stuff, and we’re having a good time together at the dinners we go to, which are really fun. New food. It’s really good. They have a lot of raw meat. That’s a little new for me. But I still eat it. In Tel Aviv there’s a bunch of raw fish and I think raw pork.”

Freshman guard KJ Lewis, in Abu Dhabi: “This is my first time being really overseas. I went to the Bahamas in high school, but this is my first time experiencing new culture. I think the thing that stood out to me is Israel, where we got to see the church (on the site where) Jesus was born and the church where he died. Very, very beautiful sights. Very beautiful food, beautiful people and beautiful culture. I’m enjoying it and taking it all in.

Senior center Oumar Ballo, at the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi: “I’ve never been somewhere like this. This place is special. Never in my life I thought I would have an opportunity to come to a place like this.

In Israel, the Holocaust memorial “was intense. But it was eye-opening to know how much Jewish people suffered and what they had to go through. I’m glad I got to learn about their struggles.”

Senior guard Caleb Love, in Abu Dhabi: With food, “I can’t really try too much because I’m allergic to seafood and nuts and they’ve got a lot of that out here but I’m just grateful to be out here. (One food) I can’t even tell you what it was. I think it was like a meatball but it wasn’t like a regular meatball. But that was kind of good.”

The mosque “was great, just seeing how much time and money that went into building that whole thing. I tip my hat off to the people who took their time and money that went into that building. It was amazing.”

Senior guard Grant Weitman, in Abu Dhabi: “I loved Israel. I loved Jerusalem. I thought it was super cool to see all the historical stuff. … (in Abu Dhabi) the mosque was probably the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Johnson, in Abu Dhabi: “It was bonding with the guys, just witnessing what all these different religions have to offer, and being in places where everybody from all around the world just comes. Getting that opportunity to experience that is something you take on forever. A lot of people would rather go to places where they can have a vacation, but we came on a place where we can have some vacation, while also learning a lot of history, gaining a lot of cultural competence for other cultures and other countries and things of that nature. There’s not a better place to take a foreign trip than right here.”

Senior guard Pelle Larsson, in Abu Dhabi: “It’s a little bit overwhelming. We’ve done so much together. It was a lot. When we get home, we’re gonna have some time to really think about it but I really enjoyed it. It was like a bucket list thing for me.”

Lloyd, in Abu Dhabi, at the end of the trip: “The highlight for me was just sharing it with other people, bringing our team here and really starting our culture build. Assimilating a lot of new guys into the program has been a ton of fun and it’s fun spending a lot of time with people when you’re forced to. You can kind of enrich and deepen your relationships with people. That was the best part for me.”