After City of David tour, Arizona Wildcats get in light practice on Day 1 of Mideast trip

JERUSALEM — For the Arizona Wildcats, their 10-day Middle East exhibition tour is much more about the tour than the exhibition games.

That much was clear pretty much immediately Thursday morning, when the Wildcats arrived in Jerusalem after 15 hours of flights plus an hour-long bus ride from the Tel Aviv airport. The Wildcats’ first stop was at a large welcome brunch with pizza, pasta, cheeses, dates, other foods and plenty of desserts.

Then they went off to explore the City of David, a nearby archaeological site that is of the many places UA coach Tommy Lloyd has been anxious to visit with his players. A private guide showed them multiple excavation sites, some roads that Jesus was said to have walked and even some rock toilets.

Only after all that, finally, it was time for some basketball. But not much. Lloyd ran the Wildcats through a light afternoon workout that was followed by, of course, another generous meal, this one showcased at a scenic hotel rooftop.

They’re expected to do a lot more of the same this weekend, touring other Holy Land sites, floating in the Dead Sea and then shifting to a hotel in Tel Aviv.

Oh, and at some point, they’ll get around to playing an exhibition game Monday against Israel Select.

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“I’m looking forward to doing as much as Jerusalem has to offer that we can,” Lloyd said before UA left on Wednesday. “Then we get a few days in Tel Aviv. I don’t think people understand that Tel Aviv is a really vibrant, modern city. So you’re in Jerusalem, which has this crazy history of thousands of years. And the next thing you know, you’re in a major city with white sand beaches and palm trees.

“It’s pretty, pretty cool.”

Exclusive coverage of UA hoops Mideast Tour — only in the Star and at Tucson.com/Pascoe