Seen & Heard: Pro scouts to get early look at Arizona basketball in Monday exhibition in Israel

JERUSALEM — Thanks to Auburn coach Bruce Pearl’s popularity with and commitment to the international Jewish community, his Tigers played three well-attended scrimmages in Israel last summer.

Arizona won’t likely have that sort of reception for its lone Israel exhibition Monday, a 9 a.m. Arizona time game against a collection of local pros known as Israel Select.

But those who do make it out to Hadar Yosef Arena in Tel Aviv at 7 p.m. Israel time just might be pretty locked in.

About 450 people had registered for the free tickets as of Sunday night via partiful.com, and Joshua Halickman, the Israel-based founder of SportsRabbi.com, said he expected at least 300 fans to show up.

He said there will also be plenty of European scouts (one NBA scout even asked UA for a credential) getting an early look at the Wildcats’ potential pros.

“There’s definitely a lot of people who are gonna have interest in this,” Halickman said. Scouts “also see the possibility of some of these players to come to Israel at some point in their careers.”

UA forward Derrick Williams was one of them. The No. 2 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Williams spent the 2021-22 season playing for Maccabi Tel Avis before moving to Greece last season.

The pro scouts are also likely to keep an eye on Israel Select’s top player, 6-7 Ryan Turell, a forward from California who became the first Orthodox Jew taken in the G League draft in 2022. Turell averaged 3.6 points and 1.5 rebounds while playing for Detroit’s G League team last season.

Israel Select’s roster is also expected to include a collection of pro players from Israel.

The game is expected to be streamed on UA’s website, but exact details with the local production were still yet to be determined as of Sunday evening.

Learning experience

While Israel Select is not expected to offer the.Wildcats significant competition, UA hasn’t exactly been preparing with its usual in-season intensity. Arizona players spent the first four days of their Israel trip with nearly full-day sightseeing itineraries, while holding three practices.

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“We’re in our offseason preparation, and we’re probably not approaching it like we would a normal game,” Lloyd said. “But I’m looking for guys to get experience on the court and play together and connect as a group in a situation where there’s a lot of distractions.

“And (those are) positive distractions, not negative. We’re seeing things exploring on a big trip. So I’m just looking to kind of see how we come together and play as a unit.”

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

Conditional love

While the Wildcats strolled through the narrow walkways of Jerusalem’s Old City, vendors routinely asked them where they were from, and what team they played for.

Some of the vendors appeared puzzled with the answer, maybe unable to grasp the concept of a college being attached to a team, since most countries develop talent in club systems. Some appeared impressed. Others tried to use the question solely as an conversational hook to land them in their shops.

Then there was one guy who just wanted to have some fun.

When UA players told him they played for Arizona, the vendor replied: “Miami Heat is the best!”

Unconditional Love

Vendors aren’t the only ones interested in the Wildcats. Lloyd and his players have posed for pictures with fans at stops all over Israel, though not nearly at the level they would at home.

While eating dinner Saturday in Jerusalem, a woman even asked UA guard Caleb Love if he would take a picture with her daughter, who follows Love on Instagram.

“Anytime you travel with a basketball team, there’s a lot of eyes on you just because you’re traveling with large human beings,” Lloyd said. “There have been definitely people to stop and ask where we’re from, what we’re doing here and things like that.

“I think it’s exciting for people to engage with our guys. A lot of our guys get stopped for pictures, which is really cool.”