|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Men’s Basketball: Ragin’ Cajuns To Tour Spain In August-Will Play Four Games As Part Of 10-Day TripWill Play Four Games As Part Of 10-Day Trip To Barcelona, Valencia & Madrid
LAFAYETTE, La. — The Ragin’ Cajuns basketball team will take a break from summer workouts to play four games against Spanish club teams as part of a 10-day exhibition tour of Spain from Aug. 8-18. Head coach Bob Marlin made the announcement on Monday.
When not playing games, the Cajuns will spend time enjoying the sites and culture of Spain.
“We put this trip together because it will benefit us in a number of ways while also giving our student-athletes an experience that they will never forget,” Marlin said.
“We are going to face teams that are comparable to the calibre that we will face during the regular season. We will use international rules, which will be a learning experience for our guys, and we won’t know much about our opponents so it will be important to make adjustments quickly.
“We will also benefit from spending 10 days together as a group. Other teams that have made similar trips have remarked how much they bonded together when they didn’t have distractions like cell phones and video games.
“The trip will also serve as an educational experience for our players so we will take the time to tour each of the three cities that we will be visiting to make sure that we learn about the Spanish culture,” Marlin added.
Under NCAA rules, each Division I school is allowed to make a foreign tour once every four years. This will be the first time in program history that the Cajuns will make a foreign tour.
After preparing for the tour with the NCAA permitted 10 practice opportunities, the Cajuns will depart for Barcelona on Wednesday, Aug. 8.
While in Barcelona (Aug. 8-12), Louisiana will play games on Aug. 10 & 11. When not competing, the Cajuns will take a guided tour of the city that includes the picturesque views of Montjuic Hill, the market place of Las Ramblas Barrio Gotica and Barcelona Cathedral. They will also visit the gardens at Parque Guell, take in one of the renowned Flamenco Shows and tour the world famous Sagrada Familia.
On day 6 (Aug. 13), the tour will move to the Catalunya/Valencia for three days (Aug. 13-15), where Louisiana will play one exhibition game and visit the beaches at both Costa Brava and Costa Blanca and other area destinations.
The final stop on the tour will be the capital city of Madrid, where the Cajuns will stay for three days (Aug. 16-18) before returning to the United States.
Louisiana will play one game in Madrid while also visiting the Puerto del Sol, the Royal Palace and the Prado Museum.
The Cajuns will return to Lafayette in time for the start of fall semester with conditioning and practice beginning almost immediately, leading up to the start of the 2013-14 season against Louisiana College on Sunday, Nov. 9.
Brian McCann
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
