Men’s Basketball: Spain Days 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10: The Cajuns Tour of Spain – Daily Reports
Spain Day Ten: Undefeated and the Final Day in Spain
Spain Trip Central
Day 10: August 17, 2013 –Madrid
MADRID, Spain – WOW! Today was our last day in Spain! The group is currently packing for our 8:00 a.m. departure from the hotel and our 11:00 a.m. flight tomorrow morning.
This trip has been an amazing experience that will never be forgotten by our entire group. Personally, I don’t know of any other chance I would have had in my life to visit such an amazing place and do everything we’ve done in just ten days.
Today was much like the other three game days, with no structured activity during the day. The pregame meal was at 1:00 in the afternoon and most of the group relaxed before that, starting their packing, ect.
We departed for the gym after the pregame meal to take on Eurocolgio Casvi for the second time this trip. It was another win, meaning the Cajuns went 4-0 on the tour! Read the full game recap from the 90-54 win here.
After the game we went to the same restaurant from last night for dinner. Tonight might have been the most interesting dinner we have had, not because of the food, but because of how it was cooked. They delivered plates of seared meat to the tables, and then brought hot stones and had us cook our own meals. It was quite an experience and everyone was happy because they could make their steak the way they liked it.
Dinner ended and the group was free to walk back to the hotel at their own pace, and enjoy a bit more of Madrid if they pleased. A lot of people went straight back to start packing and getting ready to go home.
The purpose of this trip was to help the team grow both on and off the court, while also giving them an amazing experience that they can take with them after their basketball careers end. After sharing the trip with them and being part of the entire thing, I can truly say it did all of that.
Finishing this blog I’d like to say thank you to everyone who took their time to follow our trip, and to everyone who sent emails. I apologize that I didn’t get back to many of you, it is hard with limited internet here. I’d also like to personally thank the coaches and team for allowing me to share this experience with them, I had an amazing time and I will remember it forever.
I hope everyone has enjoyed the coverage of our trip to Spain, it has just added to the many reasons I love my job.
Nick Ross
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Cajuns Finish Spain Tour 4-0, Topping Eurocolgio Casvi, 90-54
Contact: Nick Ross
Spain Central
MADRID, Spain – The Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team wrapped up their Spain tour undefeated, topping Eurocolgio Casvi 90-54 on Saturday evening, to go 4-0 over a five day span.
Shawn Long led the Cajuns with his first double-double of the tour, scoring 28 points and picking up 12 rebounds. Long also picked up three blocks on the day, heavily contributing on both sides of the court.
The Cajuns used a late-first half adjustment to overtake Casvi and turn on the burners, en route to a 36-point victory.
"We came out a little bit sluggish to start the ball game," head coach Bob Marlin said of the fourth and final game of the tour. "We trailed at the quarter for the first time in the trip so we had to regroup in the second quarter. Elfrid [Payton] and Shawn [Long] made some big plays on four possessions in a row to give us energy and push us in transition to score some easy baskets."
Casvi led the Cajuns 17-13 after the first quarter, hitting three of their first four three pointers to start the game. They extended their lead to 21-15 a few minutes into the second quarter, before the Cajuns ramped up their defensive pressure and caused their hot-shooting offense to run cold.
"It definitely will help us down the road," Marlin said of the team facing adversity for the first time of the trip. "There were some lineups that we used on the trip and especially today that were a little bit different. It will all pay off."
A Shawn Long free throw gave the Cajuns a 26-25 lead in the middle of the second quarter, and Louisiana didn’t look back from there.
"We just ran the floor hard." Marlin said of the adjustments when trailing. "Defensively we did a very good job at protecting the baskets. We only gave them one shot and then scored in transition."
The Cajuns went into the locker rooms leading 42-32, ending the quarter on a 27-11 run.
It was all Louisiana from then on, with stingy defense and a high-tempo offensive attack. The Cajuns held Casvi to just 22 points in the second half, running off 48 points of their own.
Besides Long’s 28 points, the Cajuns spread the ball around the floor with 11-of-12 Cajuns finding the basket.
Elfrid Payton was second on the team, behind Long, with 10 points, picking up seven rebounds and adding seven assists.
J.J. Davenport tied Long in rebounds with 12 of his own, going into the half with eight. He also scored eight points, going 4-for-4 in free throw attempts, all while the game was close in the second quarter.
As a team the Cajuns shot .783 (18-for-23) from the charity stripe.
The game marks the final night the Cajuns will spend in Spain, flying back to Louisiana tomorrow morning. The four wins highlighted a ten-day tour, in which the Cajuns spent time in Barcelona, Valencia, Albacete and Madrid. They spent time touring the cities, learning about the culture and exploring each city as they pleased.
"It was a great educational experience for our team. To get to see the sights and the different cities is really a blessing. We are fortunate to have made this happen," Marlin said of the trip in whole. "Like a lot of teams that have used these foreign trips before, and a couple teams in our league are on them, it will help down the road with team bonding and chemistry issues."
The Cajuns will now have a few months to regroup and get ready for the start of their 2013-14 campaign.
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Day 7: More Relaxation and another Win
Spain Central
Spain Day 7 – Albacete
ALBACETE, Spain – Today was another relaxing day for the group, with no structured touring of the city. The group was free to do what they wanted, which mainly consisted of sleeping in and doing nothing before the pregame meal.
Some of the group toured the city, which is much more laid back than our first two, and what we expect Madrid to be as well.
For the second day in a row, the pregame meal was huge. Half of the group didn’t even make it to the final course because they were too full from the pasta in the second course.
This caused the waiter to be concerned about the quality of the food. We tried to explain to him that back home, spaghetti is the main course, so we weren’t expecting a third dish. It is the best hotel in the city, so he wasn’t used to teams not eating their entire meal also, since he has catered to futbol powerhouses such as Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. That’s not too shabby of company to be part of.
It was off to our second game after the meal, which was in the town of Quintanar Del Rey, about 45 minutes away. The team we played is in the same league as the Albacete team from yesterday, and we were told by Albacete that they were a bit better. The score did not show that, however, as we went on to win 118-34. Read the full game recap here.
We stayed in Quintanar Del Rey for dinner and were able to chose between four different meats for our meal, the first time all trip we’ve had options. The four choices were Sea Bass, Cod, Lamb or Pork, which didn’t please the guys as much, and a few ended up getting the waiter to bring them a plate of French fries.
The city had a fiesta going on tonight, but after the meal we all decided it would be better to just head back to Albacete since we have to leave for Madrid in the morning, which is very exciting for all of us.
So that is it for us in Albacete, with Madrid on the menu for tomorrow, we are sure to have a lot more planned for the rest of the trip. We play a game tomorrow night in Madrid, with an off-day on Friday for sightseeing, and our final game of the trip on Saturday, before coming back to the United States on Sunday.
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
It was brought to my attention today that yesterday was head coach Bob Marlin and his wife Jennifer’s second wedding anniversary, and today was Anthony "AD" Daniel (member of the traveling support staff) and his wife Pam’s 31st wedding anniversary! Happy Belated Anniversaries to both! Not a bad place to spend them if you ask me!
Talk to y’all tomorrow,
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Day 7: Louisiana Overwhelms Basket Globalcaja, 118-34
Contact: Nick Ross
QUINTANAR DEL REY, Spain – The Ragin’ Cajuns held Basket Globalcaja to just 20 points in the final three quarters, outscoring them 91-20, en route to an 118-34 victory and their second win of the Spain tour.
Junior transfer J.J. Davenport posted a double-double, scoring 13 points and picking up 13 rebounds, and Shawn Long and Hayward Register led the team offensively, each picking up 18 points. Long just missed a double-double of his own, grabbing eight rebounds.
Globalcaja stayed with the Cajuns to open the game, exchanging baskets for the first five minutes before Louisiana hit the gas and pulled away, going into the locker room leading 56-20.
Davenport was just three points shy of the double-double at the half, already with 11 of his rebounds. He added six more points and three rebounds in the second half for the double-double.
It was all Louisiana in the second half, cruising to an easy victory. The Cajuns went on a very early run in the third quarter, holding Globacaja scoreless for the first seven minutes of the second half.
They would repeat their defensive performance from the second quarter, in the fourth quarter, holding the opponent to just six points in the fourth quarter.
It was a good game for the Cajuns’ bench players to get minutes in preparation for the season. They contributed with 68 points and 30 rebounds. Aside from Register’s tie for the team-high with 18 points, three other reserves scored double-digit points, Kevin Brown had 14 points, Braylon Lazare had 12 and Aaron LaBlanc had 10.
Steven Wronkoski led all Cajuns’ with nine assists, and Register led in steals with five.
As a team, the Cajuns shot .672 (45-67) from the field, and .412 (7-17) from beyond the arc. They also grabbed 59 total rebounds, turning the ball over just 11 times.
The win improved the Cajuns to 2-0 on their tour of Spain, with two more games to go when they get to Madrid. They have one game on Thursday and one game on Saturday, before returning to the U.S. on Sunday evening.
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Day 6: August 13, 2013 – Valencia and Albacete
ALBACETE, Spain – Aside from the basketball game today, it was a fairly laid back day with travel and not much else, so it was a good day to look back at the trip so far, it’s crazy to think that we’re over half way done.
We departed Valencia at noon and were off to our third city, Albacete. The drive to Albacete was much different than the drive to Valencia, because for the first time in Spain, we were leaving the coast. After going through the mountains we found ourselves in the new town.
Albacete is also a much different city than the previous two, and is the smallest one on our tour, by a large margin. It’s a very laid back lifestyle here, and a lot more quite at night.
When we got to the hotel we had a few hours to kill before the pregame meal and going to the game. Some people walked around and explored on their own, while others rested or caught up on work back home.
I was finally able to read more emails and it is very cool hearing back from everybody from around the world! The most amazing email I received was from a person who met members of our team in Barcelona, and searched us on google when they got home! It was awesome to hear that we are gaining fans around the world on this trip!
The game was a very cool experience for us. Aside from the 93-71 victory (read the full release here), it was very cool to see a basketball atmosphere in a different country. The fans were much different than in the States. They were very positive the whole game, and would jump out of their seats after a dunk by either team.
They stayed long after the game, asking for autographs, photos and even articles of clothing. Much to their dismay, we only brought one jersey with and Lynn and Lyle Williams wouldn’t be very happy with us if we gave it away.
The one obstacle I encountered at the game was the ability to get stats for the post-game release. Luckily our traveling staff was able to help me out a lot, so a big thanks to Tom Burke, Ms. Pam Daniel and Ms. Christy Alford for keeping stats during the game!
We were back to the hotel for the night after the game, with another game tomorrow! It will be our only full day in Albacete, with our final leg coming on Thursday when we head to Madrid for the final three days!
Nick Ross
It’s been great hearing back from fans! Ragin’ Cajuns fans are the best in the world and we can attest to that now!
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Cajuns Topple Albacete in Tour Opener, 93-71
*Note – The team we played tonight only kept stats by hand, so there is no proper box score.
ALBACETE, Spain – The Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team won their first game in their trip to Spain, defeating Albacete, a semi-professional team, 93-71 on Tuesday evening. The Cajuns used a strong second half to pull away and breeze to a 22-point victory and open the tour 1-0.
The Cajuns fell into foul trouble in the first quarter, getting five fouls early in the game, putting Albacete into the bonus. In international basketball, a team is only allowed five fouls a quarter, before sending their opponent to the line. Those fouls wash every quarter.
Albacete held on for the first quarter before getting into their own foul trouble in the second quarter, allowing the Cajuns to take a lead 53-38 lead going into the locker rooms at half time.
The Cajuns spread the ball around in the first half, with senior Bryant Mbamalu leading the pack with 13 points.
Albacete came out of the half with a bit of a spark, opening with a 9-4 run, cutting the Cajuns lead to 57-47. Louisiana responded right away with the best run for either side in the game, scoring 16 of the next 21 points, six of those coming from senior Elridge Moore to give the Cajuns a 73-52 lead.
Moore finished the game with 14 points, including a monster dunk in the first half, and eight rebounds.
The Cajuns added 20 more points in the fourth quarter with six coming from sophomore Steven Wronkoski, to finish the game off in a convincing 93-71 fashion.
Junior Elfrid Payton led the way for the Cajuns, posting the teams lone double-double, scoring 16 points with a team-high 11 assists and seven steals. Mbamalu added four more points in the second half to lead the team with 17 points.
Joining Mbamalu, Payton, and Moore with double-digit points was Wronkoski with 11 and junior Kevin Brown with 13.
Wronkoski also added nine rebounds, tying fellow sophomore Shawn Long for the team lead in that category. Moore was one behind them with eight rebounds.
The Cajuns will play their second game of the trip, and final game in Albacete tomorrow afternoon. They will then travel to Madrid, Spain for the final leg of their tour and two more games.
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Spain Day Five: Valencia, Bullfighting and Doppelgängers
Day 5: August 12, 2013 – Valencia
VALENCIA, Spain – I had to think about what day it was today, it seems like we’ve been in Spain for a while now. The entire team is now fluent in Spanish! Just kidding, we struggle.
Today was a bit of a later start, departing for our tour of the city at 10:30. We drove around the "new" part of Valencia, seeing very new and interesting looking buildings. We learned that within the last 15 years the town has been vastly upgraded and cleaned up. Our Valencia tour guide, Claudia, credited some of the cleaning up to the city being awarded the America’s Cup yacht race in 2007 and 2009, and the European Grand Prix annually. Personally, that made me very happy to work in sports, knowing that they can help a city in that capacity.
While mentioning that, she also mentioned that we were currently driving ON the grand prix tracks, another very cool thing to learn.
After the tour of the "new" city, we went to our guided tour of Plaza de Toros de Valencia, a bull fighting museum and ring in Valencia.
The first thing we saw upon entering the museum was a large banner with faces of the rings toreros (bullfighters). Soon thereafter, we noticed one of the toreros had a striking resemblance to our own Steven Wronkoski. We asked the tour guide about him and he said his name was Ramon, and that he was currently training in the facility. Halfway through the tour we saw him, but were not able to get a photo of the two together because he was too busy getting ready for a fight next week.
After seeing Wronkoski’s doppelgänger, we continued on to see the rest of the ring and learn a thing or two about the event itself, before continuing on to a walking tour of the "old" town of Valencia.
Valencia in itself dates back to the early times of human history and the Roman civilization. In one place we would see a newly built bank or office building, and the next corner we’d see an old city wall dating back to the 14thcentury.
The tour of the old city led to lunch and a bit of time to explore on our own. Once again, lunch was McDonalds, due to price and the fact that they know what they get there.
While on our walking tour we were shown a very old church with a bell tower that could see the entire city from the top. The only problem with the bell tower was that it was 207 steps up a spiral staircase to get up there, no elevator. Three staff members, myself included, decided to make the climb. The view was worth much more than the work and two euro’s it took to get to the top.
After we got back from the exploration of the old city, it was time to head out to practice, 30 minutes outside of town.
The guys got a good practice in and look ready for the game tomorrow in Albacete.
Dinner was the last thing on the menu for the night (hopefully everyone has been able to bear my puns thus far), and for the first time in our trip, calamari was not on the menu! That pleased most of the group, even those who liked it were getting sick of it.
Half the team took the bus back, while he other half walked back after dinner to enjoy the night. Our tour guide said earlier in the day that it is sunny 300 days a year in Valencia, which we believe to be true considering we never saw a single cloud during the two days here.
Tomorrow we will kick the day off with a bit of free time, before boarding the bus again to go to our third of four cities, Albacete, and our first game of the tour, meaning tomorrow will have both a game recap, and a day recap, and hopefully more photos.
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Day 4: August 11, 2013 – Cambrils and Valencia
VALENCIA, Spain – Greetings from our new location, Valencia, Spain! We departed from Barcelona at 11 a.m. and reached Valencia around 7 p.m., with a three-hour pit stop in the town of Cambrils for lunch and the beach.
Cambrils is a small town, midway between Barcelona and Valencia. Mainly a fishing town, there were several small cafés and shops along two very large, and very packed beaches.
The first things we saw upon exiting the bus, besides the beautiful ocean, were several basketball hoops with locals playing at it. Freshman guard Hayward Register took it upon himself to show, or should I say, showboat, his skills to a few groups.
After a few slam dunks on the hoop the younger group was playing at, he then went on to play, and win in a game of knockout with the older group.
The short exhibition led to lunch anywhere we wanted to try on our own. While some of the traveling support staff tested their Spanish skills and tried one of the local cafés, almost the entire team ate at McDonalds.
Then it was to the beach, or shops, whatever was preferred, but after seeing the beach in Barcelona for two days and never getting to go, it was the most popular choice for the guys.
The three hours at the beach flew by and before we knew it, it was time to get back on the bus for two more hours on the road until Valencia.
We arrived in Valencia just in time for dinner, which we eat much earlier than the locals, who usually don’t eat dinner until around 9:00 p.m.
The restaurant we ate at was called El Coso del Mar, with an amazing view of the ocean and the city with mountains in the background.
Tonight the menu was a little different than the first two nights, minus the tapas, which was once again, calamari rings. Picture onion rings but instead of onions, it’s squid inside.
The main dish was Valencia’s most famous entrée, paella. The easiest way to describe paella is jambalaya, which it is almost identical to. A majority of the team said it was the best meal yet, but personally, I haven’t stopped thinking about the steak from night one.
Dinner was followed by ice cream and cheesecake for desert, before heading back to the hotel.
Tomorrow will be a busy day, with tours of the city in the morning before the team get’s back on the court for their first practice in Spain…minus Register of course, who got some shooting practice in at the beach.
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Day 3: August 10, 2013 – Barcelona – Spain Day Three: Futbol, Food and a Church
http://www.ragincajuns.com/sports/2013/8/7/SpainTour2013.aspx
BARCELONA, Spain – After finally getting real sleep, the group was rejuvenated for day three, one packed with more sightseeing in the beautiful town of Barcelona.
We kicked the day off with a visit to Nou Camp, the home of F.C. Barcelona, one of the worlds premier Futbol clubs. Nou Camp seats over 100,000 fans, and is the biggest Futbol stadium in Spain, and top ten in the world.
It was a walking tour, so the team was free to go at their own pace, which for some was much quicker than others. The tour swept through two different museums, showcasing the history of the Futbol Club, and their other sports clubs such as basketball, handball and field hockey.
After Nou Camp we went and got lunch in the same city center as yesterday. We were given two and a half hours to eat lunch, and explore the city a bit.
Naturally, the entire team ate at Burger King before taking off and exploring the city. While exploring we ran into members of both LSU and Georgia Tech women’s basketball programs…so everybody got their fix of talkin’ Cajun.
The two and a half hour expedition led to a tour of the World’s most famous unfinished church, Sagrada Familia. Sagrada Familia, formerly known in English as Basilica and Expiatory Church, is a 130-year old church, which has yet to be finished. Original architect Antoni Guadi died in 1926, while the basilica was between 15-25 percent complete. They plan the completion to be in 2026, the 100-year anniversary of Gaudi’s death.
We then had a few more hours of free time back at the hotel, so for me and some more of the staff, it was back to the pool before dinner.
We left for dinner, which was much like last nights. Random assortments of "Tapas" and then another great steak, the tapas were once again not the favorites of some of the players.
There was a Flamenco show after the meal, which turned out to not be the first show we got to see. One the walk from the restaurant to the theater we ran into, what we think, was a flash mob. It consisted of two groups of adolescence on separate sides of the street yelling back and fourth in an intimidating, but not negative tone. Even our interpreter could not make out the shouts. Surely, junior Elfrid Payton was the first to join in, dancing along in the street, I’ll try and get a video up of that soon.
Our tour guide, Allie, was finally able to gain control and get the group to the Flamenco Show. It was a very fun show, displaying some of the quickest feet most of the group has ever seen, possibly starting a new warm-up routine for your Cajuns.
That spelt the end of the night for the team, as we all will now go to bed and get ready for a travel day tomorrow to Valencia. Though we will miss Barcelona, tomorrow shows a beach in the forecast, which is sure to make everyone happy.
Until tomorrow.
Nick Ross
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Men’s Basketball: Spain Day Two: But really…Day One
Day 2: August 9, 2013 – Barcelona
BARCELONA, Spain – Wow this has been the longest day ever. Finally seeing Spain was amazing. For some of us it was the pinch in the dream that let us know, ‘Yes, you’re really in Spain’. A very eventful first day after little-to-no sleep on the plane makes for what feels like the day that never ends.
After landing in Barcelona at 9:30 am local time, a slight delay at baggage claims allowed our tour guide, Allie, to catch up with us after her flight from the U.K. Due to the lack of hotel rooms ready, we went straight to Plaça de Catalunya, or the Catalonia Square for lunch on our own.
We went and exchanged money before getting lunch, and like typical American’s, a group of us found the most American restaurant possible for our first meal in Spain, Happy Bar & Grill, fully equipped with The Fonz painted on the front. The food was good, but nothing to write home about. (see what I did there?)
Even after an hour-long lunch break, some of the hotel rooms were still not ready, so with heavy eyes and nodding heads, we waited in the lobby, excited to finally get to access internet on our phones.
With two hours before our next scheduled function a majority of the team went to finally sleep, while a few of us made our way to the pool, because it’s Spain and you’re only here for a brief time.
Our first scheduled event was a tour of the town, with a few stops at a few parks. Our first park was Park Güell. Güell is named after Antoni Güell, an architect that designed the whole thing with the idea of a public garden.
The guys enjoyed walking around the park, using their newly acquired Spanish phrases, mainly just Hola, on many groups of people.
Our tour guide explained to us before the stop that we should not purchase anything from any vendor selling from the ground. She mentioned that it was illegal to sell there without a license and that you could get in trouble for even buying. Sure enough within minutes the Policia started to walk towards them, and they were gone in a flash.
After leaving Park Güell, we continued to drive around Barcelona, past many sculptures, fountains and the Olympic Village, the site of the 1992 Summer Games. That was when the guys got their first glimpse of the very close by beach.
After the tour we went to dinner at La Fonda Del Port Olympic. To call what we had ‘dinner’ is disrespectful to the absolute feast we had, which Allie said was a very typical night of Spanish eating.
Since they were waiting our arrival, we were served immediately. The first starter, or known in Spain as ‘Tapas’ was a seafood salad. That was followed up by calamari rings, fried baby squid, bruschetta and bread with a tomato vinegar on top, and mussels.
The meal’s entree was a delicacy for those who did not have any of the Tapas, and for those who did. The waiters brought about a succulent cut of T-bone steak and let us go to town. The meal was concluded by a slice of chocolate mousse cake.
That was it for the first full day…a long day on not much sleep. There are no scheduled games in Barcelona, so it will be primarily sight-seeing and team bonding until Valencia on Sunday.
Until tomorrow,
Nick Ross
Sports Information Assistant
Soccer, Softball & Women’s Basketball Contact
University of Louisiana
(C)- 651-808-2743
(O)- 337-482-6329
Ragin’ Cajuns Twitter
Ragin’ Cajuns Facebook
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Day One: August 8, 2013
http://www.ragincajuns.com/sports/2013/8/7/SpainTour2013.aspx
BARCELONA, Spain – The Ragin’ Cajuns are in Spain! After a two hour bus ride, followed by a 1.5 hour plane ride, a three hour layover and the final plane trip, an 8.5 hour excursion, landing in Barcelona just after breakfast.
Thanks to Captain Flash Gordon, our pilot in the flight to Barcelona, for getting us there safely. It was announced in our preflight rundown that we were being flown by the Flash himself and his crew.
Assistant coach Kevin Johnson was making his second trans-Atlantic flight of the week, after a trip to England for a reunion with his former professional team.
All things said and done, we landed in Barcelona at 9:30 a.m. local time (2:30 CST). Jet lagged and half asleep, I’ll leave you here. There is no rest in a ten-day tour, so we are off to a busy day. Expect more of an update tonight, or this afternoon for y’all, after our first, almost full day in Spain.
Nick Ross
Sports Information Assistant
Soccer, Softball & Women’s Basketball Contact
University of Louisiana
(C)- 651-808-2743
(O)- 337-482-6329
Ragin’ Cajuns Twitter
Ragin’ Cajuns Facebook
