Cal Basketball: Bears Announce Three-Game Exhibition Tour to Europe This Month
Cal will get the chance to integrate four newcomers into its men’s basketball program later this month with a three-game exhibition tour of Europe, the team announced Thursday.
The 10-day trip will begin Aug. 12 and features stops in Paris, France to face Vanves GPSO on Aug. 16, in Charleroi, Belgium to play Spirou Basket on Aug. 18, and in Leverkusen, Germany for a matchup vs. Bayer Giants Leverkusen on Aug. 20.
The Bears will return to the Bay Area on Aug. 22.
"It's been great to be able to practice leading up to our foreign tour; the 10 practices are just as important as our 10 days spent together in Europe," Cal coach Mark Fox said. "I'm excited to see this group start to build chemistry together on the court and this trip abroad will help them continue to foster relationships with one another off the court.
“This tour also presents an incredible opportunity to expose our young men to different parts of the world and broaden their horizons.”
The NCAA allows college basketball teams to schedule a foreign tour every four years. Cal hasn’t taken such a trip since 2015, with tentative treks in 2019 and 2020 canceled, the latter due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The timing is good for the Bears to make this trip because they welcome four newcomers into the roster who will benefit from practicing and playing games with Cal’s returning players.
Sixth-year senior guard DuJuan Clayton, who played four seasons at Coppin State, and junior guard Devin Askew, who spent one season each at Kentucky and Texas, both arrive as veteran transfers expected to play significant roles this season.
Fox also signed a pair of incoming freshmen front-court players, 6-foot-9 forward ND Okafor, a native of Ireland who played for the NBA Academy team in Mexico, and Grant Newell, a 6-8 forward from Chicago.
The Bears will be without 6-7 junior guard Jalen Celestine, the team’s top returning scorer, who had offseason knee surgery and won’t be ready to play.
Cal has six international players on its roster but only one of them — senior center Lars Thiemann — will get the chance to visit his home country on the tour. Thiemann grew up in the German town of Krefeld and played for the Bayer Giants in Leverkusen prior to signing with the Bears.
The Bears are hoping to reverse their fortunes of recent seasons, including the 2021-22 campaign when they were 12-20 overall, 5-15 in Pac-12 play. Cal has suffered five straight losing seasons, the longest such streak in program history.
Cover photo of Cal center Lars Thiemann by D. Ross Cameron, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
