Bradley University Athletics

Bradley Basketball Announces Summer European Trip

Men's Basketball 6/14/2018 3:30:00 PM

The Bradley men's basketball program unveiled its plans for its first foreign trip in five years as the team is set to travel to and play exhibition games in England and Netherlands this summer.

The Braves begin their trip on Sunday, July 29 as the team departs for London. Highlighting Bradley's time in the hometown of senior guard Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye, BU will play a game against a British Basketball League opponent on Tuesday, July 31.

Bradley then travels to Amsterdam on August 2 as senior forward Luuk van Bree returns to his native country as a Brave. BU will take on the Amsterdam Select on Friday, August 3 for its second showcase game of the team's foreign trip before returning to Peoria on August 4.

"We are grateful to have the opportunity to travel to Europe for our foreign trip," said Bradley head coach Brian Wardle. "It will be a great experience for all of us to learn about other cultures, become more connected as a team, develop our leadership and get a chance to compete against some good competition.

"My experiences with foreign trips have been very positive and I feel with our returners and the addition of the four newcomers, this trip comes at a perfect time for our team. Also, Dwayne and Luuk have meant a lot to the development of this program and we are excited to bring them back home and play in front of their friends and families. Overall, this trip will benefit our program in many ways, including a competitive advantage, educational and social experience as well as becoming more together as a team."

Once every four years, college basketball programs are allowed to embark on a foreign tour and given 10 extra practices in the summer to prepare. Bradley's trip is organized by Sport Tours International, which is run by Bradley men's basketball alum Lee Frederick.

Bradley last participated in a foreign tour in 2013 when the team traveled to The Bahamas.

The Braves return 10 letterwinners from a team that finished the 2017-18 season with a 20-13 record, while also adding four talented newcomers. One of just four schools in the country to improve by at least five wins in each of the last two years, the Braves earned a top-five seed for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and advanced to the league semifinals for the first time since 2010 last season.

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