Stanford Travels to Spain
There are a lot of activities that can prepare you for a season of exciting college basketball. Well, if you’re Stanford University, one of those things might be solidifying your head coach. Johnny Dawkins signed an extension through the 2014-15 season. Another thing that will prepare Stanford for an exciting season is the basketball teams' 11 day trip to Spain to play against international competition.
The most notable competition on that trip will be FC Barcelona Regal and Real Madrid, who are part of "The Associaicon de Club de Baloncesto," one of the top and most recognized leagues in Europe. FC Barcelona has players such as Navarro Juan Carlos and Ricky Rubio, who played on the Spanish Olympic team as well as in the NBA. The other team they will be playing, Real Madrid, has Sergio Rodriguez who plays for the New York Knicks.
The last time this team traveled overseas to play was 2007 in Italy. So this is a new class heading over there. This will definitely be a one of a kind experience for these young players. Johnny Dawkins said this would be a great time for returning players to play against elite competition while enhancing the cultural experience…not to mention team chemistry will have to be stronger with no home crowd 6,000 miles away from Palo Alto, California.
The trip is being put together by Anthony Travel, who puts together international travel for NCAA teams, and is very pleased to have Stanford go overseas to play FC Barcelona and believes it will bring an outstanding amount of international exposure to Stanford University. This is the first time FC Barcelona has played an NCAA team.
Chasson Randle, a five star recruit, will join the Cardinals on their trip as well. His experience should help them as he has been overseas playing before, winning a gold medal with USA's U-17 team at the World Championships in Hamburg, Germany.
Read the in-depth preview for Stanford Men's Basketball
