Indiana University Athletics
Strickland, Big Ten Team Open Play
8/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
August 12, 2004
Bloomington, Ind. - Indiana junior men's basketball player Marshall Strickland and his Big Ten Men's Basketball Foreign Tour team will open up play on Friday, August 13. The team departed for the five-game tour through France and Italy on Tuesday, August 10, under the reins of a new head coach, as Penn State assistant Kurt Kanaskie will fill that role after PSU head coach Ed DeChellis underwent minor surgery over the weekend."I have never been to Italy or France, so this is my first time overseas," said Strickland. "I'm excited to get into the culture and see what it's really like."
The 2004 Foreign Tour team, which includes 12 players from all 11 league schools, will be abroad through August 20 before returning home.
The squad wrapped up a three-day training session on the campus of Penn State University last weekend and is set to take on the Frejus Basketball Club on Friday evening.
The second game will feature a match-up against the Marseille-Fos Basketball Club on Saturday, August 14. The Big Ten contingent departs for Italy on August 15 and resumes competition against the Casale Monferrato Basketball Club on Monday, August 16.
After another day off, the team wraps up the tour with back-to-back games against the Casalpusterlengo Basketball Club on Wednesday, August 18, and the Cremona Basketball Club on Thursday, August 19.
"I haven't heard about any of the teams that we are going to be competing against," said Strickland. "They said it was going to be pretty good though, but you never know."
The Big Ten Foreign Tour team will return to the United States on Friday, August 20.
The future of the Big Ten will be on display overseas, as seven of the 12 players have completed two or fewer seasons of college basketball. The group includes Strickland and student-athletes from the other 10 league schools, including Illinois' Warren Carter, Iowa's Adam Haluska, Michigan's Amadou Ba, Michigan State's Delco Rowley, Minnesota's Dan Coleman, Northwestern's Davor Duvancic, Ohio State's Matt Marinchick, Penn State's Kevin Fellows and Marlon Smith, Purdue's Brandon McKnight and Wisconsin's Clayton Hanson.
The league's last Foreign Tour team in 2002, produced seven eventual All-Big Ten selections and built a 4-1, record with games in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. The Big Ten has sent teams overseas in 11 of the last 13 years, compiling an overall record of 46-29 and a mark of 10-1 during the last two trips in 2001 and 2002.
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/ Men's BasketballThursday, August 13
Thursday, August 13
Wednesday, August 12
Wednesday, August 12