Tulsa Basketball Team to Take Canadian Exhibition Trip
June 23, 2008
Tulsa, Oklahoma - The University of Tulsa basketball team will take a preseason trip to Vancouver, Canada, for an exhibition tour in late August, where the Golden Hurricane will play three games in two days, it was announced today by Tulsa head Coach Doug Wojcik.
On Saturday, August 30, Tulsa plays the University of British Columbia in a 1:00 pm (Pacific Time) contest at War Memorial Gymnasium in Vancouver, then turn around for a 7:00 pm (PT) contest that night against Trinity Western University.
UBC posted a 27-9 record last year and advanced to the Final Eight of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Division, losing to eventual champion Brock University Badgers in the first round. UBC hosted the University of Oklahoma in a similar exhibition contest last year, losing to the Sooners, 81-62.
Trinity Western finished in fifth-place in the Canada West Pacific Conference last year.
A day later, Tulsa will play the University College of the Fraser Valley at the Envision Athletics Center at 1:00 pm (PT). UCFV posted a 14-13 mark last year, and also played four American universities in exhibition competition, including Marquette, Boise State, Idaho and Air Force.
Tulsa will depart for Canada on Friday, Aug. 29, and return Monday, Sept. 1.
"It's a good time for the Canadian trip in that we have a lot of returning experience, but we also have five newcomers. We have some new guys that will play key roles for us, in particular Adrian Hernandez at the point position, and of course, trying to replace Calvin Walls, at the power forward," said Wojcik.
"It's a perfect time for us to go and get some extra practices, game experience with this new group, and it also allows the team time to bond and unify," Wojcik added.
The Hurricane posted a 25-14 record last year, advanced to the championship game of the Conference USA Tournament against No. 2-ranked Memphis and won the inaugural College Basketball Invitational in the post-season by winning a best-of-three series against Bradley, 2-1.
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Tulsa returns seven letterwinners and three starters for the 2008-09 campaign. Juniors Ben Uzoh and Jerome Jordan will lead the Hurricane. Uzoh was Tulsa's leading scorer last season with a 15.6 scoring average, while the seven-footer Jordan became a force for the Hurricane ending the year by averaging 10.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.7 blocks. Uzoh became only the 10th player in school history to surpass the 600 point plateau, while Jordan established a school and Conference USA single-season record with 143 blocked shots.
The two seniors on the Tulsa roster are 6'5" swingman Ray Reese and 6'9" center Sam Mitchell. Reese moved into the starting lineup a year ago and finished the season averaging 7.7 points, while Mitchell became a defensive force in the paint for the Hurricane.
For the foreign tour, Tulsa will be allowed formal team practice sessions for a maximum of 10 days prior to departure. The Hurricane will practice three days in July with the returning players only, as NCAA rules do not allow newcomers to participate in formal practice activities until classes begin. The team will then practice for five straight days in August, beginning on Aug. 25, before leaving for Vancouver.
