Auburn basketball will play NBA talent during Israel trip in August
Auburn basketball will be playing NBA talent during a preseason foreign tour to Israel from July 31st to August 10th. As the Auburn Observer’s Justin Ferguson noted, former Washington Wizards lottery pick Deni Avdija will be out there for the Israel national team in the tour finale.
Auburn HC Bruce Pearl just said that Wizards SF Deni Avdija will be out there for the Israel national team in the tour finale
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) July 25, 2022
I wrote last week that it was unclear whether he would be playing for his country at this point in the summer — facing a recent lottery pick will be huge
The Tigers will play three games over the course of 10 days in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv — taking on the Israeli U-20 National Team twice on August 2nd and 6th and the Israeli Senior National Team on August 8th.
Bruce Pearl spoke up the trip and his native Israel when explaining the massive international getaway for the Auburn basketball program, calling it ‘one of the greatest trips in our student-athletes’ lives’ from a historical and religious standpoint:
"“Every four years, you can take a foreign trip with your team. These foreign trips have been one of the greatest teaching moments I have been a part of in 40 years of coaching college basketball. Israel has not been your typical destination for college basketball teams. Yet, Israel, is one of the top 2-3 countries in the world in its quality of competition and support for professional basketball.”"
Auburn basketball won’t face a tougher test all year than the Israel National Team
While Auburn basketball should face a fairly even battle with Israel’s U-20 team when they meet twice in August, the Tigers won’t be facing a more talented (and well-coached) team than the Israeli Senior National Team all year.
Guy Goodes’ guys are older, more experienced, and play more cohesively than any SEC or non-conference squad Pearl’s men will face throughout the entirety of the 2022-23 season. Don’t fret when the Tigers find themselves overwhelmed come August 8th.