ROCK HILL, SC—The Winthrop men’s basketball team will depart on Wednesday, May 17, for a 13-day trip to New Zealand and Australia as the Eagles will play six games, including a contest against the defending champion of the Australian National Basketball League.
In addition to the games, the Winthrop traveling party will have an opportunity to tour many of the sites, including the city of Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef, as well as experience and learn about the culture of the two countries. One of the stops on the tour will be Wellington, NZ, home of rising Winthrop senior Craig Bradshaw, who played for the New Zealand National Team in the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Two special games for Winthrop will be on May 22 when the Eagles will face the St. Laurence Wellington Saints of the New Zealand Pro League, Bradshaw’s hometown team, and May 25 when they face the Sydney Kings, the reigning Australian NBL champions.
This trip will be the second foreign tour for the Winthrop men’s basketball program since Gregg Marshall took over the coaching duties in 1998. The Eagles traveled to Chile during August of 2001.
“We are looking at this trip as an educational opportunity for our players as well as a chance for our younger players to gain some valuable experience against strong international competition,” said Marshall, who has guided Winthrop to six Big South Conference championships and NCAA tournament appearances during his previous eight years.
“Our players will have a chance to learn about these two South Pacific countries as well as have the opportunity to visit the homeland of one our players (Craig Bradshaw) where he and his family will be able to serve as tour guides. This should be a fantastic way to see New Zealand and Australia and at the same time be able to integrate some of our younger players and last year’s redshirts into our rotation in preparation for the coming year.”
Winthrop will take a 10-man roster for the trip. Only players returning from last year’s team who are eligible to play in 2006-07 are permitted to participate. The list of players includes: 6-5 freshman forward Mantoris Robinson, 6-10 senior center Craig Bradshaw, 5-10 junior guard Chris Gaynor, 6-3 junior guard Michael Jenkins, 6-5 senior guard Torrell Martin, 6-10 sophomore center Jason Killeen, 5-8 sophomore guard DeAndre Adams, 6-7 junior forward Taj McCullough, 6-8 senior forward Phillip Williams, 6-5 sophomore forward Jonathan Rice.
The game schedule is as follows (all dates and times are in NZ and AUS time zones):
