Greece Trip Preview

PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s basketball will head overseas on Aug. 15 for a five-game tour of Greece. The Cougars will play professional teams in Athens and Platanias and find time for some sightseeing during their Aug. 15-25 trip.

Per NCAA rules, teams are allowed a foreign tour once every four years along with 10 additional practice days. The Cougars began practicing on Aug. 1 in preparation for their Greek tour. BYU’s last trip abroad came in the summer of 2007 with a 10-day, five-game tour of France.

The Cougars are coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history as they advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament and won a program-record 32 games. BYU returns six lettermen from the 2010-11 squad and welcomes a host of talented newcomers.

Roster Preview

In Greece BYU will be led by Charles Abouo and Noah Hartsock, the elder statesmen on the squad. During the past three seasons Abouo and Hartsock have helped the Cougars to three trips to the NCAA Tournament and two conference titles. Juniors Nick Martineau, Stephen Rogers and Brock Zylstra will have the opportunity to gain valuable playing time in Greece as their roles figure to be expanded this coming season.

Redshirt freshman Anson Winder and junior Craig Cusick will add depth to BYU’s backcourt rotation in 2011-12. Winder hails from Las Vegas where he played at Bishop Gorman High School. Cusick, an all-state honoree at Orem High School, was a member of the practice squad last season.

The five-game tour of Greece will be an excellent opportunity for coach Dave Rose and his staff to evaluate newcomers Damarcus Harrison and Josh Sharp. Harrison comes to BYU as a top 100 recruit out of Christ School in North Carolina. Sharp, a transfer from Utah and graduate of Lone Peak High School, returned from a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Texas in the spring.

Sophomore Chris Collinsworth and redshirt freshman Matt Carlino will also make the trip but will be unable to participate. Collinsworth is continuing to recover from a knee injury that limited him to nine games last season. Carlino, who joined the Cougars in January 2011 after transferring from UCLA, will not be able to play due to NCAA transfer rules.

* Will not play due to NCAA transfer rules

** Will not play due to injury

BYU Men's Basketball Foreign Tours

• Brazil (1950)
• Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Mexico (1965)
• Korea, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti (1967)
• Italy, Yugoslavia (1979)
• Belgium, England, France, the Netherlands, Germany (1988)
• Slovenia, Italy, France (1994)
• England, Croatia, Italy (1999)
• Australia (2003)
• France (2007)
• Greece (2011)