For the first time since the summer of 2008, Penn State basketball will be traveling the world on a preseason foreign tour. It will be just the second tour in the program's history, the first coming in 2008 as the soon-to-be NIT Champs started their season with a 4-0 preseason run in Canada.
The Lions were eligible last year to take advantage of the exemption as NCAA rules allow programs to go overseas once every 4 years. However, Chambers elected to reserve the opportunity for this upcoming season to give his anticipated 2013 freshmen class a jump on their college careers. With six new scholarship players joining the fold to last year's cast (or returning in Tim Frazier's case), the coach's patience seems to have paid off.
NCAA rules also allow the team to hold 10 unrestricted practices before departing the US, which some consider an even more valuable aspect of the preseason tour exemption. These practices will be the first official ones for the incoming four freshmen, so when the real season kicks off in October, everyone is on the same page.
Penn State will play 3 games against opponents that are to be announced during the 8-day tour. They will be stationed in Belgium throughout the trip but will be visiting the Belgium cities of Antwerp, Brussels, Bruges and Mechelen, as well as Paris, France and London, England.
Tim Frazier expects to be ready to play on the excursion, as his rehab is still on schedule to be completed by the end of July. The four incoming freshmen will be allowed to participate as well, as they'll be finishing up their first summer session on campus. However, John Johnson will likely be forced to sit out as he'll still be in his year of academic residence, unless his waiver appeal is approved in the next few months.
Follow @BSDtweet on Twitter
And join us on Facebook
All BSD community members should review our current Posting & Commenting Policies before creating any posts or commenting.