Monthly Archives: August 2010

Augie in China: Game day in Wuhan

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Augustana senior Kyle Nelson and his teammates are in China. He will be blogging regularly on D3hoops.com about the team’s journey.

Today was the first day of the trip that was dedicated just to basketball. We woke up and bused about thirty minutes to Huazhong Normal University for a game day practice. The gym was very nice, very big, but very hot. There was no air conditioning in the building and as practice wore on it got more and more difficult to keep our footing. Huazhong Normal was very gracious to allow us to practice in their facility. Augustana has had a long running friendship with Normal due to a student and teacher exchange program that dates back into the 1980s. This relationship allowed us to gain access to their gym free of charge.

After practice we had a few hours to cool down before we ate a pregame meal and got back on the bus for our game. The game was in another part of Wuhan and was against Huazhong University of Science and Technology. HUST is very comparable to the size of a Big Ten school. There are about 50,000 students that attend the university and it is one of the best universities academically. It also happens to be one of the top Universities for basketball at the college level in China.

When we drove up to the arena our bus was greeted by a massive red sign that had many Chinese symbols on it, but also unmistakably said Augustana right in the middle. We walked into the gym, which seats around 6,000, and saw the massive scoreboard which read China HUST versus USA Augustana. This was the moment that it hit us that this game was more than just two college teams; it was two teams representing their countries. The team got dressed and we took multiple pictures in front of the various signs that had our name.

Augustana team doing tai chi

There were about 4,800 people in attendance for the game and the crowd was very loud and energetic from warm-ups to the final buzzer. HUST has quite a few big players including a center who could have passed for a sumo wrestler. From the tip to the first quarter it was a pretty neck and neck game, with both teams playing very well. However, in the second quarter we began to pull away with great team defense to get a 23 point lead at halftime. From this point there was no looking back and we cruised to an 80-56 victory for team USA.

Augustana team poses with HUST after the game
Augustana beat Huazhong University of Science and Technology 80-56.

Augustana's Kyle Nelson holds a young boy after the gameOnce the game was over was when the madness began. We were all swarmed by the Chinese fans and asked to take pictures with just about everyone, from adults to babies. At one point I was just handed someone’s child and took about three or four pictures with him. Not only was the game memorable, but I think everyone will take away a great feeling from this game for how we were received as honored guests in Wuhan, China.

One final day in Wuhan then off to Xi’an!

Kyle Nelson

The game story follows:

WUHAN, China – Playing without starting point guard Brian DeSimone (Buffalo Grove HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) didn’t seem to faze Augustana as the Vikings defeated Huazhong University of Science and Technology by a score of 80-56 on August 9 in Wuhan, China. DeSimone was ill and missed the contest but senior Drew Croegaert (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) and junior Eric Safranski (Putnam County HS, Granville, Ill.) stepped up and performed well. Croegaert and Safranski combined for nine assists and one turnover in the game.

“This was a solid effort, especially without our starting point guard,” said head coach Grey Giovanine. “Once again our depth and ability to play hard the whole way made the difference.”

The game was close after the first quarter with Augustana clinging to a 15-14 lead. Solid defensive play in the second quarter helped forge a 31-12 run during that 10 minute session and the Vikings led 46-26 at halftime.

“We converted several steals into easy baskets in the second period and that really helped,” said Giovanine, whose team is now 2-0 on the China trip.

Brandon Kunz (Lake Zurich HS, Lake Zurich, Ill.) led the team in scoring with 12 points and he grabbed eight rebounds as well. Kyle Nelson (Deerfield HS, Deerfield, Ill.) contributed 10 points and Bryant Voiles (Byron HS, Byron, Ill.) added eight rebounds. The Vikings held a plus 13 advantage in the rebounding department and grabbed 18 offensive boards.

The Augustana defense held Huazhong to just 16 of 54 from the field and only three of 14 from three point range after giving up 10 three pointers in the opening game of the trip on Saturday. In that 82-66 win over the Dongguan Snow Wolves the Vikings surrendered 10 of 26 from three point range.

This game drew particular interest on Huazhong campus as a capacity crowd of 4,800 was in attendance to watch the Vikings put on what amounted to defensive and rebounding clinic.

“What a great experience for our players to compete in an environment with nearly 5,000 fans who were really into the game,” said Giovanine. “The crowd was appreciative at how hard our guys competed and they cheered every hustle play we made and we made a lot of those.”

Augustana will play Xi’ian University on Aug. 12.

In Europe: Off to Germany

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Chris McDevitt is part of a group of Division III players (and three Division II players) traveling to Europe as an All-Star team this month. His latest blog entry follows:

Day four was time for us to say goodbye to Mechelen, and pack our bags for Germany. On the way to Dusseldorf we stopped in the city of Cologne to do some more sightseeing.

We saw the world’s second largest church, which was unbelievable. After a few pictures near the church we went to eat down by the Rhine River.

Our tour guide for the week suggested I get a schnitzel. A schnitzel is tender pork lightly breaded. The restaurant we ate at had many different types of schnitzels. I decided on the Mediterranean schnitzel which had a tomato sauce and cheese on top. This was by far my best meal of our trip.

Once we finished touring in Cologne, we were off to Dusseldorf. When we arrived we checked into our hotel and headed to our game. We definitely played better as a team this game and ended up winning by around 30 points. The opponent was not as talented and organized as the previous team but we stressed to just play hard and have fun. After our game we enjoyed dinner with the opposition then went out in Dusseldorf to explore the string of over 250 restaurants and pubs in the Old City area.

Next time I check in we will have competed in our fourth game and experienced more of Germany.

Augie in China: Tai Chi, Yangzi

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Our first flight in mainland China took us from Guangzhou to Wuhan (population 9 million), a city north of our prior stop. We boarded a China Southern flight and were on the plane for only an hour and twenty minutes; a relief compared to our two previous flights on this trip. Once in Wuhan we met our tour guide Pony and she bused us to the Holiday Inn located in downtown Wuhan, right on the Yangzi River. The river is one mile wide and 70 feet deep. So compared to the Mississippi River, it is massive. The Yangzi River is the third largest river in the world and flows right through the middle of China.
 
Augustana team doing tai chi
The Augustana team, including coach Grey Giovanine’s son, Luke, far left, gets a Tai Chi lesson in a hotel atrium.

Our travel group got to experience a very unique session with a Tai Chi master in an area just off our hotel lobby. Master Miles, a friend of our tour guide, agreed to come in and give us an hour and a half lesson in Tai Chi. He began with a demonstration of what he could do, displaying the impressive flexibility and balance that Tai Chi requires. After he finished it was our turn. He taught us quite a few moves, some pretty simple and some rather difficult.

Tai Chi seemed to be much more manageable for the people who were not 6’8 and over 200 pounds. The big guys had some trouble with some of the flexibility moves, but it was all in good fun and a very worthwhile experience.
 
An early bed time was in order to prepare for our toughest game of the trip thus far against Huazhong University of Science and Technology. It is the largest university in central China and has an enrollment between 30 and 40 thousand. The Vikes are 1-0 so far overseas.
 
More from Wuhan tomorrow!
 
-Kyle Nelson

In Europe: Brussels and basketball

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Chris McDevitt is part of a group of Division III players (and three Division II players) traveling to Europe as an All-Star team this month. His latest blog entry follows:

Our first night in Mechelen we went out as a team. It was a blast. We made a few friends along the way. Once we awoke on Friday morning we realized we had a full day of sightseeing and a game in the evening. Our sightseeing for the day took place in Brugge, Belgium. Brugge was a much larger city than Mechelen. We began to walk around and noticed a few stores and restaurants we noticed from the United States. There was a Subway shop and also a Foot Locker which was very cool. A few of the guys purchased some clothes and accessories while others grabbed a few postcards to send home.

D-III players in front of Belgian White House
The D-III and D-II players pose in front of the White House in Belgium.

The highlight of the day for me was renting bikes to tour the city. We have noticed that riding bikes is an extremely popular way of getting around in Belgium. Our bikes allowed us to see other parts of the city that we would miss walking. My friend Fran and I shared a double bike which was pretty amusing to the people of Belgium.

We also grabbed lunch in Brugge which was interesting in itself. I ordered an item off a menu that I had no clue what it was. The meal ended up being a type of vegetable wrapped in ham in a cheese sauce. This ended up not being too bad. I think it is important that we try new things while over in Belgium because we may never have the chance to be back.

After the day in Brugge we set off in the bus to our first game. When we entered the arena we did not know what to expect. The gym ended up being bigger than most of us expected. The first team we played was interesting as well. There were many players on the team older than 30 but also a few very young players.

The game started off a bit rough as we struggled to score in the first five minutes. Once we got in a groove we played well for our first game over the pond. We ended up winning by 25 and had a great time doing so.

Immediately after the game we enjoyed a spaghetti meal at the gym’s cafe. Most of the gyms in Europe have cafes attached to the court for conversation after the games.

The next day was very busy, starting off by interacting with the Belgian community. Coach Chris Carideo was scheduled to talk about press defense at a Belgium Coaches Association Clinic. Coach asked us to participate to demonstrate several drills and teaching points for his press/pressure defense. This was important for us because it helped all of our players understand the way we will be playing the rest of the week here in Europe, This also helped show the Belgium coaches what our press actually looks like.

After Coach Carideo’s demonstration we helped Coach Blumenthal with his offensive drills and techniques. Then we headed to Brussels for the afternoon for some more sightseeing. Brussels was more of an up-to-date “big city,” similar to Philadelphia back in the states. During the sightseeing the coaches gave us a scavenger hunt to complete. This was made up of several tasks that involved us trying to break the language barrier and interact with many different people.

At the end of our scavenger hunt, as a team, we did a re-make of an Iceland Soccer Club celebration. If you haven’t seen this before let me explain. An Iceland soccer player scored a big goal late in the match and they celebrated by using one of their players as a fisherman, and one of the players as the actual fish. Eric Brennan cast the fishing line out and caught Alex Raymond. While Eric was reeling him in, Alex was flopping on the ground towards him like a fish. Then some of the team members lifted Alex up, displaying him as a “prize catch” while Otis Smith took several fake pictures. This was by far the highlight of the day. We did this in the middle of the city and let’s just say, we had some interesting responses from the people.

After our adventure in Brussels we headed back for our game that night against the Pitzemburg basketball team in Mechelen. This game was a bit different than our first. The Mechelen team had a few very good players and played great as a team. We ended up losing the game as we struggled with adapting to the game and how it is officiated. We played hard but we were on the losing end. We will use this game as sort of a wake-up call and I have faith we will bounce back strong in our next game in Germany.

Next post I will be writing from Dusseldorf. Keep up. USA!

Augie in China: Vikings 82, Snow Wolves 66

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Yesterday we said goodbye to the region of Hong Kong and hello to our first day in The People’s Republic of China. We boarded a train at 9:30 am and traveled through multiple cities in the Hong Kong region before crossing into China. As we crossed into China we were able to see the barbed wire fence and guards patrolling the border as we passed by. The train took us to the city of Dongguan, located in Southern China. After passing through customs we met our tour guide, hopped on another bus and headed to pregame meal. Dongguan seemed even hotter than Hong Kong when we stepped off the bus, but we were too excited to finally play a Chinese team that we didn’t seem to notice.

Chris Anderson vs. Dongguan Snow Wolves
Chris Anderson scored 12 points in Augustana’s win against the Dongguan Snow Wolves.
 
Our pregame meal was a buffet style service in a five-star hotel in downtown Dongguan. We ate from a selection of sushi, tuna, salmon, octopus, barbecued crab, duck, goose, vegetables and more. Not your typical pregame meal but we were happy to try everything they had to offer. Once the meal was done it was an hour trip by bus to get our first taste of Chinese professional basketball competition. The team we matched up against was the Dongguan Snow Wolves of the NBDL (National Basketball Developmental League), essentially a feeder system for the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association). The game was located in their gym which was attached to a very nice hotel in the downtown.
 
The game was very fast paced and it was good to play against an organized team for the first time since last season. Something that we had to get used to quickly was the ambiguity of the calls. Many times the official would blow his whistle for a call and we would not understand why, but it was a good learning lesson to play through the adversity of the situation and adjust to whatever was happening. There was no doubt that our level of energy throughout the game was very high and it was a balanced team effort for a pretty comfortable win in the end.
 
After the game it was back on the bus for a two hour ride into the Guangzhou, a city of 11 million people. This region is often referred to as the “factory of the world” because it is responsible for a large portion of production of goods that get shipped to all corners of the globe. This was very evident as we drove through because we could see a lot of farmers as well as many factories. Dr. Moline described this place as the “engine that drives China’s world development.” It was definitely eye opening to see a place that is so important to the productivity of the world, but is just an afterthought in most people’s minds.
 
In Guangzhou we settled into Landmark Hotel, in downtown Guangzhou. A massive thunderstorm prevented us from going out to see the city at night, so we were resigned to the hotel until the morning.
 
A 10:00 flight to Wuhan waits this morning. We will be there for three days of sightseeing as well as another game.
 
– Kyle Nelson

The game story follows:

DONGGUAN, China – In the first official game of the 2010 “China Tour”, the Augustana Vikings pulled off an impressive 82-66 victory over the Dongguan Snow Wolves. The Snow Wolves are an NDBL (National Developmental Basketball League) in the Chinese professional system. Three years ago Augustana defeated a 17-under team from the same “club.” This time around, however, the Snow Wolves were beefed up a bit and employed a roster stocked with college-age players.

As has been the Viking trademark since Grey Giovanine took over as head coach prior to the 1999-00 season, balanced scoring was the answer in today’s victory. Senior Kyle Nelson (Deerfield HS, Deerfield, Ill.), who is handling a blog for the Augustana website on this trip, led the team in scoring with 13 points. Junior Chris Anderson (Mt. Carroll HS, Mt. Carroll, Ill.) and senior Bryant Voiles (Byron HS, Byron, Ill.) each dropped in 12 points. Sophomore Kameron Norton (Downers Grove North HS, Downers Grove, Ill.) scored nine points on four of five from the field.

The Vikings pounded the Snow Wolves on the boards, holding a plus 11 margin despite the fact that Dongguan’s starting center was 6’ 10” and weighed 270. Augustana also managed to grab 10 offensive rebounds in the game. George Dexter (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa), Brandon Kunz (Lake Zurich HS, Lake Zurich, Ill.) and Nelson tied for the rebounding lead with five apiece. Junior point guard Brian DeSimone (Buffalo Grove HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) had six assists and just one turnover and the Vikings had 18 assists as a team.

Unlike the collegiate game, this international contest was played in four quarters. Augustana led 25-21 at the end of the first 10 minute session and were up 42-31 at halftime. The Snow Wolves made 10 of 26 three point attempts to stay in the game.

Giovanine’s team left the Quad Cities on Tuesday morning, August 3 and this game was the first of five games over the next nine days. The Vikings, who traveled by train this morning from Hong Kong in order to play the game, which had a 4:00 p.m. start, played a scrimmage two days ago against Hong Kong Baptist University.

“This was a good starting point for us in terms of the competitive part of our journey,” said Giovanine who is taking his fourth Augustana team on an international sojourn. He led the Vikings to Belgium and France in 2001, Ireland in 2004 and China in 2007. “We will play five games over the next nine days and will be traveling and getting an education at the same time. Dr. Norm Moline, our guide and educational liaison from the Augustana geography department, has done a wonderful job of making sure that our entire party is getting a tremendous dose of Chinese culture. He was tremendous at that three years ago and has once again outdone himself. We are very fortunate to have him with us as we combine basketball with history and culture in a country as vast and unique as China.”