MADISON – In an effort to help facilitate the growth and development of a young roster, Wisconsin basketball had scheduled a 10-day, four-game exhibition trip to France next month.
The Badgers will begin their trip in Paris for four days, which includes their first exhibition on August 10. From there, Wisconsin will travel to Lyon for a three-day stay during which UW is scheduled to play a pair of games on August 12 and 13. UW will conclude the trip in the South of France during a three-day stay and play one final exhibition on August 16.
College basketball teams are allowed to travel internationally during the summer once every four years. The Badgers have previously traveled to Italy in 2006, Canada in 2013, and Australia and New Zealand in 2017.
An added benefit of the experience is the Badgers will be allowed to hold 10 full-team practices throughout the course of the summer in preparation. That extra time in the offseason was a benefit that helped pave the way for a run to the Final Four during the 2013-14 season.
Head coach Greg Gard is hoping that’s the case this summer as opposed to 2017 when the Badgers stumbled to a 15-18 record. It certainly won’t hurt. Wisconsin will enter the season needing to replace super-senior guard Brad Davison, senior sixth-man center Chris Vogt, and consensus sophomore All-American Johnny Davis, who was picked 10th by the Washington Wizards in last month’s NBA Draft.
The cupboard isn’t completely bare. The Badgers return three starters in senior forward Tyler Wahl, junior center Steven Crowl, and sophomore point guard Chucky Hepburn who combined for 39.8 percent of UW’s scoring from its Big Ten championship team. UW also will have time to integrate transfers Kamari McGee (Green Bay) and Max Klesmit (Wofford), scholarship freshman Connor Essegian and walk-ons Ross Candelino, Isaac Gard, and Luke Haertle.
Wisconsin is scheduled to host Wake Forest in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge game, travel to Marquette, and play in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas on November 23-25. The field includes Butler, BYU, Dayton, NC State, Tennessee, USC, and 2022 national champion Kansas.
Last month, the Big Ten announced that the Badgers will have home-and-home games against Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, and Penn State. UW will only have road games at Indiana, Nebraska, and Ohio State and only host Michigan State, Purdue, and Rutgers. On its way to a share of the conference title, the Badgers won at MSU’s Breslin Center and Purdue’s Mackey Arena for the first time in the same season.
It won’t be all work for Wisconsin next month. According to the school, the Badgers will have sight-seeing tours at the Eiffel Tower, a full-day trip to Normandy, exploring Old Town Lyon, visiting the medieval village of Perouges, a guided tour of Monte Carlo and beach time on the French Riviera.
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