Credit to Brad Marquardt | Assistant Athletics Director for Athletics Communications – 12thman.com
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Texas A&M men’s basketball team will prepare for the 2023-24 season with a foreign tour to the Bahamas Aug. 6-12 where the Aggies will play three games against international competition while participating in various team-building activities and cultural experiences.
While at the famed Atlantis resort on Paradise Island, the Aggies will face the Bahamian National Team and professional teams Zalgiris from Lithuania and Obras Basket from Argentina. Prior to the trip, the team will have the benefit of 10 extra days of practice per NCAA regulations.
“Obviously the international competition and the extra days of practice are important, but the biggest benefit of a foreign tour is broadening the experience for the student-athletes,” Aggie head coach Buzz Williams said. “This is a unique opportunity for our guys to experience another culture. We will also get to serve those less fortunate than us while we are there. Our program is grateful to our administration and the 12th Man for their support of our Bahamas tour and look forward to making some great memories.”
College teams are permitted to make international trips every four years. Most recently, the Aggies toured Costa Rica in the summer of Williams’ first season at Texas A&M in 2019. Other Texas A&M foreign tours over the years have included: Italy and Greece in 2015, Switzerland and France in 2011 and Italy in 2003.
The additional practice time and international competition will be instrumental in the Aggies’ quest to build on the team’s success from the past two seasons. A&M has won a combined 52 games the past two seasons, which matched a program best, and advanced to the SEC Tournament Championship game both years, which is a program first.
The Maroon & White return four starters and eight of the team’s top nine scorers from a year ago when the team tallied a 25-10 record, including a 15-3 record in SEC play. Texas A&M earned an invitation to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 and were ranked No. 17 in the final Associated Press Top 25. Along the way, the Aggies posted an 7-5 regular season record against teams that made the NCAA field, including a sparkling 5-0 record at home.
Across the board, Aggie basketball is mentioned prominently in the early preseason rankings – ranging from No. 6 in The Athletic, to No. 13 by Sports Illustrated, to No. 15 by FoxSports.com, to No. 15 by CBSSports.com, to No. 19 by ESPN.com. The Aggies lost just one player that exhausted his collegiate eligibility in 2022-23. Leading the group of returnees are Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford, who both earned All-SEC honors last year. All told, the team’s 2022-23 individual leaders in minutes, points, rebounds, assists, steals, 3-pointers and free throws will be back in action for A&M.
In addition to returnees, three newcomers will see their first action in the maroon and white: Jace Carter, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound transfer from Illinois Chicago; Eli Lawrence, a 6-foot-5, 185 transfer from Middle Tennessee State; and Bryce Lindsay, a 6-foot-4 freshman from Baltimore, Maryland.
Texas A&M’s 2023 Bahamas Tour Schedule
|
August 7 (Monday) | 5:00 pm |
Bahamian National Team |
|
August 9 (Wednesday) | 12:00 pm |
Zalgiris (Lithuanian Pro Team) |
|
August 10 (Thursday) | 12:00 pm |
Obras Basket (Argentinian Pro Team) |
* All three games will be contested in the Atlantis Imperial Ballroom, Paradise Island, Bahamas