Wildcats Travel the World over the Summer

It was a summer to remember for the Kentucky men’s basketball team.
 
From games and trips to in Egypt, Croatia, Greece, Israel, England and Zimbabwe, to pickup games with LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony, the Wildcats did a little bit of everything during their time away from campus.
 
For PJ Washington, Hamidou Diallo, Tai Wynyard, as well as head coach John Calipari, this summer included a trip to Cairo, home of the 2017 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup. That meant an opportunity to see the pyramids, ride camels and, of course, hoop.
 
“I never thought I would be in Egypt one day,” Washington said. “It was great seeing the pyramids, just being able to play for my country there and I was just excited to get back to here and get started with everything.”
 
Washington was Team USA’s leading scorer at the World Cup, averaging 12.9 points per game, and was third on the team in rebounds at 5.1 rebounds per game. Diallo averaged 10.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game for USA in Cairo. He led USA in scoring in its opener again Iran, finishing with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
 
Wynyard, playing for his home country of New Zealand, averaged 14.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-10 forward notched a double-double in each of his final three games at the tournament, averaging 16.3 points and 12.0 rebounds during that stretch. He finished the seven-game event as New Zealand’s leader in points, rebounds and blocks (2.0 per game).
 
“I think I played pretty well but I could have done a lot better,” the redshirt sophomore said. “I didn’t finish as much as I wanted to. I was pretty efficient, but I didn’t make some of the shots I think I should have. Obviously, if some of them had gone down the whole tournament would have been different for us because we only ended up losing – every game we lost, we only lost by like four points. … I mean, it was a lot of fun in that tournament. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun.”
 
They weren’t the only Wildcats to play overseas. Brad Calipari and Sacha Killeya-Jones also got some international ball under their belts this summer.
 
Brad traveled to Croatia with Global Sports Academy where he played four games against professional teams from the region. The sophomore guard opened play with 17 points, seven assists and four rebounds and finished the trip averaging 14.3 points, 6.5 assists and 3.3 boards per game. He said he used the trip to work on his play running the point and getting others involved.
 
“I think I played pretty well,” he said. “I could have shot the ball a little bit better, but that’s everywhere I go. You can always do something better. But I think handling the ball I did well. I played point guard over there the majority of the time. I really focused on getting guys involved and making sure guys were satisfied with how they were playing. I think that was a big part of what I was trying to do, and give myself confidence.”
 
Killeya-Jones, also a sophomore, accepted an invitation to attend Great Britain’s national training camp for the FIBA EuroBasket 2017. Eligible to play for Great Britain thanks to his British-born mother, Killeya-Jones played against Greece and in two tournaments in Greece and Poland, as well as a friendly against Israel.
 
“It was an awesome experience,” he said. “I got to go Greece, Israel and London, England. It was my first time over in Europe, over there. Just seeing everything was cool, but basketball wise I was playing against all pros the whole time so it was just great to play against grown men. The game is a little bit slower over there, but they’re a lot more technical. So I learned a lot of just little things as far as rotations, help-side defenses – lot of little technical things, cuts and stuff like that, that you don’t do over here that they’re really good at over there.”
 
And when he got back home, Killeya-Jones – like many of his other teammates who spent time overseas – was happy to get his hands on some American cuisine.
 
“I’m a picky eater so it was tough,” Killeya-Jones said. “I ordered a lot of burgers. Lot of burgers.

“I missed Waffle House the most. That’s something I don’t really eat it, but when I get a craving for Waffle House – it’s not in Europe. That was tough.”
 
Back stateside, Diallo and Nick Richards, who are both natives of New York, were working out in their home state when they were presented with the opportunity to play some pickup ball with a few of the best players on the planet.
 
“The guy that me and Hami work out with in New York, he actually trains a lot of pro guys and they wanted to have a pickup game and didn’t have enough players to play a pickup game,” Richards explained.
 
Lining up across and beside guys like James, Durant and Anthony was a sight to see, but both UK freshmen felt they held their own in the grand scheme of things, and both said they did so without any nerves.
 
“I don’t really get nervous,” Diallo said. “Once we’re on the court it’s like we’re all basketball players at that point. We were just playing and competing. It was a great experience. I learned a lot just from that day.
 
“I think I played well. Definitely nobody knew who I was coming in – like LeBron and KD – and they knew who I was leaving.”
 
Junior guard Jonny David didn’t play overseas, but he did have one of the more unique experiences on the team when he visited Zimbabwe on a family vacation. There, he saw elephants, lions and cheetahs in the wild while going on safari trips. He also visited Victoria Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the world.
 
“I’ve been to a lot of places, as far as historical places, like sightseeing, that kind of stuff. My dad, that’s what he wants to do with us while me and my brothers are all home and have a chance. And South Africa was always on his list to go to, so he finally pulled the trigger and we went. It was really nice, really nice.
 
“That was one of the most unique ones I’ve been on, for sure.”
 
Now the Wildcats are back on campus and the season begins in less than two weeks with Big Blue Madness at Rupp Arena. The summer was fun, but now it’s about putting in the work for what they hope is another special season.
 
“It’s going to be fun,” Richards said. “It’s going to be real fun.”