Syracuse, N.Y. ― USA East Coast annually sends a team of current college players to play a series of games against international teams in Europe.
Syracuse forward Benny Williams to play for USA East Coast team on tour of Spain
This year’s trip will follow in the sneakers of the 1992 USA Olympic Dream Team, which featured Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, with the team of college players taking part in games in Barcelona, Spain, site of the 1992 Olympics.
Syracuse forward Benny Williams is on the USA East Coast roster. Williams, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, averaged 11.5 minutes in 29 games for the Orange last year. He scored 1.9 points per game, while grabbing 1.4 rebounds.
Williams will join other ACC players on the trip, including Pittsburgh’s John Hugley and Duke’s Jaylen Blakes.
In past years, Syracuse players such as Rakeem Christmas, Michael Gbinije, Tyler Roberson, Kaleb Joseph and Jalen Carey have taken part in USA East Coast tours of Europe. Buddy and Jimmy Boeheim were set to take part in last year’s trip to Spain, but Covid forced the tour to be canceled.
Before this year’s team leaves for Europe, the players will hold a two-day training camp at Columbia University on Aug. 1-2.
In Barcelona, the team will play three games against players from Spain’s Liga ACB.
Alex Jensen, the former University of Utah player and current assistant with the Utah Jazz, will be the team’s head coach. Jensen has international coaching experience as an assistant with the German national team
Here is the complete team roster:
Ethan Morton, 6-6 junior, Purdue
Jaylen Blakes, 6-2 sophomore, Duke
Cinque Stephens, 6-3 junior, NYU
Jaden Bobbett, 6-2 sophomore, Middlebury
Alyn Breed, 6-3 junior, Providence
Shamir Bogues, 6-4 junior, Tarleton
KJ Simpson, 6-2 sophomore, Colorado
Logan Alters, 6-1 senior, California
Brandon Newman, 6-5 junior, Purdue
JR Konieczny, 6-6 sophomore, Notre Dame
Jarrett Hensley, 6-8 sophomore, Cincinnati
Benny Williams, 6-8 sophomore, Syracuse
John Hugley, 6-9 junior, Pittsburgh
Raphael Castro, 6-11 sophomore, Providence