Drake heading to Australia

by **DUBulldog** » August 9th, 2011, 11:11 am

Bulldogs leave for Australia tomorrow, where they'll play 4 games against teams from Australia and New Zealand.

Des Moines Register article:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110808/SPORTS/308080036/Drake-trip-reserved-for-Karl-team-rather-than-koalas

**Sponsor**

by **DUBulldog** » August 10th, 2011, 1:31 pm

another article about the trip

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2011/08/10/sorting-out-the-big-man-situation-as-drake-takes-flight/

by **DU12** » August 10th, 2011, 2:29 pm

I'm not very familiar with Australia/New Zealand professional basketball... how do D1 schools in the US compare to them? What are the expectations for Drake's performance?

by **Haha** » August 10th, 2011, 3:09 pm

I don't know either but I do know former shocker and Iowan Rob Kampman has played several years over there in the the professional league, Frankston Blues last I knew.

So way out of left field here but using that as a metric I would say lower level euro pro leagues might be a good comparison.

by **Khan4Cats** » August 10th, 2011, 8:31 pm

David Gruber from UNI has had a pretty successful career in Australia, I think Joe Breakenridge may have played there as well before going to Europe. I know several players from the 1990 UNI squad ended up in Australia also. Should be decent competition for the Bulldogs, but again, it depends on what they are hoping to accomplish.

by **panther-state** » August 10th, 2011, 11:03 pm

Clearly they aren't getting any value out of this trip since they aren't playing the Australian National team...I don't know why they didn't just go Missouri :roll:

Sorry. Uncalled for.

by **Khan4Cats** » August 11th, 2011, 6:45 am

panther-state wrote:Clearly they aren't getting any value out of this trip since they aren't playing the Australian National team...I don't know why they didn't just go Missouri Sorry. Uncalled for.

Indeed uncalled for.

Any game against a senior national team from any of the more "industrialized" countries is going to be a major obstacle for any college team. Drake is still a very young team and I doubt a game against a national team that might include a few NBAers is going to do them any good.

by **DU12** » August 11th, 2011, 12:26 pm

Khan4Cats wrote:
panther-state wrote:Clearly they aren't getting any value out of this trip since they aren't playing the Australian National team...I don't know why they didn't just go Missouri Sorry. Uncalled for.

Indeed uncalled for.

Any game against a senior national team from any of the more "industrialized" countries is going to be a major obstacle for any college team. Drake is still a very young team and I doubt a game against a national team that might include a few NBAers is going to do them any good.

I am going to have to respectfully semi-disagree. Playing above their skill level is (I think) one of the best ways to learn/improve. With that being said, playing TOO FAR above your skill level is counterproductive. If they were playing actual NBA teams in their summer league season then obivously it would be a joke but playing teams in that area between college and full NBA talent can only help them grow. If they get completely dominated that's fine with me, as long as they learn from it. But again, that is only my opinion.

by **tribecalledquest** » August 11th, 2011, 2:48 pm

panther-state wrote:Clearly they aren't getting any value out of this trip since they aren't playing the Australian National team...I don't know why they didn't just go Missouri Sorry. Uncalled for.

Get a clue man..stop being so sensitive.

by **MoValley John** » August 11th, 2011, 2:51 pm

I don't know anything about Australian basketball. Zero. But I was in Australia 20 years ago and I do know this, Australian women are hot! Fun, too!