Pac-12 All-Star Men's Basketball Team and academic delegates set to depart for China

SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 Men’s Basketball All-Star Team, along with the UTAH men’s basketball coaching staff, members of the Pac-12 Conference staff, and five academic delegates from Pac-12 member institutions, are set to participate in a series of competitive and academic events throughout China over the next couple of weeks, the Conference announced today.

The tour will be the next step in the Pac-12’s Globalization Initiative, an unprecedented effort to promote goodwill and showcase the Conference and its member institutions in China through student-athlete exchanges and sport. Since launching the Globalization Initiative in 2011, the Pac-12 has sent men and women’s basketball teams, two women’s all-star volleyball teams, and a delegation of men’s basketball coaches to China. 

“The initiative is an extension of the ‘front porch’ philosophy that advocates using the popularity and success of our sports programs to support the overall missions of our universities,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott.  “And beyond expand-ing our universities’ presence in China, these tours are transformative educational experiences for our student-athletes,” 

The Pac-12 Men’s Basketball All-Star Team will play three games in Shanghai and Beijing over the course of the trip. Their opponents include two Chinese professional teams as well as a team of all-stars from Chinese universities. On Aug. 13, the team will play against the Chinese university all-stars as a part of the China-US University Sports Week put on by the Federation of University Sport China (FUSC).

On Aug. 14, the Pac-12 All-Star Team will face the Jiangsu Dragons, and on Aug. 16 they will play the Yao-Ming-owned Shang-hai Sharks. Former CALIFORNIA student-athlete Max Zhang plays center for the Sharks. 

The Utah men’s basketball coaching staff, led by head coach Larry Krystkowiak, will coach the all-star team and put on a coaching clinic for over 100 Chinese university coaches. This will be the second time that the Pac-12 and FUSC have teamed up to put on a coaching clinic for Chinese coaches.

For the first time, the Pac-12 will also be sending an academic delegation as part of this globalization effort. Five delegates from Pac-12 institutions will visit China to engage in meetings, events, and media opportunities that will support the goals of exploring academic collaboration as well as cultural exchange between Pac-12 schools and Chinese universities and governmental organizations. 

“Pac-12 universities are truly global in terms of their student body and international brands,” said Scott. “As a Conference, we are well-suited to participate in these exchanges and academic discussions given our location in the gateway to the Pacific Rim,” concluded Scott.

The Pac-12 plans to continue to build on its success in China by staging a regular season men’s basketball game in China in 2015, becoming the first major U.S. sports league, collegiate or professional, to host a regular season contest in the country. The University of Washington will play the University of Texas in China on Nov. 14, 2015 and the game will be broadcast by ESPN.

This summer’s group will depart for China Aug. 10 and return Aug. 18. Besides playing three games, participating in clinics, making media appearances, and engaging in academic discussions, the group will visit some of China’s most historic sights.

The Pac-12 will be providing regular updates on the tour as well as video highlights, recaps and features on Pac-12.com and via @pac12. 

2014 Pac 12 Men’s Basketball All-Star Team
Andrew Andrews (UW)
Bo Barnes (ASU)
Malcolm Duvivier (OSU)
Jacob Hazzard (UA)
Xavier Johnson (Colorado)
Nikola Jovanovic (USC)
DaVonté Lacy (WSU)
Jordan Loveridge (Utah)
Roger Moute a Bidias (Cal)
Cheikh N'diaye (OSU)
Schuyler Rimmer (Stanford)
Brandon Taylor (Utah)

Head Coach:
Larry Krystowiak (Utah)

Team Schedule:
Fri. Aug 8 - Arrive Bay Area for training camp
Sun. Aug. 10 - Depart for China/Shanghai
Wed. Aug. 13 - Game 1: Pac-12 All-Stars vs. Chinese University All-Stars
Thurs. Aug. 14 - Game 2: Pac-12 All-Stars vs.  Jiangsu Dragons
Sat. Aug. 16 - Game 3: Pac-12 All Stars vs. Shanghai Sharks
Sun. Aug 17 - Beijing Sightseeing (Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, etc.)
Tues. Aug 18 - Return to US

Pac-12 Academic Delegates:
Randy Burd (UA) - Assistant Vice President, Program Innovation, Office of Global Initiatives
Michael Hardman (Utah)- Interim Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs (Chief Academic Officer) 
Arthur Scott Reed (OSU) - Vice Provost for Outreach and Engagement
Edward Taylor (UW) - Vice-Provost and Dean, Undergraduate Academic Affairs
Miguel Unzueta (UCLA) - Associate Professor of Management and Organizations, Anderson School of Management.

Academic Delegates’ Schedule:
Tues. Aug. 12 - Depart for China/Shanghai
Thurs. Aug. 14 - Meetings with education/government officials in Nantong
Fri. Aug 15 - Meetings with education/government officials & media in Shanghai
Sat. Aug 16 - Return to US (or continue China travel for other business)