From a player's standpoint, the trip to Australia was an outstanding opportunity for them to experience another country. What made it extra special was that these guys have three teammates: James (Hunter), Brock (Motum), and Dexter (Kernich-Drew), who are from that country. And so I think it naturally helps them connect with those guys better, just having a good understanding of their background and where they're from, and a real appreciation of Australia and that country. There were numerous places to see whether it was the Opera House (Sydney) or the Great Barrier Reef (Cairns)...cool places like the zoo...and I think the guys really enjoyed those excursions that we took on, along with the games. I think the games were an experience in themselves as we played in small arenas, but most of the time great crowds with a lot of enthusiasm and I felt like the players enjoyed those atmospheres. Even though they were small crowds, they were fun games.

The Cougars were in Australia for a two-week tour which included four cities and
five games. Each day a different Coug has blogged about his day. Our 12th one
comes from redshirt sophomore Royce Woolridge, a 6-3 guard from Phoenix, Ariz.

After visiting the Cairns Tropical Zoo, koalas have become my favorite animal, I love
koalas. The kangaroos were cool, but koalas are my thing. I want to give a
shout out to all the koalas and my teammate M-Laddy (Mike Ladd, sitting nearby).

It was great to get back on the court and play competitively for the first time in nearly two years, and our first time as a team. The team really bonded on the trip, which was nice with all the freshmen and newcomers. We really got to see how we work together and develop a team identity. We got a little bit of a feel for how we're going to play this year, which is a little faster, so it was nice to try that out. I did discover on this trip that Brock might be one of the nicest (meaning best) white boys I've ever seen play.

Overall I had a lot of fun. I'm glad I got to experience the trip with my friends, my
teammates. I'm really glad I got to go to Australia, but I'm very glad to be
home where I can afford things, like food.

Go Cougs!
Royce Woolridge