Australian Tour Diaries: Bronsen Schliep

After four days in Australia, Bronsen Schliep sat down and gave his thoughts on the trip and basketball Down Under. Here is what he had to say:

"This is almost surreal. You see places like this on TV all the time but you don’t really ever think you’ll go there, and then, because of basketball, you get to experience this. It’s really an outstanding chance for us to learn something about another country and culture, things we’d never learn just being at home.

It’s been a good trip so far. The plane ride was interesting to say the least. Everyone tried to sleep as much as we could because we knew it would be tough to get acclimated once we were here. It has been a little crazy, but really not that much trouble.

The first day we were able to get a tour and see some of the city from different angles before checking into the hotel. It’s a beautiful city; with the opera house, the bridge, all the houses built right on the ocean. The city is a symbol of international tourism with so many things you see on TV and few people actually get to see it up close and personal, so we feel privileged to be here and have a chance to gain something on the court at the same time.

It’s only been a few days but I think we’re already starting to get closer as a group. Everyone on the team has someone he normally sits with or hangs out with back home, but in this situation, we’re with each other ? all 10 guys -- for basically 24 hours a day for two weeks...not to mention that 15-hour flight each way. It would be hard for us not to grow closer and really enhance the team chemistry. That’s a quality in a team that you can’t teach anywhere but on the court.

Playing here has been an eye-opener. The guys are really nice on the court before the game, and even during it, but the first time down and you see forearms flying and it getting physical, you know what you’re in for. It’s not dirty, it’s just different from what you would have called and allowed back home.

No matter how it’s played, it’s still a situation that we can learn from and take with us into the season. The Big 12 will be a step down in terms of physicalness compared to the teams we’re playing right now. I think this trip will help us embrace that physical style of play and we can turn that knowledge we gain here to our advantage in the season.

It is a different kind of atmosphere in crowd size and where they play, with small gyms and few people. The biggest difference is that we didn’t expect to be playing football, which it seems like at times because it’s so physical, but now we’ve started to get comfortable with this type of game.

A big part of this trip is trying to realize the value every person has on this team and figuring out what each of us can contribute. We can figure out a lot more because we can use actual playing time and let people step up and carry things, instead of just playing pick up back home. People who didn’t necessarily get a lot of court time last year can also show what they have done to improve and that they can come back and play at a higher level and help the team even more this season."