Journey Through Taipei City With Men's Basketball

Thursday, August 17

By Justin Hohn

Hello Anteaters,

So far this trip has been nothing short of amazing. Myself, like many of the others on the team, have never been to an Asian country, let alone outside of the United States, so to be able to come to such a place like Taiwan has been really special. The island is beautiful and the people here have shown us nothing but love, courtesy, and respect. At first, we were all taken back by the humidity and heat, but being here for a week or so now has allowed us, or at least myself, to become acclimated to it. Today, thanks to a few friends of the staff, we were able to explore some of the beautiful attractions around the city of Taipei, and it was a life changing experience. Our two tour guides, Daniel and Danny, were exceptional and helped us have a great day. We started at Taipei 101, which is one of the largest buildings in the world, followed by lunch at the Michelin star Din Tai Fung. I had never been to the restaurant but I know people rave about it in Southern California. We then traveled to a sky lantern post and made our own lanterns to send up into the sky. We finished the day by going to a beautiful tea house on the mountainside overlooking the water, then to a famous night market back in the city. It has been great to be fully immersed into the culture and to learn some of the customs of the island. Each day, we have had the perfect schedule and have had ample time to go about and do what we want. I want to thank our amazing support staff, our athletic director, the donors, and all the other people that have helped make this trip so great. At the end of the day, this is a business trip. We want nothing more than to go 8-0 and take home the gold medal at the Jones Cup in preparation for the season! 

ZOT ZOT!

Tuesday, August 15

By Langston Redfield

After five days and four games in Taiwan, it has been a great experience on and off the court. I’ve had an amazing time taking in a different culture from another part of the world. I had the privilege of exploring Taipei City in our free time. I got to see great things like the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall and one of the night markets. Both things that I would never see at home that show the culture of Taiwan. On the court, I’ve really enjoyed playing with the guys against teams from all over the world. It is interesting learning a new style of play from the international game. I like the way our team looks right now. We have a great group of guys who all get along well and can all help our team win. It’s been fun playing with them, and it’s exciting seeing how good our team can be. I can’t wait to keep getting better because we have so much potential. I’m excited for the season and all it can hold for us.

Redfield is currently averaging 7.5 points per game, 2.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 0.8 steals over four games in the Jones Cup.

Sunday, August 13

By Andre Henry

Hey 'Eater Nation,

Taiwan has been such an amazing experience so far. I have never been to any part of Asia before and for this to be my first time here is truly a blessing. The people have been so welcoming and friendly here that it has been very easy to get acclimated to the different culture. I also didn’t realize how much people loved basketball out here. I got my first glimpse of that when we walked into the gym and noticed how many people were in the stands. The atmosphere in there was so electric that was it very easy for us to get ready to compete. The ecstatic energy that the fans bring to our games has allowed me to feed off of it and play at a very high level. I hope to continuing playing well for the rest of the tournament so that not only me but our team can achieve all the goals we came here to accomplish. With that being said, with two games already in the books we now have a good understanding of how to play with each other and I can’t wait until we are back in the Bren playing in front of our fans! The skies the limit for this team and I’m excited to continue building chemistry on and off the court with my teammates. I look forward to the rest of this trip and hopefully we can bring home some hardware and make you guys proud!

Go 'Eaters!!!

Henry is currently averaging 15.5 points per game, 4.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, and 2.0 assists over two games in the Jones Cup.

Friday, August 11

By Dean Keeler

Hello Anteaters,

This trip has been very fun and exciting for all of us so far. Some of us have never been to Asia or even outside the country, so this has been an eye opening experience. The flight here was not as bad as I expected it to be. It was 14 hours in the air, but I ended up sleeping a majority of it. Once we landed and exited the airport the humidity really kicked in. The air was super thick outside but everywhere inside is air conditioned so you don’t notice the humidity. The island itself is beautiful and the people are all super friendly. We have explored some of the city and I have been really intrigued by the architecture of the buildings. There are statues everywhere and bright lights on a majority of buildings. There are also these places that are filled to the brim with claw machine arcade games. My team and I had a fun time trying to win prizes even though they are clearly rigged to lose. The food here is delicious. I have never been asked for photos as much as I have here because our team is so tall. We practiced yesterday to get us ready for the tournament. The arena was very cool and we were all pumped to get our legs moving. It was interesting playing in a different climate, but I think we adjusted well. You could definitely feel the energy and anticipation for the coming games during practice. I wouldn't want to be on this trip with any other group of guys. Can’t wait to play some games and represent the USA and UCI!!