The Bruins are headed back overseas.
UCLA men's basketball is slated to take a foreign tour to Spain, according to a report from Stadium's Jeff Goodman on Monday. The trip would take place from Aug. 20 to 30, and it would be the program's first time playing outside of the country since they went to China at the start of the 2017-2018 season.
Whispers of an offseason trip to Europe first surfaced when 247Sports' Bruin Report Online alluded to UCLA playing games in Spain or France when breaking down shooting guard Ilane Fibleuil's commitment on April 14.
According to Bruin Report Online, the tour will consist of three exhibition games with stops in Madrid, Toledo, Valencia and Barcelona. Exact opponents and arenas have yet to be announced.
There are 78 teams listed in Goodman's comprehensive breakdown of foreign tours, with Illinois, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma State, Providence and others also making the rounds in Spain. UConn, Dayton, Iowa, Washington and Boston College, meanwhile, will stop in multiple countries, including Spain.
Foreign tours are typically used as a marketing tool and alumni event for schools, and programs are only permitted to go on one every four years. UCLA's last foreign tour was to Australia in 2016, when the team was led by Lonzo Ball, Aaron Holiday, Thomas Welsh, TJ Leaf and Bryce Alford.
This time around, the Bruins' trip to Spain comes at a time where their international recruiting is booming.
UCLA added Ivo Simovic to its staff last June, giving the program an assistant coach with experience in Serbia, Spain and elsewhere. Simovic helped the team sign Italian swingman Abramo Canka in August, and although Turkish big man Ege Demir was ultimately unable to enroll, he reportedly committed to UCLA in September.
Simovic also ran point in the recruitment of five-star small forward Andrej Stojakovic before he committed to Stanford in November, and his Serbian roots played a key role in the Bruins adding Utah transfer Lazar Stefanovic in April. Less than a week later, UCLA picked up a commitment from French shooting guard Ilane Fibleuil.
Sources have told All Bruins that UCLA's staff is hoping to add multiple other international prospects in the coming weeks, including Spanish 7-footer Aday Mara.
Simovic – and potentially Mara – will reportedly return to Spain this summer, giving a new-look UCLA squad an extra chance to mesh before the season gets going.
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