Sophomore guard Chris Hill was selected to play with the Big Ten Foreign Tour Team.
Hill and 11 other Big Ten players will travel to Europe to compete in five games Aug. 8-18. The team will play in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Hill said experiencing another culture both athletically and socially is exciting.
“(Going) overseas is something I haven’t had a chance to do yet,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to that and just experiencing something other than the United States and how people are over there on and off the court.
“It’s going to be interesting to see the difference in playing over here as opposed to how they play over there.”
Illinois head coach Bill Self will manage the Big Ten roster. The team consists of one player from each university, except Illinois, which has two.
Hill said playing alongside the other Big Ten players this summer could help him when they become rivals again during the season.
“That wouldn’t hurt to figure out their strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “Seeing what its like playing with them, maybe that’ll help when I play against them.”
In 31 games - 12 of which he started - Hill averaged 11.5 points per game, which was second best on the Spartans. The Indianapolis native set MSU freshman records for three-point field goals made (66) and three-point field goals attempted (148). He shot 44.6 percent from beyond three-point line, which led the team.
Hill is expected to contribute even more to the Spartans this year following the departure of point guard Marcus Taylor to the NBA. Hill got a taste of playing point guard last season, when Taylor was injured or needed rest.
“I hope to get some time at point guard and get some game experience there,” Hill said in a statement. “I’ve also been working a lot this summer on shooting off the dribble and look forward to putting that into action in some games.”
The 6-foot-3 guard scored 25 points against Minnesota on Jan. 5, when he started in place of an injured Taylor.
Last year, Adam Wolfe and Jason Andreas contributed to the Foreign Tour Team’s 6-0 record. Wolfe averaged 14.3 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game - both led the 2001 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Foreign Tour Team. Andreas averaged 4.2 rebounds per game.
Romando J. Dixson
