PORTLAND, Ore. – The University of Portland men's basketball team has finalized plans for a foreign tour next month in England, head coach Terry Porter announced. The team will depart Portland for London on August 12 and then return on August 22. A majority of the tour will be spent in Leicester and London as the Pilots will play four games against top local competition.

The team will also have 10 days of formal practice in advance of the tour, which will be of great value as the Pilots welcome nine newcomers to the roster for the 2017-18 season.

"This is a great opportunity for our team and the next step in developing our program," said Porter, entering his second year on The Bluff. "We have a lot of new guys that we will be integrating this year, so the extra practice time and chance to play some quality competition will be worthwhile. It is going to be a great team-bonding experience as well and we will learn a lot over the next month."

The Pilots will arrive in London on August 13 and then bus to Leicester as the primary home base for the trip. A number of practices and games are scheduled to take place at the Leicester Arena and Copper Box Arena during the trip. Games will be played against the host Leicester Riders and Newcastle Eagles of the British Basketball League (BBL), the nation's top professional league, as well as the Barking Abbey Basketball Academy and another professional organization in a closed scrimmage.

The Leicester Riders won the BBL regular season and postseason title last season, while Newscastle finished second in the league standings and advanced to the title game before falling to Leicester.

Portland has connections to the United Kingdom as assistant coach Kramer Knutson played two years in the BBL for the London Lions (2013-14) and then for Surrey United (2014-15) before returning to Portland and pursuing his coaching career. Redshirt sophomore transfer Josh McSwiggan also grew up in Leicester and was a member of the Leicester Riders  and Great Britain Youth National Teams before beginning in collegiate basketball career.

In addition to the basketball, the travel group will take part in a variety of tourist and team bonding activities. Currently planned activities in Leicester include visits to Belvoir Castle, Alton Towers, the King Richard III Centre and Leicester Cathedral. London plans include Buckingham Palace, London Dungeon, and attending the Great Britain versus Greece National Team basketball game.

Portland's roster features nine newcomers as well as two returning redshirts that join four returning lettermen from last season. Hoop Scoop ranked Portland's incoming recruiting class No. 10 nationally and all 15 members of the roster will be available to take part in the foreign tour.

Regular updates, game recaps, photos and video coverage of the trip will be available for fans online at www.PortlandPilots.com/LondonTour.

2017 Portland Basketball London Foreign Tour Itinerary
August 2-11: Team Training Camp/Practices at UP campus
August 12 – Depart Portland for London
August 13-19 – Staying in Leicester
August 19-22 – Staying in London
August 22 – Depart London and return to Portland

Scheduled games to be played
Aug. 15 vs. Newcastle Eagles (British Basketball League) at Leicester Arena
Aug. 16 closed scrimmage vs. TBA at Leicester Arena
Aug. 17 vs. Leicester Riders (British Basketball League) at Leicester Arena
Aug. 19 vs. Barking Abbey Basketball Academy at Copper Box Arena