Kroner's Corner: What the Gaels Look to Takeaway from their Upcoming Foreign Tour
8/6/2026 12:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Head coach Mickey McConnell believes playing five high-level games in Australia this month will benefit the Saint Mary's Gaels in several ways.
With 10 new players on the roster, the Gaels can learn about each other on and off the court. With McConnell heading into his first season as head coach and with four new assistants on the SMC staff, the coaches can get better accustomed to each other and to the players.
And, as McConnell noted during a recent interview in his office, the on-court knowledge comes with one inherent plus.
"You're not checking your NET after every game," McConnell cracked, referring to the NCAA Evaluation Tool, the ranking system that plays a role in determining which teams make the NCAA Tournament and how they're seeded.
"Obviously, you're trying to win all of 'em, but there's a little less pressure on 'em."
Or, as point guard Josh Dent put it after the Gaels' open practice Aug. 1, "At the end of the day, it'll be nice just knowing, hey, this one doesn't mean as much as maybe that Santa Clara game at home to win the league."
Dent, swingman Rory Hawke, guard Luke Fennell (a transfer from Syracuse) and freshman center Flynn Pavely are the four Aussies on the roster, extending the Gaels' Down Under pipeline that has lasted a quarter-century.
"I'm really excited – and so are the other Aussie guys – just to show our teammates what Australia is like and what home is like for us," Hawke said.
Dent and Hawke joked about some of the misconceptions their teammates have about Australia.
"I'll show 'em it's not as dangerous as people think it is," Hawke said. "It's not like deadly insects and animals walking everywhere."
Said Dent: "A lot of them think it's just farmland everywhere and not a lot of big cities. They'll be a bit shocked by the size of Sydney, the multiculturalism."
McConnell went on a Saint Mary's trip to Australia as a player in 2009, when he was heading into his junior year. He also made the trip as an assistant coach on Randy Bennett's staff in 2022.
As helpful as these games and practices can be for the Gaels in the coming season, McConnell realizes there needs to be a balance between on-court work and off-court sightseeing.
"The touristy stuff is important," McConnell said. "You don't want to get so locked in on the basketball portion that you flew that far just to play five games.
"Part of the benefit is you get to see a different part of the world. Some of these guys might not ever go back. For me and for our staff, we're going to go to the beach. We're going to go look at kangaroos. We're going to do it all."
With so much turnover on the roster and among the coaching staff, McConnell is grateful to have the overseas trip this year.
"I need the reps," McConnell said. "Our staff needs the reps of getting a feel for each other."
Dent also believes the trip "couldn't have come at a better time. While there has been a lot of change, I don't think we can look at any of it and say it's for the worse.
"That's not a dig at anyone that's left. We all appreciate everything that's happened before, but I just think the group that we've brought in – including coaches – has brought a new sort of life and a new joy into being here, and no better way to celebrate that than with five games overseas."
A first-team All-WCC selection as a sophomore last season when he averaged 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, Dent is the Gaels' lone returning starter. He led the conference in free-throw percentage at 91.8.
Dent was the only name McConnell mentioned when asked what his starting lineup will be.
"It'll be important for us to mix combinations" of players, McConnell said. "Play guys at different positions. Play bigger lineups, smaller lineups. Just kind of tinker a little bit."
The Gaels are set to leave from SFO on Sunday night. They have four games scheduled against teams from the NBL, Australia's top professional league: vs. the Illawarra Hawks in Sydney on Aug. 13, vs. the defending NBL champion Sydney Kings in Sydney the following day, vs. the SE Melbourne Phoenix in Melbourne on Aug. 16 and vs. the Cairns Taipans on August 19.
"We'll walk away from this trip and be a lot more of a physical team because Australia basketball is a very physical style of basketball," Hawke said. "We're facing grown men in these NBL sites."
SMC also will also play one game against an NBL1 (a semi-pro league) team: vs. the Dandedong Rangers in Melbourne on Aug. 17. The Gaels will return to SFO on Aug. 21.
And there will be no checking of the NET until November.
Familiar faces: Former SMC guard Matthew Dellavedova, whose No. 4 jersey was retired by the Gaels in 2014, plays for Sydney. The Kings recently signed center Harry Wessels, who spent the past four seasons with the Gaels. … Two SMC alums are on the SE Melbourne roster, center Jordan Hunter and guard Tanner Krebs.
Steve Kroner has covered Bay Area sports for more than four decades, mainly at KPIX-TV (Channel 5) and the San Francisco Chronicle. He has worked as an analyst alongside Brian Brownfield on SMC men's basketball telecasts on ESPN+ the past two seasons.
With 10 new players on the roster, the Gaels can learn about each other on and off the court. With McConnell heading into his first season as head coach and with four new assistants on the SMC staff, the coaches can get better accustomed to each other and to the players.
And, as McConnell noted during a recent interview in his office, the on-court knowledge comes with one inherent plus.
"You're not checking your NET after every game," McConnell cracked, referring to the NCAA Evaluation Tool, the ranking system that plays a role in determining which teams make the NCAA Tournament and how they're seeded.
"Obviously, you're trying to win all of 'em, but there's a little less pressure on 'em."
Or, as point guard Josh Dent put it after the Gaels' open practice Aug. 1, "At the end of the day, it'll be nice just knowing, hey, this one doesn't mean as much as maybe that Santa Clara game at home to win the league."
Dent, swingman Rory Hawke, guard Luke Fennell (a transfer from Syracuse) and freshman center Flynn Pavely are the four Aussies on the roster, extending the Gaels' Down Under pipeline that has lasted a quarter-century.
"I'm really excited – and so are the other Aussie guys – just to show our teammates what Australia is like and what home is like for us," Hawke said.
Dent and Hawke joked about some of the misconceptions their teammates have about Australia.
"I'll show 'em it's not as dangerous as people think it is," Hawke said. "It's not like deadly insects and animals walking everywhere."
Said Dent: "A lot of them think it's just farmland everywhere and not a lot of big cities. They'll be a bit shocked by the size of Sydney, the multiculturalism."
McConnell went on a Saint Mary's trip to Australia as a player in 2009, when he was heading into his junior year. He also made the trip as an assistant coach on Randy Bennett's staff in 2022.
As helpful as these games and practices can be for the Gaels in the coming season, McConnell realizes there needs to be a balance between on-court work and off-court sightseeing.
"The touristy stuff is important," McConnell said. "You don't want to get so locked in on the basketball portion that you flew that far just to play five games.
"Part of the benefit is you get to see a different part of the world. Some of these guys might not ever go back. For me and for our staff, we're going to go to the beach. We're going to go look at kangaroos. We're going to do it all."
With so much turnover on the roster and among the coaching staff, McConnell is grateful to have the overseas trip this year.
"I need the reps," McConnell said. "Our staff needs the reps of getting a feel for each other."
Dent also believes the trip "couldn't have come at a better time. While there has been a lot of change, I don't think we can look at any of it and say it's for the worse.
"That's not a dig at anyone that's left. We all appreciate everything that's happened before, but I just think the group that we've brought in – including coaches – has brought a new sort of life and a new joy into being here, and no better way to celebrate that than with five games overseas."
A first-team All-WCC selection as a sophomore last season when he averaged 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, Dent is the Gaels' lone returning starter. He led the conference in free-throw percentage at 91.8.
Dent was the only name McConnell mentioned when asked what his starting lineup will be.
"It'll be important for us to mix combinations" of players, McConnell said. "Play guys at different positions. Play bigger lineups, smaller lineups. Just kind of tinker a little bit."
The Gaels are set to leave from SFO on Sunday night. They have four games scheduled against teams from the NBL, Australia's top professional league: vs. the Illawarra Hawks in Sydney on Aug. 13, vs. the defending NBL champion Sydney Kings in Sydney the following day, vs. the SE Melbourne Phoenix in Melbourne on Aug. 16 and vs. the Cairns Taipans on August 19.
"We'll walk away from this trip and be a lot more of a physical team because Australia basketball is a very physical style of basketball," Hawke said. "We're facing grown men in these NBL sites."
SMC also will also play one game against an NBL1 (a semi-pro league) team: vs. the Dandedong Rangers in Melbourne on Aug. 17. The Gaels will return to SFO on Aug. 21.
And there will be no checking of the NET until November.
Familiar faces: Former SMC guard Matthew Dellavedova, whose No. 4 jersey was retired by the Gaels in 2014, plays for Sydney. The Kings recently signed center Harry Wessels, who spent the past four seasons with the Gaels. … Two SMC alums are on the SE Melbourne roster, center Jordan Hunter and guard Tanner Krebs.
Steve Kroner has covered Bay Area sports for more than four decades, mainly at KPIX-TV (Channel 5) and the San Francisco Chronicle. He has worked as an analyst alongside Brian Brownfield on SMC men's basketball telecasts on ESPN+ the past two seasons.
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