Valentin joins Big Ten Tour

Senior IU guard Cyndi Valentin was selected to be a member of the Big Ten Foreign Tour Team, the conference office announced Thursday. \nValentin will be one of 12 Big Ten players on the team, which is headed by Penn State coach Rene Portland. The tour begins July 17 in the Netherlands, and culminates on July 27 in Belgium. \nValentin said she wasn't overly surprised that she made the team, since she knew that IU coach Sharon Versyp had nominated her.\n"Coach Versyp nominated me for the team, and then she told me that I made it," Valentin said. "I was also sent letters and e-mails telling me what making the team entailed."\nValentin said she's enthusiastic about being on the team and is eager to play in Europe.\n"I've never been to Europe before, so I'm very excited to have the opportunity to play there," the Bloomington native said.\nVersyp said in a statement that she is delighted with Valentin's accomplishment.\n"She is a very hard worker, and should be a major contributor to the team," said Versyp, IU's newly hired women's basketball coach. "Anytime a student-athlete can get international experience, it is usually a positive and rewarding event." \nValentin said she believes that playing on the foreign tour will provide an invaluable opportunity to play against solid international competition, which will in turn help her prepare for next year's regular season play.\n"The international competition will definitely help get me in game shape and basketball shape," Valentin said. "The tour games will also help a lot, because I get to play with other Big Ten players, who I'll play during the season next year." \nWith the recent announcement of IU's non-conference schedule, which includes a home opener against the defending NCAA champion Baylor Lady Bears, Valentin said she believes this tour will provide her with some important preparation. \n"The international play is much more physical, and I think this physical play will help me get tougher and stronger for next season," Valentin said.\nValentin will depart for Penn State Friday, where she will meet with the rest of her team and practice through the weekend. The team will then leave for Amsterdam on Sunday. Valentin enjoyed a highly successful season last year, in which she averaged 15 points per game en route to be named an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention. \nAs a senior guard on the team, Valentin will likely share backcourt duties with a fellow senior guard, Crystal Smith from Iowa. \nThe Big Ten Foreign Tour Team has enjoyed unrivaled success in recent years, as they went 4-0 last year in Australia to complete their second straight undefeated tour. The team is 46-18 all-time since the tour began play in 1992.