PROVO, Utah — A recent European tour gave the BYU men's basketball team not only valuable game experience in England, Croatia and Italy, but a spiritual uplift as well.

In a Church News interview after the trip where the Cougars went 1-4 against European professional teams, head coach Steve Cleveland said: "I realize that it was a great chemistry-building experience for the team. We played great teams. But I also believe that, in a very small way, our group of nine players along with coaches and their families had a great impact on some people for a period of two weeks.

"They were great ambassadors for BYU, for the Church, for their families and themselves."

A spiritual highlight for the team and its traveling party of about 30 people was attending Church in a small branch — seven members and four missionaries — in Zadar, Croatia, according to Coach Cleveland. Two players who were interviewed also focused on that experience.

Mekeli Wesley, a junior forward, said: "It was uplifting and a good experience for us. It's interesting to see the Church is the same everywhere you go. The faith of the members is so incredible. It was refreshing to be with the members. We could tell it meant a lot to them that we were there attending their sacrament meeting with them."

Todd Christensen, a junior guard from Salt Lake City, served a mission to Chile, but noted "the Church is huge there," so he had never been in a sacrament meeting with so few people in attendance as there were in Zadar.

"But a definite highlight of the trip was one of the recent converts who stood up and, speaking in front of all the basketball players, spoke with conviction and spoke with a true testimony. It blew me away how a new convert could have such strength, and he really showed it to us that day."

While in Croatia, the Cougars learned first-hand what a national legend former BYU All-American Kresimir Cosic still is in his homeland. A huge picture of Cosic, who died of cancer in 1995, was displayed on a wall in the arena in Zadar where the Cougars played in a tournament that bore his name.

"I can't believe the influence that guy had in his country," Christensen said of Brother Cosic, who was an active member of the Church. "Not only for Church members, because there are very few Church members in Croatia right now, but overall among all the people. He was known for being such a generous, kind, caring man. I think that's why he won over so many people."

Coach Cleveland said Brother Cosic's influence was very evident in Croatia and that he "has been a great ambassador for the Church in that country."

In two games in Italy, Coach Cleveland said the Cougars were supported by 30-40 Church members from local branches and finally picked up a victory. They beat Gorizia 69-68 in the tour's final game and then celebrated with members by giving them candy that Wesley's mother, Susan, had sent for him to hand out, BYU jerseys and even their game jerseys.

"We just realize that as important as the on-court things are, that maybe the real meaning to this whole trip was the interaction with people off the court, LDS and non-LDS," Coach Cleveland said.

To begin the trip, he and his wife, Kip, had left for Europe ahead of the team to spend some time in England where he had served a mission. Besides revisiting sites from his mission, he spoke at a fireside during a Young Men conference at East Grinstead, near the London Temple.

"That was a great experience for me personally," he said, "because it was an area where I had served and tracted 26 or 27 years ago."