CLEMSON – Clemson basketball’s trip to Italy this July began with a twist– literally.

When the Tigers disembarked from their international flight, entering the land of wine, cheese and mid-summer hoops, players were met with a 2024 European Union mandate that all plastic water bottles must come with an attached cap.

For jet-lagged and dehydrated American shooting guards and forwards used to twistable tops and easy access, the minor inconvenience was annoying.

For European players David Fuchs and Liutauras Lelevicius, the struggle was hilarious.

“Everyone’s like, ‘What’s going on? Why can’t I take off my water cap?’ sophomore center Trent Steinour said Monday. “And David and LT were like, ‘Oh yeah, like you have so much better.’ We were kind of arguing about it and stuff, but we were all just laughing about it. It was just bringing us closer.” 

Fuchs, a Vienna, Austria, native, has taken the 630-mile trip from his home country to Italy several times, and reveled in getting to show his American teammates European culture, separate from just the hydration vehicles.

“To show my teammates, some of them who haven’t been outside of the States, different cultures, show them that there’s more than just Chick-fil-A and McDonald’s, it was just great,” he said with a laugh.

“The two Europeans” as shooting guard Cole Certa lovingly calls Fuchs and Lelevicius, got to serve as ambassadors for Tiger players as they explored Rome and Lake Como, Florence and Switzerland in between playing exhibition basketball games.

Though the American players might have been out of their comfort zones for a few days, it was just a taste of the struggles their European teammates face while living thousands of miles and an ocean away from home.

For example, when Lelevicius has a bad practice or a long day of classes, all he wants to do is call home to Lithuania and his family members– just to receive some encouragement in his native language for a few minutes.

However, with a seven-hour time difference, he usually has to wait until the next morning.

“When I moved to the U.S., it was difficult at first because you’re so far away from your family and relatives,” Lelevicius said. “So now you have a tough game or a bad practice, you naturally have to wait until they wake up to talk to them. Then you get used to it. You grow, you improve as a person, as a player, and then it makes things easier.”

The forward has some experience with making the phone system work now after two seasons in the United States. In 2024, he averaged 8.7 points and four rebounds playing for Oregon State. Last season, he averaged eight points and made 22 starts for TCU.

His season-high 23 points came against Kansas. 

The game ended at roughly 6 a.m. Lithuanian time.

Still, Lelevicius’ parents were very encouraging when he went to play American college basketball.

“Coming to the U.S. was the only option where I could play basketball and go to school at the same time, and my family always wanted me to to pursue a degree and to have a plan B if basketball doesn’t work out or I have a bad injury or whatever,” he said. “So they were supportive. They knew that it was the right decision, and they just pushed me to get here and do as best as I can.” 

For Fuchs, who played at Rhode Island for two years and last season at San Francisco, playing ACC basketball so far from home is actually a dream come true.

“I remember myself watching um ACC basketball when I was 12 years old in the morning before I went to school, obviously because of the time difference of Europe and here, but I always wanted to play for a big time university. And now that dream basically came true. I just can’t wait to actually play on the floor.”

Looking at Clemson’s 2026-27 roster, these European players are part of a team that is represented by eight American states, five different ages and varying levels of basketball experience.

While Lelevicius and Fuchs have both played professional basketball and for a combined five colleges, while freshman Guard Harris Reynolds was just at his prom in Atlanta, Ga., last spring.

So, what brings this hodge-podge of Tigers who have virtually no common life experiences together?

Take a look at the facility’s pool table, for starters.

“It has to come from within ourselves to want to spend time with each other, and I think we do that pretty well,” Lelevicius said. “We have a pool table right there where we play pool before basically every practice. We laugh a lot in the locker room. I don’t have a secret recipe for you, but it’s been pretty easy for us, and I don’t know how to get to that. I’ve been part of the teams that weren’t good at it, but this is the team that I enjoy being around.”

According to Lelevicius, Chase Thompson– a sophomore and Glenwood, Minn., native– is the best pool player– or at least he practices the most.

Despite Lelevicius’ jabs at his teammate about how much he practices his pool-playing skills, another kind of practice is what has actually made the transition to the United States viable.

In the words of former NBA star Allen Iverson, Lelevicius is talking about basketball practice.

“I don’t want this to sound as if we should practice more, but the more practice you have, the easier it is to cope with the fact that you’re so far away,” he said. 

Though they are still not used to the pesky southern bugs that fly around, the international players have made a home in the United States, especially in Clemson.

“Everywhere I go I see Tigers, I see orange, I see purple,” Fuchs said. “So playing for a club like that is truly amazing.”

Tiger fans will get their first glimpses of the new-look Tigers team on Friday, when they will host Georgia in an exhibition game at Littlejohn Coliseum at 6:30 p.m.