West Virginia men's basketball departs US soil today to embark on a tour of Italy.
The Mountaineers are scheduled to tour the country until August 10th, with a trio of exhibition contests against international competition scheduled.
On Saturday, August 3rd, they'll open with competition in Genoa, Italy against BC Zalgiris Kaunas-2, with tip-off scheduled for 12:30 p.m. EST. On Tuesday, August 6th, they'll face off against Orange1 Bassano in Florence, Italy, with a Noon tip-off. Their final game will come against Stella#EBK in Rome, Italy, on Thursday, August 8th. Those looking for updates on the games can follow the program's social media pages for information.
First year head coach Darian DeVries is excited about the opportunities for growth and bonding amongst the team as they head off on the trip.
"We've got a whole new group, a whole new staff, and we get to spend 10-11 days together outside of basketball to get to know each other on a more personal level," DeVries said.
He also plans to mix up the lineups to get an early idea about what combinations work best during game action.
"We'll figure out who can shoot the ball and then adjust at halftime," DeVries said.
While the main advantage of a foreign tour -- extra practices -- has been diminished by restructured offseason rules, DeVries said there is still a lot that can be gotten from the extra time the team does still get in the "Italy" practices.
"It used to be this was a huge deal every four years you get those 10 extra practices because you didn't get access or only had two hours a week," DeVries said. "Now with four hours a week, you get those 10 extra practices, but you can go a little longer. A day like today, this was our Italy practice, so to speak, so you can extend it a little longer and do a few more things."