Men's Basketball Preps For Tour of Italy

OMAHA, Neb. -- The Creighton men's basketball team continues preparation for its upcoming trip to Italy, which begins next Tuesday (Aug. 4) and will last 10 days before the team returns home on August 14th.

The team will spent the majority of its time in Milan, Florence and Rome while away, with a one-day trip to Venice also on the docket. The student-athletes on the team have been preparing for the trip with a summer class being taught by Faculty Athletic Representative Dr. Neil Norton.

The trip calls for the team to play three games while overseas (listed below), but also have plenty of adventures off the court to enhance and enrich the experience of the student-athletes and staff. Among the planned sightseeing are visits to Lake Como, the Expo 2015 World's Fair, St. Mark's Square, Accademia Museum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Vatican, St. Peter's Square, Roman Forum and the Colosseum. The team will also host a clinic in Milan.

While away, GoCreighton.com and several social media outlets will do its best to make those not on the trip feel like they're along for the ride. Plans call for daily journal entries on GoCreighton.com, plus regular updates on the men's basketball account on both Twitter (www.twitter.com/BluejayMBB) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/BluejayMBB). Live audio, video and stats of the games while in Italy is unlikely at this time, with updates provided via Twitter should that change. The hashtag "#ForzaJays" (Go Jays, or Force Jays) will also be utilized.

Creighton will take 16 student-athletes on the trip, including all six of its true freshmen. Incoming junior Marcus Foster is not permitted to travel with the team in 2015-16 and will not make the trip due to NCAA transfer regulations.

NCAA rules permit one foreign tour every four years. Creighton's last trip in 2011 saw the team travel to the Bahamas.

Creighton's Game Schedule in Italy
August 7, 8 pm CEST (1 pm Central) vs. Oleggio in Oleggio
August 11, 9:15 pm CEST (2:15 pm Central) vs. All Star Rome in Rome
August 12, 6 pm CEST (11 am Central) vs. Foligno Basket in Foligno

Preliminary Journal Schedule
Aug. 5: Cole Huff
Aug. 6: Geoffrey Groselle and Malik Albert
Aug. 7: James Milliken and John McKew
Aug. 8: Mo Watson Jr. and Drew Cayce
Aug. 9: Isaiah Zierden
Aug. 10: Zach Hanson and Justin Patton
Aug. 11: Toby Hegner
Aug. 12: Tyler Clement and Martin Krampelj
Aug. 13: Ronnie Harrell
Aug. 14: Khyri Thomas and Alex O'Neill
Aug. 15: Marlon Stewart

Players Mentioned

Malik Albert

Drew Cayce

Tyler Clement

Marcus Foster

Geoffrey Groselle

Zach Hanson

Ronnie Harrell Jr.

Toby Hegner

Cole Huff

Martin Krampelj

James Milliken

Alex O'Neill

Justin Patton

Marlon Stewart

Khyri Thomas

Maurice Watson Jr.

Isaiah Zierden