D3hoops Daily Dose

The UW-Platteville men’s and women’s basketball teams are overseas. They will check in with Division III basketball fans from time to time. Jeff Skemp is our correspondent.

The UW-Platteville men’s and women’s basketball teams spent the first day in Ireland touring immediately following a seven-hour direct flight from Chicago’s O’Hare airport into Dublin. The sites that we were able to see on the first day included a trip to an old monastery, seeing remnants of the old churches, and walking through a cemetery. We then boarded back onto the bus and continued on to Powerscourt. This was a mansion of an Ireland Lord with beautiful gardens all over the property. We were able to eat lunch while there, and then went to our hotel to check in.

We went to a local gym and had a brief practice to stretch our legs, work out, and finalize some things before our first game on Wednesday. The team then went back to the hotel where we had a team meal for dinner, and then were free to experience the city night life of Ireland.

Day Two started off on a bad foot for some as wakeup call to all rooms was not done by the hotel. Wakeup was supposed to be at 7:00 a.m. so we had time to get breakfast before leaving for our tour at 9:15 a.m. My roommate, I, and others were woken up by a phone call from a teammate at 9:10 and hurried to catch the bus for the tour. Our second day was much more eventful and enjoyable, though, as we toured the Dublin Castle, Christ Cathedral, and St. James Gate, before going on to what the team and most college kids would consider the most important part of the day’s tour. We toured the Guinness Brewery which was a seven-story building with information about how the beer is made and facts about where it is shipped and drank around the world. We were able to go to the top where there was an all-glass bar called the Gravity Bar where complimentary drinks were served to those of age. The bar was amazing because we were able to see over most of the city of Dublin.

Following Guinness tour we continued on to the Old Jameson Distillery. We watched an informational movie about Jameson, and then took a tour of the museum where we again learned how Jameson is made and aged. Following the tour, those of age were again served complimentary drinks and then we spent the rest of the day free as a team to walk the city on our own and do some souvenir shopping. We then had a team dinner at the hotel, and we are again able to spend the night free together in Dublin.

There will be an update on Wednesday’s activities as well as how the Pioneers did in our first game against Irish National 21 teams.

Oglethorpe’s men’s basketball team is on a nine-day trip to Europe. They will check in with Division III basketball fans from time to time. Wade Weldon is our correspondent.

Bon Giorno from Rome! Then Oglethorpe men’s basketball departed to Rome at 7:10 am on Friday. Before our departure we played our final game in France against a local semi-pro team. We opened up with a 12-0 lead and their coach called a time out within the first three minutes of the game in attempt to dwindle our fire. We continued to move the ball as a team and cruised to a 94-69 victory. We hit 14 three’s and continued our undefeated streak on foreign soil.

After the victory, we had a quick three hour nap before heading to the airport for our 7:10 a.m. flight to Rome. We landed in Rome half asleep, and hit the ground running with a three hour bus tour of the city. Luckily, we had free time after the tour and caught about a three hour nap before our final game in Rome on Friday night.

Once again, we opened up hot despite the tired legs. We started the game with a 10-0 lead and finished with a 102-76 victory. The speed of our offense and our zone press was hard for the local team to adjust to. The 24 second shot clock caused our opponent to panic and turn the ball over. After the victory, the Italian fans and kids were very excited to meet us and we exchanged our jerseys and other paraphernalia with their home team. After a short bus ride back to our hotel, the Petrels celebrated our 3-0 winning streak with a four-course, local, Italian meal.

Today we woke up after a rejuvenating 8 hours of sleep and took the metro to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. It was amazing to see the ancient Roman architecture and wonder how it would be to compete as a gladiator in the Colosseum. After touring the Colosseum, we went to the Roman Forum and walked around and took great pictures of the city skyline.

You always hear about the pick-pockets in the Roman metro and today we experienced it first hand. One of our chaperons had 40 euros taken out of his fanny pack by a team of local thieves including a baby as a decoy. From now on, we will keep a closer eye on our belongings and watch out for gypsies trying to make a living off American tourists.

Today we dined at a local pizzeria near our hotel. The team enjoyed fresh mozzarella, mussels from Naples, and authentic Italian pizza. Tomorrow, we are taking a day trip to explore the beautiful city of Florence. I will update you the next time I find an internet cafe. Ciao.

Oglethorpe’s men’s basketball team is on a nine-day trip to Europe. They will check in with Division III basketball fans from time to time.

Bonjour from Paris! This is Wade Weldon from the Oglethorpe men’s basketball team giving you the latest on the men’s basketball team trip to Europe.

On Tuesday, we played our first basketball game in the town of Dravaille against a local team. We came out running and took off with a 101-66 victory. This team had good size and some athletes but they could not keep up with our speed. We shot very poorly from the field and the foul line because our legs were fatigued. Next time we won’t climb to the top of the Arc de Triomphe on a game day. Despite the tired legs, the Petrels are undefeated on foreign soil.

Yesterday, we took a four-hour bus ride to the beaches of Normandy to reflect on the men that gave their lives on D-Day, June 6, 1944. After watching Saving Private Ryan on the bus, the team was excited to see the beach and learn more about the D-Day invasion of Normandy. When we arrived, the weather was foggy and musky. This made the beach look very similar to the way it did at 6:30 am when U.S. infantry and armoured divisions landed on the coast of France on June 6, 1944. After exploring Normandy the team went to the Normandy American Cemetery to honor the American soldiers that died in Europe during World War II. This was a very emotional experience for me because my grandfather fought in this war.

Today we went to the Palace of Versailles, home of Louis XIV. This is one of the largest palaces in the world. I was awestruck when I saw the architecture of this palace and it’s picturesque landscape. No wonder the peasants revolted against Louis XVI because he was living in such royal quarters while they were living in poverty. After this, we took a bus to Montmarte and the Bascilica de Sacre Couer. This historical church is the highest point in France and it offered some of the best views of the city.

Tonight we are playing our second game against another local club team. I will update you on the results of this game in my next entry.

Oglethorpe’s men’s basketball team is on a nine-day trip to Europe. They will check in with Division III basketball fans from time to time.

Hello, my name is Wade Weldon. I am a basketball player at Oglethorpe University majoring in business administration. I just finished my sophomore year and my basketball team was given the opportunity to travel to Europe and tour the beautiful countries, France and Italy. I will be posting journal entries periodically throughout our trip.

Yesterday, we arrived at Charles de Gaulle International airport around midday. After being on a plane for 11 hours, we landed and immediately hit the ground running. A Mercedes tour bus picked us up and toured us around the entire city. We stopped at the Eiffel Tower, ate crepes, and admired the great views of the city. After this our tour guide took us to the famous Louvre Museum. The team was fascinated by the museum’s beautiful paintings and historical golden ceilings that give the Louvre its world-renowned reputation. When we returned from the tour, we went back to our hotel and then dined at a great restaurant called Mollard. Here, we enjoyed 10-dollar cokes and three course meals. After being on our feet all day, we immediately crashed after eating dinner.

Today, we woke up and took the metro to the Musee D’Orsay. We spent the morning touring this beautiful museum and enjoyed famous impressionist paintings by Monet, Van Gogh, and Renoir. After touring the museum we took the metro to the famous Champs Elysee and enjoyed shopping and local dining. After lunch, we went to the Arc de Triumph. This historical architecture was built to celebrate one of Napoleon’s victories. The team climbed the arch and admired the great views of the city. Later today, we are scheduled to play our first basketball game in the suburbs of Paris against a local club/semi-pro team. I am very excited about this game because I have been injured for a few months and I’m ready to get back on the court.

I will give an update tomorrow about how our game went after we return from our trip to the D-Day beaches of Normandy.

By Jordan Delp

Jordan Delp is a men’s basketball player at Augustana. He is blogging about the team’s trip to China. For more posts about the Vikings’ journey, click here.

Fourteen days, eight flights, and 17,840 miles later, and we’re finally back home in the states carrying with us a 4-0 record to go along with a slough of unforgettable memories. The anticipation for us kept growing and growing, especially as we came to closer to the end of our 11-hour flight, and I think everyone was happy and relieved to be back with family and friends.

Our trip, in which we made two stops in Tokyo, stops in Hong Kong, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Wuhan, two in Beijing, and another in Hohhot, the capital city of Inner Mongolia has definitely helped bring our team together, and we were able to achieve the goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of our trip.

We have also been able to gain a great perspective on what our peers will experience in the fall foreign term to China. A total of 81 Augustana students will spend roughly 10 weeks in and around China, going through many of the same things we went through on our trip. Things like language barriers, different food and a still developing Asian society are just a few of the things they will have to adapt to. Our hats go off to them, as none of us could imagine how hard it would be to be that far from home for that long.

This trip was an unbelievable chance for all of us to learn about a culture different from our own, and I think we took full advantage. We saw first hand the widening gap between the modernizing parts of China and rural China, witnessed the strong work ethic and motivation of their culture, saw numerous glimpses into Chinese culture (from bargaining in the markets to the people’s polite nature, and so on) and even were able to sample some of the Chinese social life.

It was just an amazing adventure that none of us will ever forget.

To end this blog, I want to take this opportunity to thank some of the more influential people with our trip. First and foremost, we would like to thank all of our parents for allowing us to take this once in a lifetime trip. Without you, we realize none of this could have been possible. Next, thank you to our coaching staff for dreaming up this trip and allowing us to have a great balance of basketball and “down time” for these two weeks. To all of our family and friends that helped out leading up to the trip, and those of you who stayed in contact while we were gone, thanks to you as well. Thanks next to Augustana College, most notably Dave Wrath who helped start this blog from square one, and President Steven Bahls whose endorsement and recognition of this great opportunity were vital to us.

Also, I would like to thank the Rock Island Argus/Dispatch, most especially Mark Nesseler and Tom Johnston, for providing the medium for the blog and offering encouragement along the way. Lastly, let me thank Dr. Moline and his wife, Janet for offering their expertise on the trip, and without whom this trip could not have happened.

I hope this blog was interesting for everyone to read, offered some insight into our experience, and was as much fun to read as it was to write. I also hope to see you this winter in the Carver Center when my teammates and I will be playing a little bit closer to home.