When Stony Brook’s men’s basketball team leaves for a three-country, five-game tour of Europe next week, both players and coach hope to come back with an advantage over their competition.
The journey for head coach Steve
Pikiell’s squad begins Aug. 11, with the team leaving the country for the first time in program history. They'll land in Dublin on Aug. 12 and play their first exhibition game on Aug. 13. After two games in Ireland, the team heads over to London for a pair of contests before finishing up in Paris.The journey for head coach Steve
Of particular interest for a Seawolves team that spent last season devastated by injury is the ten extra practices they will have before the tour. Once every four years, a standard collegiate career, the NCAA allows programs a globetrotting journey and grants them the additional practice sessions to prepare. Boston University took their trip last season and went on to beat SBU in the title game to win the conference for the first time in nine years.
“I’m looking to gain a lot from it. The ten practices are huge," Pikiell said. "...Especially with the newcomers because you have no idea what they’re all about yet in practice, so it gives you a little snapshot of what maybe they can do for you later on down the road.”
Another key advantage is getting Tommy Brenton, who missed all of last season with an injury, back into game-shape earlier. Brenton last played a game on March 17, 2010 and was the conference’s leading rebounder that season. Pikiell estimates that Brenton is currently at 80-90 percent of where he was and will benefit from the extra work.
This trip also gives the players a glimpse at their potential careers beyond Stony Brook. Pikiell said he believes that some of his roster could find themselves in the various European pro leagues.
Muhammad El-
Amin, the team's leading scorer during the 2009-2010 season, is one example. El-Amin spent last year in Hungary and has signed to play in the Ukraine for the upcoming season. He has been spending some time on campus recently with the Seawolves. Senior Danny Carter, who is from England, can also share some knowledge and has the added opportunity of playing in front of his family and friends for the first time in his college career.
"It gives them opportunity to get them some exposure in countries that I think they can keep playing in after they’re done with the Stony Brook experience," he said. "I truly think that they're good enough to play in some of those countries."
