Nebraska’s itinerary for its upcoming trip to Italy is set.
The Huskers released their schedule for their foreign tour – which the NCAA allows a team to take every four years – that will include four exhibition games in three cities and plenty of sight-seeing along the way.
Teams are allowed 10 practices ahead of their trip, giving the coaches a chance to work more extensively with the team than they would normally with summer workouts. Practices are set to begin the week of July 15 and every member of the team other than freshman big man Yvan Ouedraogo are expected to participate. Ouedraogo will be with the U18 French National Team competing in the European Championships.
“We are fortunate to have a foreign trip this year with the number of new faces we have in our program,” Fred Hoiberg said in a release. “It will be a valuable experience for our players because it helps to build chemistry both on and off the court. We will have a lot of team activities where they will have time to be together and learn more about each other. For our staff, the 10 practices before we leave will give us a head start on installing our system, and the chance to play four games provides an opportunity to experiment with different lineups and combinations.”
The trip will take place August 3-13. The Huskers will begin in Rome, where they’ll spend three days taking in many of the sights and attractions the city has to offer. On Aug. 5, the Huskers will play against Stella Azzurra Academy at the Arena Altero Felici at 11:30 a.m. CST.
The Huskers will swing through Florence after that and make a few different spots through the region. They’ll play two games against Silute BC out of Lithuania at the Palazzetto Sandro Pertini in Ponte Buggianese. The first game will take place on Aug. 7 at 1 p.m. and they’ll square off again the next day at 11 a.m.
The Huskers will complete their trip with three days in Como, exploring the lake and also taking a tour of Lugano, Switzerland. Nebraska’s last game will take place against Italian Select on Aug. 12 at noon.
With 11 new players and just one returner who has seen the court in a Husker uniform, the trip will serve as a valuable bonding experience for the team as well as a chance for Hoiberg to learn about his own team.
Jacob Padilla has been writing for Hail Varsity since 2015. He covers football, volleyball men’s basketball and prep sports. He also co-hosts the Nebraska Preps Postgame and Nebraska Shootaround podcasts for the Hurrdat Media and Hail Varsity podcast networks. His love of basketball can best be described as an obsession and if you need to find him, he’s probably in a gym somewhere watching, coaching or playing hoops.
