Italy Tour

#251      

adogster

Scottsdale, AZ
I get your point but bringing them to Miami in the hope that within a day their visas will be cleared is a joke. Bad PR and if you were going to fly them home just do that from the beginning. Multiple people dropped the ball. I'll let this rest now.

I’m not sure it’s permissible to just give free flights home to team members. Since they were already in Florida, flights home might be reasonable.
 
#252      
I’m not sure it’s permissible to just give free flights home to team members. Since they were already in Florida, flights home might be reasonable.

Another forum issued this same question. The NCAA might just question any flights at all as to whether they would be permissible. I'm sure the DIA has this covered.
 
#253      
I tried but format came out bad. I will try to fix it later, sorry.

I cleaned up the Stats over the past 2 games

Illini Italy Stats 8-8-2019.JPG
 
#255      

sacraig

The desert
Williams, does some solid things on the court without scoring, however, he has to be a threat with the ball. If not you can run into situations where the defense focuses on the other 4 players, which can cause trouble on offense.

This just gave me flashbacks to Chester Frazier.
 
#256      

sacraig

The desert
Gee I wonder why? Oh yes University of Illinois could not figure out how to get two of their players admitted to Italy...I really hope Kofi makes it to CU and has a great season. Why does University of Illinois have so many problems with administrative stuff?

Have you done much international travel to countries that require visas? It's not always easy, and foreign governments don't always have their own ducks in a row and therefore things can fall apart at the last minute. U of I might have some responsibility here, but it is a lot more likely that they were prepared and it still just didn't matter.
 
#257      

sacraig

The desert
It is almost certain that no one ever thought about visas to Shengen countries in Europe for Kofi (Jamaica) or Andre (Dominican Republic) before they tried to get on the plane in Miami.

Given the dubiousness of this part of your statement, the rest is invalid. It's almost certain that someone thought of this far in advance, as it was literally their job to do so. International travel can be a pain, especially if you are a citizen of one country living in another and flying to a third.

Now add in the fact that Mediterranean Europe has really been cracking down on migration-related issues due to the influx of refugees from North Africa and the Levant, and you can hopefully see there is a recipe for trouble regardless of how prepared the U of I was or was not.

giphy.gif
 
#259      

illini80

Forgottonia
Well Kofi or Verdonk can’t be there and Samba left. Who else is supposed to play the 5?
Probably Kofi and Kouma? That was my point. The combination of misfortunes is hurting not only them, but Giorgi as well.
 
#261      

illini80

Forgottonia
Williams, does some solid things on the court without scoring, however, he has to be a threat with the ball. If not you can run into situations where the defense focuses on the other 4 players, which can cause trouble on offense.
True. Unfortunately if he can’t bring some kind of consistency on the offensive side it will have to limit his court time if others can. Love the kid. Hope it turns for him. He has good form, so it must be a confidence thing.
 
#263      
True. Unfortunately if he can’t bring some kind of consistency on the offensive side it will have to limit his court time if others can. Love the kid. Hope it turns for him. He has good form, so it must be a confidence thing.
I would love to see one of these blowout games where BU sets things up for DW and encourages him to just keep shooting until they start falling. With everything else he does so well on the court, if he could start hitting his shots he would be an even more valuable player.
 
#264      

Deleted member 29907

D
Guest
True. Unfortunately if he can’t bring some kind of consistency on the offensive side it will have to limit his court time if others can. Love the kid. Hope it turns for him. He has good form, so it must be a confidence thing.
He missed a bunny and gave up a layup to Tev on an off the backboard dunk extravaganza - and let's be careful not to discount a coach's view of what is important on the court.

DW is not a JT non-threat type of player and our offense is built on movement and set plays - not the JG "catch the ball and look around with a puzzled look" - so we are MUCH less reliant on one on one takes.
 
#266      
He missed a bunny and gave up a layup to Tev on an off the backboard dunk extravaganza - and let's be careful not to discount a coach's view of what is important on the court.

DW is not a JT non-threat type of player and our offense is built on movement and set plays - not the JG "catch the ball and look around with a puzzled look" - so we are MUCH less reliant on one on one takes.

Yes the puzzle play was one of my favorites.
 
#267      

sacraig

The desert
One can usually tell if an organization is 'prepared' by the prior planning and the end results. Having the schedule only announced 1 week (approx) before the trip, with NO indication of the actual venue (location) leaves soooo much to be desired. When I was in the military (in the last century) we used the phrase: 6 P's... (Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance).....

The problem with that logic is that the University of Illinois is not the only organization involved here. Others involved are the government of Italy (and its consulates), each team being played, and each venue being used. Any one or several of these organizations could drop the ball in any number of ways.
 
#268      
Given the dubiousness of this part of your statement, the rest is invalid. It's almost certain that someone thought of this far in advance, as it was literally their job to do so. International travel can be a pain, especially if you are a citizen of one country living in another and flying to a third.

Now add in the fact that Mediterranean Europe has really been cracking down on migration-related issues due to the influx of refugees from North Africa and the Levant, and you can hopefully see there is a recipe for trouble regardless of how prepared the U of I was or was not.

giphy.gif
Given the dubiousness of this part of your statement, the rest is invalid. It's almost certain that someone thought of this far in advance, as it was literally their job to do so. International travel can be a pain, especially if you are a citizen of one country living in another and flying to a third.

Now add in the fact that Mediterranean Europe has really been cracking down on migration-related issues due to the influx of refugees from North Africa and the Levant, and you can hopefully see there is a recipe for trouble regardless of how prepared the U of I was or was not.

giphy.gif
Have we determined if it was Joey or the travel agency's responsibility yet?
 
#269      

breadman

Herndon, VA
Have we determined if it was Joey or the travel agency's responsibility yet?

Uh, who is this "we" you are talking about?

I did not realize how difficult it is to get a Visa.
I have never applied for one, have you?
And based upon many commentors here, it would appear that it is a combination of us and them.

I will aver that our DIA had been diligently working this issue for the past 6 months (pick your time frame) to get it resolved, and as others have theorized, the kids went to Miami in case a last minute resolution was finalized one way or another.

I will also aver that after the team gets back and the dust has settled, Josh W will give a presser to explain more of the details of what actually happened.

I will fault the DIA for not pursuing an obvious Plan B. That being that the women's team is currently in Australia. Kofi and Andres could have easily hopped on a plane for Aussie land, grabbed a couple of wigs, and showed up to play for the women's team. In this day and age, who would have noticed?
 
#275      

sbillini

st petersburg, fl
Because they've done such a bang up job so far...
Uh, who is this "we" you are talking about?

I did not realize how difficult it is to get a Visa.
I have never applied for one, have you?
And based upon many commentors here, it would appear that it is a combination of us and them.

I will aver that our DIA had been diligently working this issue for the past 6 months (pick your time frame) to get it resolved, and as others have theorized, the kids went to Miami in case a last minute resolution was finalized one way or another.

I will also aver that after the team gets back and the dust has settled, Josh W will give a presser to explain more of the details of what actually happened.

I will fault the DIA for not pursuing an obvious Plan B. That being that the women's team is currently in Australia. Kofi and Andres could have easily hopped on a plane for Aussie land, grabbed a couple of wigs, and showed up to play for the women's team. In this day and age, who would have noticed?
giphy.gif