Italy Tour

#52      
Underwood said the schedule equates to one lower level team, two low Division I teams and the National B team.

That sounds pretty good for practice and building confidence. I assume even the national team is beatable, but I don't know how seriously they take basketball in the Netherlands.
 
#53      
A few years back the Illini played the Dutch national team in Rotterdam and lost...that said...soccer is number one here....followed by soccer and then by soccer; a couple of players have made it to the NBA - Rik Smits, Francisco Elson. All sports here are done on a club level...no school rivalries
 
#55      
He looks Verdonkulous! Between Tev, Verdonk, AG, Hutch really liking the length and athleticism from 2-4 position.
 
#57      

KrushCow31

Former Krush Cow
Chicago, IL
That sounds pretty good for practice and building confidence. I assume even the national team is beatable, but I don't know how seriously they take basketball in the Netherlands.

I'd think we'd beat the national team. One of the best players on their A team is an undrafted St. Bonnie player who graduates in 2014, Charlon Kloof. If that's their best A team player, their B team probably is very beatable.
 
#61      

Whitmans Sampler

Eastern Iowa
There’s been chatter on twitter about whether Dre and Kofi have actually made it to Europe or not. A fake Derek Piper account tweeted some BS about legal issues. I’m not believing that, but they also haven’t appeared in any of the team’s twitter/instagram pics since departing from the Miami airport. Anyone have a clue?
 
#62      
There’s been chatter on twitter about whether Dre and Kofi have actually made it to Europe or not. A fake Derek Piper account tweeted some BS about legal issues. I’m not believing that, but they also haven’t appeared in any of the team’s twitter/instagram pics since departing from the Miami airport. Anyone have a clue?


I follow Kofi and Feliz on Instagram. Kofi was definitely in Miami, Florida as of yesterday, but Feliz hasn’t posted anything.
 
#63      

chiefini

Rockford, Illinois
I follow Kofi and Feliz on Instagram. Kofi was definitely in Miami, Florida as of yesterday, but Feliz hasn’t posted anything.

Question is: Did they make it out of Miami? Were there passport issues that keep them off the plane with the rest of the team?
 
#64      
I'd think we'd beat the national team. One of the best players on their A team is an undrafted St. Bonnie player who graduates in 2014, Charlon Kloof. If that's their best A team player, their B team probably is very beatable.

Mind you, I don't really care about winning meaningless games. I'm just hoping the competition is at a level where they are able to improve. Blowing teams out might be good to hear, but it's really about getting better. Not going to take too much from this.

Honestly, the most important thing is these guys getting a valuable life experience. A foreign trip will put them out of their comfort zone in various ways, and they'll have great memories from it. Hope they look back and treasure it.
 
#65      
Not to go all woe is me, but, assuming Kofi and Feliz were unable to make the trip due to some passport issue, is there another program that has as much of this s*** happen as we do? From what I understand BK was salutatorian of his class, and NCAA says he has transcript issues and now passport issues?

Small things but they seem to really stack up. Need everyone in Italy for game experience/bonding.

Bleh.
 
#67      
Not to go all woe is me, but, assuming Kofi and Feliz were unable to make the trip due to some passport issue, is there another program that has as much of this s*** happen as we do? From what I understand BK was salutatorian of his class, and NCAA says he has transcript issues and now passport issues?

Small things but they seem to really stack up. Need everyone in Italy for game experience/bonding.

Bleh.

Only 7 scholarship players available.
 
#69      
If visa issues are the roadblock, and there is in fact a roadblock, it likely hasn't been publicized because they are working to get the issue resolved and get them to Italy asap. A visa problem doesn't mean you turn around and go home. It means you call in every favor you have to remove the roadblock. If they miss the entire trip i will be very surprised.
 
#70      
https://www.rome.net/entry-requirements

US & Europe above, then you to other countries...no Jamaica, no DR.
I expect Attention is right & they are working on it.
Citizens of countries that do not require a visa
The following states do not need a visa for stays up to 90 days, but require a valid passport to enter Italy:

Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Bermuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, East Timor, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldava, Monaco, Montenegro, Nauru, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Salvador, Samoa, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Vatican and Venezuela.

Citizens of states that require a visa
Citizens of countries not previously mentioned will need to get a Schengen (short-stay) visa to enter Italy or any other EU country. For more information, we recommend visiting the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy:
 
#71      
Wow. This just stinks.

There must be an appropriate Looney Tunes character that should be our mascot.

Pepe Le Pew?
 
#73      
Not to go all woe is me, but, assuming Kofi and Feliz were unable to make the trip due to some passport issue, is there another program that has as much of this s*** happen as we do? From what I understand BK was salutatorian of his class, and NCAA says he has transcript issues and now passport issues?

Small things but they seem to really stack up. Need everyone in Italy for game experience/bonding.

Bleh.

Folks,

The issue I THINK is related to the passports these kids hold. I suspect they do not hold US/EU passports. In which case they could have faced visa issues. The travel agent did not have his act together. Speculation so far.

Ben and GB should have EU passport (whichever EU nation each belongs to). So, they should have no issues. The others, being US citizens, should have US passports and therefore need no visa for EU travel (do not know if it applies to play out there).
 
#74      
I'm in a big glass house with a fist full of stones because I'm far from perfect, but how in the heck can the passport / visa issue not have been taken care of?

I feel for the kids (and coach walker) having to watch their teammates take off on a trip they were looking so forward to because someone dropped the ball bigtime.
 
#75      

Deleted member 29907

D
Guest
Shame for these two - lets hope it doesn't turn into "The Terminal 2" (Tom Hanks may not be available)