The LMU men’s basketball team is headed to Italy and Greece for a preseason European tour from Aug. 4-14.
“This trip is an opportunity to blend our five incoming players with our eight returners,” said Head Coach Stan Johnson. “I felt that taking a trip like this would give us a chance to develop chemistry on and off the floor … The three games we play against professional teams will allow us to get a feel for one another and how we want to play as we continue to build our program.”
The Lions will be wheels up to Rome, where they will be welcomed with a Colosseum tour and a dinner. The team will visit the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica on Day 3.
Day 4 involves more Italian sights: the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. They will also participate in the first of three exhibition matches on Day 4.
The next day, the team will hop over to Athens. While in Greece, the team will do some sightseeing at the Panathenaic Stadium, the Plaka District and will take a tour of the Parthenon and the Acropolis.
The Lions wrap things up with a pair of games in Greece and a visit to the Temple of Poseidon before heading back to the bluff.
The exhibition matches will be played against a group of unsigned Greek and Italian all-stars.
The team will return on Aug. 14 and resume their normal basketball activities. The West Coast Conference has announced the 16 conference matchups for each of its 10 men’s basketball teams for the 2022-23 season, with the dates to be determined. Ticket plans for the upcoming season can be found here.