The LU men’s basketball team will take a weeklong trip to Italy this week. (Photo courtesy: Lindenwood Athletics)

DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer

ST. CHARLES, MO — After spending most of the summer working out on campus and inside Hyland Arena, the Lindenwood University mens’ basketball team will get quite a reward to celebrate its final week of summer practice.

The Lions are going to Italy. Florence and Rome to be specific, and they’ll be there for a week, beginning August 5.

The LU Athletics Department is calling it an Italian Tour, where the basketball team and its coaching staff will get to visit one of the most historic places on earth, and also play three games against teams from the Italian professional league.

Lindenwood will play games against Virtus Rome’s Team A and Team B, and it will also play a game against the Bassano All-Stars.

The Lions will be leaving town on Friday morning and expect to touch down in Italy sometime Friday evening.

And along with five to seven additional practices it Italy, additional tour stops will include a guided city tour of Florence, a guided tour and gondola ride in Rome, a food tasting and cooking class, as well as a boat tour through the Italian seaside.

Lindenwood will return home on August 12, allowing the team one final week of summer vacation before classes begin on August 21. The Lions will then have about six weeks off before official practices for the new season begin in October.

The Lions added eight new players to the roster for the upcoming season, seven transfers and a freshman signee. The Italian Tour figures to be a great opportunity for the all the new players and staff to get to know one another.

“We are really excited about this year’s recruiting class,” head coach Kyle Gerdeman said. “I think the coaching staff did a great job of identifying not only talented players, but players that filled our needs, and fit our culture. We wanted to add size, athleticism, and shooting ability, and I think we were able to do that.”