The first time rookie Eph head coach Mike Maker will meet his
team will be 2:30 pm on August 15th at Boston's Logan Airport, a
mere 161 miles from Chandler Gym on the Williams campus.
NCAA Division III rules prohibit the Ephs from having any practice
sessions before embarking on their foreign tour and only returning
players from last year's team may participate on the trip.
Maker will have 16 players on the trip from an Eph team that
finished 17-8 last season under Dave Paulsen. Joining Maker on the
trip to Italy is newly hired assistant coach Kevin App who played
at Cornell, graduating in 2007 with a B.S. in civil engineering.
Maker will have three returning starters in center Joe Geoghegan
(12.6/8.9) and guards Kevin Snyder (10.1/2.4) and Blake Schultz
(9.2/5.2).
"I plan to find a space in the airport where I can introduce
myself to the players and then start showing them the offense I
plan to run," noted Maker. "It could be quite a scene the first few
days as I try to put names with faces, but once they put their
uniforms on the numbers will help, I hope."
"One of my first jobs is to put together a folder on each of our
players with a picture and stats for coach Maker," said App who
made his first appearance on campus on August 4th.
As a rookie coach who has not seen any of the Eph players play
before, the timing of this preseason trip for Maker is just
perfect. "I expect that we will all learn a lot from this trip both
on and off the court and it will help us come together quickly as a
team," noted Maker. "I can't wait to get over there and start
practicing and playing and getting to know the players on this team
and for them to get to know me and Kevin."
The Ephs will land in Milan on August 16 and travel to Como city.
The first game will be on August 17 vs. Castellanza Select. August
18th will be spent in Milan and feature a game vs. the Valtellina
All Stars. On the 19th the Eph travel party of 27 (players,
coaches and family members) will head to Venice.
August 20th the Ephs will be in San Marino to play KK Mornar
Basket. On the 21st the Ephs will visit the medieval city of centre
of San Marino. The 22nd of August will find the Ephs visiting
Florence, Umbria and Terni.
Game number three will be a morning contest vs. Stella Azzurra at
10:30 on August 23rd. Following the Stella Azzurra contest the Ephs
will head to Rome. A morning trip to the Vatican will be followed
by the final contest of the trip on the afternoon of the 24th vs. a
Rome select team.
The Ephs will leave Italy on the morning of the 25th and fly back
to Logan Airport in Boston.
The Eph seniors will be providing updates on the trip –
check back often.
