Senior Chris McDevitt (Doylestown, PA) from Widener's men's basketball team will provide a blog as he travels though Europe as part of an eight-day trip involving sightseeing, basketball and fun.
Also taking part in the trip is Widener head coach Chris Carideo and assistants Bill Leahy and Lou Becht.
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8/13/10
Our last full day in Europe consisted of a full day in London. We woke up early to leave the hotel around 7:30 am. We walked to the Mechelen train station and took a series of trains to London. Once we arrived in London, as a group, we walked to Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. After seeing these two impressive cites, we all split up to tour London.
The city was amazing and it was a great way to cap off this amazing experience in Europe. We arrived back at the hotel around midnight. Most of the team stayed awake for the night because our flight home was extremely early that morning. As of now we are running on a few hours of sleep in the past 48 hours. Our last 36 hours consisted of five countries connected by several train rides to London and one plane ride to Paris.
Looking back on the week in Europe, I had a blast. The team and I were able to experience the European culture in many different countries and cities. We also were able to learn the game of basketball from a European perspective by competing at a high level in every game. We went 4-1 for the week and made great memories together while doing so. I would like to thank Coach Blumenthal and Global Sports Academy and my coaching staff from Widener for the great opportunities they presented us. Most importantly, we represented our country with extreme pride and respect while in Europe. USA!
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8/12/10
Days five and six were more relaxing as we did not travel and tour as much as usual. On day five, we were still in Dusseldorf and had the chance to sleep in a bit. We walked around the city for a bit during the day to get lunch then got ready for our game at 8:00 that night. We played a tough opponent this night in Germany but our style of play forced them to do many things they were not comfortable doing. Like most European teams, this team was very half-court oriented. We forced them to play a more up-tempo game by pressing from the start. We won by around 20 and we played a very sound game as a team. After the game, we grabbed a team meal and headed back to Dusseldorf for the night.
Day six we were on the move again back to Belgium. This time we made a pit stop in Holland on the way. We were able to stop at Philips Stadium which is the home of the Footbal Club PSV. We stopped in their team store and purchased some items to take home. After the stadium we toured through Holland for a few hours and ate lunch in the city. Holland was similar to Brussels. Both cities were more advanced and much like a United States city. On the way back to Belgium from our stop in Holland, we played our last game. We played Technico, a team from Belgium. Like the previous game this team wanted nothing to do with trapping, but they did push the ball back at us while we pressed. The game was close most of the way until we pulled away at the end. Ricky Hudson was much help as he went off for 30 points including two dunks and several threes. After playing five mostly competitive games we ended the week at 4-1 and started to play very well as a team as the trip went on.
Next time I check in we will be done a great day of tours in London and getting ready for our flight back to the states. USA!
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8/9/10
Day four was time for us to say goodbye to Mechelen and pack our bags for Germany. On the way to Dusseldorf we stopped in the city of Cologne to do some more sightseeing.
We saw the world's second largest church, which was unbelievable. After a few pictures near the church we went to eat down by the Rhine River. Our tour guide for the week suggested I get a Schnitzel. A Schnitzel is tender pork lightly breaded. The restaurant we ate at had many different types of Schnitzels. I decided on the Mediterranean that Schnitzel which had a tomato sauce and cheese on top. This was by far my best meal of our trip. Once we finished touring in Cologne, we were off to Dusseldorf. When we arrived we checked in to our hotel and headed to our game. We definitely played better as a team this game and ended up winning by around 30 points. The opponent was not as talented and organized as the previous team but we stressed to just play hard and have fun. After our game we enjoyed dinner with the opposition then went out in Dusseldorf to explore the string of over 250 restaurants and pubs in the Old City area.
Next time I check in we will have competed in our fourth game and experienced more of Germany. USA!!
Next post I will be writing from Dusseldorf. Keep up. USA!
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8/9/10
Day three was a very busy day started off by interacting with the Belgian community. Coach Carideo was scheduled to talk about press defense at a Belgium Coaches Association Clinic. Coach asked us to participate to demonstrate several drills and teaching points for his press/pressure defense. This was important for us because it helped all of our players understand the way we will be playing the rest of the week here in Europe. This also helped show the Belgium coaches what our press actually looks like. After Coach Carideo's demonstration we helped Coach Blumenthal with his offensive drills and techniques. Then we headed to Brussels for the afternoon for some more sightseeing. Brussels was more of an up to date “big city,” similar to Philadelphia back in the states. During the sightseeing the coaches gave us a scavenger hunt to complete. This was made up of several tasks that involved us trying to break the language barrier and interact with many different people. At the end of our scavenger hunt, as a team, we did a re-make of an Iceland Soccer Club celebration. If you haven't seen this before let me explain. An Iceland soccer player scored a big goal late in the match and they celebrated by using one of their players as a fisherman, and one of the players as the actual fish. Eric Brennan cast the fishing line out and caught Alex Raymond. While Eric was reeling him in, Alex was flopping on the ground towards him like a fish. Then some of the team members lifted Alex up, displaying him as a “prize catch” while Otis Smith took several fake pictures. This was by far the highlight of the day. We did this in the middle of the city and let's just say, we had some interesting responses from the people.
After our adventure in Brussels we headed back for our game that night against the Pitzemburg basketball team in Mechelen. This game was a bit different than our first. The Mechelen team had a few very good players and played great as a team. We ended up losing the game as we struggled with adapting to the game and how it is officiated. We played hard but we were on the losing end. We will use this game as sort of a wake up call and I have faith we will bounce back strong in our next game in Germany.
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8/9/10
Our first night in Mechelen we went out as a team. It was a blast. We made a few friends along the way. Once we awoke on Friday morning we realized we had a full day of sightseeing and a game in the evening. Our sightseeing for the day took place in Brugge, Belgium. Brugge was a much larger city than Mechelen. We began to walk around and noticed a few stores and restaurants we noticed from the United States. There was a Subway shop and also a Footlocker which was very cool. A few of the guys purchased some clothes and accessories while others grabbed a few postcards to send home. The highlight of the day for me was renting bikes to tour the city. We have noticed that riding bikes is an extremely popular way of getting around in Belgium. Our bikes allowed us to see other parts of the city that we would miss walking. My friend Fran and I shared a double bike which was pretty amusing to the people of Belgium. We also grabbed lunch in Brugge which was interesting in itself. I ordered an item off a menu that I had no clue what it was. The meal ended up being a type of vegetable wrapped in ham in a cheese sauce. This ended up not being too bad. I think it is important that we try new things while over in Belgium because we may never have the chance to be back.
After the day in Brugge we set off in the bus to our first game. When we entered the arena we did not know what to expect. The gym ended up being bigger than most of us expected. The first team we played was interesting as well. There were many players on the team older than 30 but also a few very young players. The game started off a bit rough as we struggled to score in the first five minutes. Once we got in a groove we played well for our first game over the pond. We ended up winning by 25 and had a great time doing so. Immediately after the game we enjoyed a spaghetti meal at the gyms cafe. Most of the gyms in Europe have cafes attached to the court for conversation after the games.
Next time I drop in we will have played our second game and experienced another night in Mechelen. Keep up! USA!
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8/6/10
Our first full day in Europe was spent in Mechelen. Our flight landed around 7:30 am Belgium time, which was around 1:30 am in the US. Most of us on the team were very tired due to the struggle for sleep and the time changes. Once we arrived in Mechelen we went on a quick tour of the city. The city was a fairly small town with an interesting underground parking lot. The main part of Mechelen had an incredible cathedral with many restaurants and shops surrounding it. The first unusual sight we saw was a crew digging up human remains to make room for a new undergound parking lot. That was definitely an interesting sight. After that experience we all went our separate ways to get lunch. I ordered spaghetti carbonera. My decision was quickly criticized by my coaching staff because it was not a cultural meal. Anyways, it was very good and we had a great lunch.
After lunch we were able to rest in the hotel for a few hours and catch up on some sleep. When we woke we headed to a local recreation center for a quick practice. We went over a few sets and basically just talked about the style we will be playing and how to adapt to the game in Europe. Shortly following our practice and a quick meal we made our way back to the hotel to prepare for a “night on the town.”
Tomorrow we play our first game. We will be in Bruges.
On my next post I will summarize our first night in Europe and the sights we saw the following day in Belgium.
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8/2/2010
The past three years at Widener University have been the best three years of my life. Participating in Division III basketball has opened the door to many great opportunities, and this week will be one of them. One of my teammates last year got the opportunity of a lifetime to travel abroad to Europe with other NCAA basketball players. Hearing about his, I realized I wanted to make this experience my own. Nine other Division II and Division III players and myself will be traveling through Europe, beginning Wednesday with our flight to Belgium. At Widener, I have been part of a great basketball tradition, including winning two conference championships in the last three years. Yet, nothing can compare to a trip of sightseeing, basketball, and experiencing life in countries outside of the United States.
The anticipation is building on the days leading up to the trip. I am excited to be able to meet fellow college basketball players from other areas of the United States, and build relationships with them on and off of the basketball court while in Europe. We have all been communicating through Facebook and a few texts to get ready for the next two weeks. Although we will not be able to have any practice sessions as a team before we leave, we are planning on a few upon our arrival. I cannot wait to see all of the talent that will come together as a unit and hopefully we can showcase our skills and personalities throughout the ten days.
We will be departing from Newark Airport on Wednesday, August 4. When we arrive in Belgium, we will be meeting with a tour guide for a tour of the city of Mechelen and practicing that night. We will be taking part in a ton of tours while in several different cities, which I will update daily while in Europe. Our games will all be played in the evening against a variety of teams from different European leagues.
The special part of this trip which the team values greatly is that each of us will be representing our college/university as well as our country. This is an amazing opportunity and we are all extremely excited to get this experience started!
Next time you hear from me we will have completed our trip over the pond and be in Belgium.
