LyleGold
PhD Student
Posts: 1712
Reg: 11-22-04
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08-22-13 06:19 AM - Post#152272
As of yesterday's victory over 4th division Italian club Stella Azzurra Roma, the basketball portion of the Quakers' trip to Italy ended. They still have a day or so together in Rome before returning to Philadelphia and the beginning of the school year. The players will not be allowed to practice as a team with the coaching staff for nearly two months.
Over the course of three weeks this summer, the Quakers were together as an athletic team and as a group of friends. They were able to practice daily in Philadelphia before embarking on a shared personal and cultural experience that each will remember and, hopefully, increasingly cherish with the passage of time. They also practiced and played three games under the supervision of Jerome and his staff. None of our Ivy League opponents will have had a similar experience going into the upcoming season - one which some of us see as a cyclical peak.
Having had the opportunity to attend the first of Penn’s games in Italy and to observe the tone and general interaction among the players, as well as with their coaches and families, I was struck by how modest, focused, polite, and competitive this group has become. I am more optimistic about our chances for success next season having observed them from a different perspective than midcourt at the Palestra.
I don’t want the Quakers to win the Ivy League just because Penn is my alma mater, but also because I believe this particular group deserves a tangible reward for their efforts. I desperately wanted a title for Zack Rosen a couple of years ago, and that team came closer than we dared hope for, but it wasn’t within their reach. I have similar hopes for Miles, Fran, Dau, Cam, and Steve as they approach their senior seasons.
On the other hand, this trip fell well short of its potential. The original press release from PennAthletics announced a four-game trip including three teams from LegaDue Gold (the Italian second division) and one opponent, PistoiaBasket, that had just won promotion to Serie A (the Italian first division). None of those games happened.
Instead, the Penn contingent managed to cobble together a practice in Venice, two scrimmages with American military base teams, and one game with Stella Azzurra Roma (Blue Star Rome), which plays in the Divisione Nazionale B (DNB), the FOURTH level of Italian basketball. The DNB is divided into three regional leagues, the top teams of which win promotion to LegaDue Silver, the Italian THIRD division.
Jerome spoke at length about the importance of facing a higher caliber of opposition, seeing a different style of play, and adapting to different rules and interpretations of rules. We never saw the high quality opposition we expected, and only the Stella Azzurra game would have provided a glimpse of “European†basketball, albeit at a very modest level.
This link is to an article on the Stella Azzurra website introducing the opening of their training camp a few days ago.
http://www.stellazzurra.it/news/dnb-al-via-la-sta g...
It reads as follows:
DNB – The 2013/2014 Season Begins
The 2013/2014 Stella Azzurra season officially began this afternoon with the gathering of the very young DNB squad at Roccaporena di Cascia. Coming out of the starting blocks, the “Little Stars†are younger than ever, with almost all of the players being born between 1995 and 1997. Thus, Coach D’Arcangeli, along with his staff, will begin the hard work of approaching the season debut on October 6th. The first scrimmage is scheduled for August 21st at Roccaporena against Penn State University.
What?!!! Well, if we can claim they are a second division team, they can claim we are Penn State! I hope the gift Penn Basketball t-shirts we gave our opponents yesterday read,â€NOT PENN STATE.†Folks, it even happens over here.
(I personally dislike our relatively recent rebranding as “PENNâ€, which only adds to the confusion. I always thought “PENNSYLVANIA†looked more distinguished on our jerseys, like the ones Steve Bilsky and Jerome Allen wore with pride. Additionally, our colors should be the classier navy blue and burgundy, not the blaring red we now use. I know our branding consultants determined that we should use the colors of the American flag, but leave the fire engine red to Cornell.)
So our only Italian opponent was a squad of mostly teenagers who have had no more than two days of preseason practice. They are in the midst of total rebuilding as their best players from last year have moved on to Serie A and LegaDue Gold teams. Ironically, last year’s star point guard, Alessandro Grande, now plays for Tezenis Verona, whom we should have played during our stay in Venice. Two others, Giovanni Esposito and Matteo Fallucca, will be joining Princeton’s Mason Rocca at Aurora Jesi, also in LegaDue Gold.
Therefore, Penn’s summer trip to Italy needs to be placed in the proper perspective. It was a great experience that can only make us better as a team and closer as a group. However, its potential to harden us as a tougher, more competitve squad went largely unrealized. That important aspect of the trip will go down as a missed opportunity.
I know from personal experience, having taken a group of middle school students to Rome, Florence, Siena, and Pisa, as well as having spent 10-12 weeks here each of the last 15 years, that even the most thorough plans in Italy rarely unfold as intended. Penn’s trip to Italy, which was announced with little advance notice, seems to have been conceived and executed in haste. When hurried plans and Italy converge, disappointment is the likely result.
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LyleGold
PhD Student
Posts: 1712
Reg: 11-22-04
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Re: Penn 's Italy Trip in Perspective
08-22-13 07:11 AM - Post#152274
In response to LyleGold
Oh, and by the way, Stella Azzurra's so-called national team players referenced in the official release all represented their countries (Italy and others) on the Under-16 and Under-17 levels. That makes them very good players for their age groups, but let's be clear about whom we faced yesterday. Maybe a couple of them could be future Quakers.
This article from the Stella Azzurra website recounts the recent European youth championships. It is dated August 19th:
http://www.stellazzurra.it/news/gli-stellini-prot a...
Translation:
The Little Stars Feature in the European Under-16 Championships
The European U16 Championships that finished last night saw, among its many standouts, four Stella Azzurra players. Andrea La Torre, who closed the tournament with an average of 14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists per game, and Davide Moretti, who contributed 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists per game, led Coach Bocchino's Italian national team to an important fourth place finish and subsequent qualification for next year's U17 World Championship in Dubai. Todor Radonjic, despite his 9 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals per game, was unable to stop Montenegro's relegation to Division B. On the other hand, Andrej Maslinko's Macedonia will remain in Division B thanks to the eighth place conquered at Sarajevo in which our Little Star recorded an average of 5 points and 4 rebounds per game.
Compliments to all for their optimal results and performances in such an important competition.
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Chuck
Masters Student
Posts: 995
Reg: 11-21-04
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Re: Penn 's Italy Trip in Perspective
08-22-13 10:31 AM - Post#152288
In response to LyleGold
It's interesting that St. Joes appeared to manage to play all FOUR of their scheduled games on their Italy trip. This whole thing appears to have been very poorly planned and executed. It is nice that the kids gets to see a little of Italy, but basketball-wise I wonder if anything was accomplished.
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PennHoopsFan
Masters Student
Posts: 633
Loc: Mid-Atlantic
Reg: 02-23-09
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Re: Penn 's Italy Trip in Perspective
08-22-13 10:39 AM - Post#152289
In response to LyleGold
Nice write-up, Lyle! I stopped after finding three different Stella Azzurra teams: the one in Rome, one in Viterbo (DNC-fifth level) and one in Lombardia (regional level), none of which was based in Perugia.
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penn nation
Professor
Posts: 21212
Reg: 12-02-04
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Re: Penn 's Italy Trip in Perspective
08-22-13 10:41 AM - Post#152290
In response to PennHoopsFan
But nothing like Stella D'Oro...used to live close to their factory in the Bronx.
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PennHoopsFan
Masters Student
Posts: 633
Loc: Mid-Atlantic
Reg: 02-23-09
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08-22-13 10:50 AM - Post#152292
In response to penn nation
HaHaHaHa! Nice one PN! Stella Azzurra means Blue Star, and Stella D'Oro means Gold Star. Stella D'Oro biscotti (cookies) were an important part of my childhood!
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penn nation
Professor
Posts: 21212
Reg: 12-02-04
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08-22-13 11:13 AM - Post#152293
In response to PennHoopsFan
Yep--I knew the meanings from the cognates (took French in high school and at Penn).
And I minored in Stella D'Oro in grade school.
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palestra38
Professor
Posts: 32840
Reg: 11-21-04
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Re: Penn 's Italy Trip in Perspective
08-22-13 11:20 AM - Post#152294
In response to penn nation
Really, I lived on Albany Crescent, 3 blocks from Stella Doro for 3 years and went jogging to Van Cortlandt all the time right by the bakery. Nothing like brainfuls of baking Breakfast Treats as you run.
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LyleGold
PhD Student
Posts: 1712
Reg: 11-22-04
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Re: Penn 's Italy Trip in Perspective
08-22-13 12:12 PM - Post#152296
In response to Chuck
I agree completely about the appearances, Chuck. It's hard to imagine that Penn tried to put together the trip on its own. There must be Italian-based organizations that do this sort of thing regularly, as many American college teams travel here every summer. We know that three Big 5 teams plus the Univ. of Nevada were all here at the same time. Other schools didn't have the same difficulties. Someone, possibly people on both sides of the Atlantic, really dropped the ball on this one - and it clanked off the rim!
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PennHoopsFan
Masters Student
Posts: 633
Loc: Mid-Atlantic
Reg: 02-23-09
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08-22-13 01:13 PM - Post#152304
In response to LyleGold
I was pretty psyched that Penn was set to play real Italian teams rather than "summer league" or "showcase" teams that tend to be much less cohesive team-wise. But, as the days went by, I couldn't help but notice that the player signings on the three teams I followed were going awfully slow. So, when the cancellations came, I was disappointed but not surprised.
Based on public information (I have no inside connection with any Italian team or with Penn's basketball program), I believe each Italian team cancelled once it learned it would not have sufficient players signed up and in town ready to play on the appointed day. The teams probably could not (or would not) make temporary contracts to bring in additional players (or last year's players, whose contracts expired on June 30th) to staff up for these games.
Maybe Penn planned the trip, or secured the funding for the trip, too late to join the circuit St. Joe's played in, or maybe Penn wanted to try to give the players the different (and better) experience of playing against real teams. We now know that the "real teams" approach Penn took was the riskier one based as it was on the vagaries of player signings. (Or, maybe this year was an outlier, with the reorganization of the LegaDue and DNA leagues the complicating factor.)
I don't know if Penn had contingency plans in place (i.e., against strikes, always a problem in Italy) or if what Penn did was the contingency plan. But, I think Penn adjusted best it could under the circumstances, even if the basketball played was not what we all had hoped it would be.
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SRP
Postdoc
Posts: 4914
Reg: 02-04-06
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08-22-13 08:20 PM - Post#152316
In response to PennHoopsFan
Perhaps the chaotic situation in Italy will steel the Quakers for some of the fine Saturday officiating they can expect during cold nights in Hanover or Ithaca. "At least the opponent showed up to play."
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Redfish
Masters Student
Posts: 767
Loc: under a bridge in Phoenix...
Reg: 11-26-04
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08-22-13 10:50 PM - Post#152320
In response to SRP
I heard the opposing teams dropped the Quakers once they realized it wasn't Penn STATE they had scheduled.
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LyleGold
PhD Student
Posts: 1712
Reg: 11-22-04
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Penn 's Italy Trip in Perspective
08-23-13 03:23 PM - Post#152350
In response to PennHoopsFan
Those are all good points, PHF. My original reaction when the trip was announced was that none of those teams had even been brought together yet for the official "raduno" or team check-in and medical visits, which are immediately followed by a "ritiro" or training camp retreat. Stella Azzurra had its raduno three days before playing Penn, which was at the end of our trip, and Roccaporeno di Cascia is the site of its ritiro. Since they're essentially a fourth division youth team, they probably wanted to get their training camp in before school starts.
The real pro teams (Serie A and LegaDue Gold) haven't even arrived yet. Pistoia Basket, the top club we were supposed to play, has its medical checks and first practice next Thursday (8/29) and doesn't play an exhibition game until Sept. 7 against Florence, who plays in LegaDue Silver - the third division.
In other words, the program PennAthletics announced didn't make sense from the start. It doesn't seem like there were any firm backup plans if those teams weren't able to get enough of their returning players to suit up before the official training camps. In fact, I imagine they are not allowed to do that for insurance and contractual reasons. We did manage to get the guys on the court four times, so at least there was a mix of hoops and sightseeing. It can only help us, but..........
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Jeff2sf
Postdoc
Posts: 4466
Reg: 11-22-04
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08-23-13 04:53 PM - Post#152357
In response to LyleGold
If that's the case (people not yet ready for training camp), who did SJU play and how did they manage?
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LyleGold
PhD Student
Posts: 1712
Reg: 11-22-04
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Penn 's Italy Trip in Perspective
08-23-13 05:22 PM - Post#152360
In response to Jeff2sf
Part of St. Joe's Italy trip included the Vicenza-NCAA Italy Tour along with Clemson, Rhode Island and a few women's teams including Arkansas and Stanford. They faced a couple of all-star teams composed of the best players from the Veneto region - one from Vicenza and the other from Padua. There were games in several locations in packed gyms of about 3,000 fans. I don't know if those players needed special permission from their clubs or what, but this is an annual tournament that is sponsored by digital communications company Develon and the Vicenza Bears basketball team.
http://www.comune.vicenza.it/vicenza/eventi/evento...
http://www.bearsbasket.it/index.php/home-2/item/21...
Harvard participated in it last year. They also won the Ivy League.
http://www.bearsbasket.it/index.php/home-2/item/98...
That was clearly a better basketball experience than what we got. It also required planning well in advance.
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Jeff2sf
Postdoc
Posts: 4466
Reg: 11-22-04
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08-23-13 05:25 PM - Post#152361
In response to LyleGold
Not questioning (while not really caring, this isn't that big of a deal, I doubt an Italy trip even has 1 WAR).
You just always hear about teams going to Europe and i assumed all the teams were in training camp, it never occurred to me that most hadn't started.
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