The Oregon women’s basketball team is about to embark on a 10-day trip to Italy Sunday, flying into Milan monday morning.
The Ducks will play four games over the duration of the trip against Italian professional teams, interspersed with a crash course in Italian history, culture and heritage. Stops along the way include Lake Como, Venice, Florence, Rome and the Vatican City, as well as a special dinner gathering with the family of former Oregon forward Mary Sbrissa. Sbrissa announced her intention this summer to transfer to New York Institute of Technology.
NCAA rules allow for programs to embark on international trips every four years. The Oregon men visited the Bahamas in 2006, an experience thought to be a catalyst for the team’s Elite Eight run that season. The Oregon women visited Australia four years ago.
“With a very young team, we thought it would be an opportune time, not only to see a country and have the experience of a lifetime, but also to have ten days with our young team, getting them prepared for this season,” women’s basketball head coach Bev Smith said. “For us as coaches and as a team, it’s ten days that we don’t ever get to work in the summertime.”
Nine Ducks will be making the journey, including well-traveled guard Micaela Cocks, fresh off her performances at the Beijing Olympics with the New Zealand national team. Incoming freshman guard Darriel Gaynor and forwards Amanda Johnson and Jasmin Holliday, as well as junior-college transfer Lindsey Saffold are not allowed to accompany the Ducks, according to NCAA rules.
Smith played professionally and coached in Italy for 15 years and will serve as de facto tour guide for the excursion. She hopes that her student-athletes gain as much perspective off the court as on the court against professional competition.
“Living over there myself, foreign travel really opened up the world to me,” Smith said. “Italy has a pretty good basketball program and I think it’s an incredibly cultural and educational experience for athletes.”
Right down to lifestyle.
“The way they eat, I think, is just so healthy and so proper. The Italians live to eat, whereas we eat to live. That’s just an important part of their day,” Smith said of Italian eating habits, one of the cultural mores she hopes to open the Ducks up to. “It’s almost a ritual to sit down for a family meal. It’s very seldom that you see people drinking coffee in their car. You take time to sit in the cafe or stand in the cafe and drink it, with your mind focusing on the coffee. Slowing down and eating is important.”
Nevertheless, the court comes first for the Ducks, and Smith and the coaching staff consistently drops hints and advice in practice regarding the markedly different style of play Oregon expects to see in Italy. The itinerary also creates a test of focus.
“We’re trying to go undefeated,” sophomore center Nicole Canepa said. “It’s not like this is a trip for fun. This is a trip for business and fun. They’ve been trying to prepare us for how the Europeans play over there, and it’s a little bit tougher than how we play over here. I think it’ll be a good challenge for us.”
For Canepa, the trip to Italy takes on many levels. She has spent the offseason rehabilitating a partially-torn MCL at home in San Francisco and will have ample opportunity to test her knee’s strength abroad. But Canepa, who is half Italian, has never been overseas before and cherishes the idea of a return to her roots.
“I’m going back to my culture and that’s really exciting,” Canepa said. “My family’s very jealous.”
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