UW-Platteville checks in from Ireland

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The UW-Platteville men’s and women’s basketball teams are overseas. They will check in with Division III basketball fans from time to time. Jeff Skemp is our correspondent.

The UW-Platteville men’s and women’s basketball teams spent the first day in Ireland touring immediately following a seven-hour direct flight from Chicago’s O’Hare airport into Dublin. The sites that we were able to see on the first day included a trip to an old monastery, seeing remnants of the old churches, and walking through a cemetery. We then boarded back onto the bus and continued on to Powerscourt. This was a mansion of an Ireland Lord with beautiful gardens all over the property. We were able to eat lunch while there, and then went to our hotel to check in.

UW-Platteville's Kyle Tetschlag, Berent Froiland, Jeff Skemp and Scott Gibbons pose outside the Chester Beatty Library.We went to a local gym and had a brief practice to stretch our legs, work out, and finalize some things before our first game on Wednesday. The team then went back to the hotel where we had a team meal for dinner, and then were free to experience the city night life of Ireland.

Day Two started off on a bad foot for some as wakeup call to all rooms was not done by the hotel. Wakeup was supposed to be at 7:00 a.m. so we had time to get breakfast before leaving for our tour at 9:15 a.m. My roommate, I, and others were woken up by a phone call from a teammate at 9:10 and hurried to catch the bus for the tour. Our second day was much more eventful and enjoyable, though, as we toured the Dublin Castle, Christ Cathedral, and St. James Gate, before going on to what the team and most college kids would consider the most important part of the day’s tour. We toured the Guinness Brewery which was a seven-story building with information about how the beer is made and facts about where it is shipped and drank around the world. We were able to go to the top where there was an all-glass bar called the Gravity Bar where complimentary drinks were served to those of age. The bar was amazing because we were able to see over most of the city of Dublin.

Following Guinness tour we continued on to the Old Jameson Distillery. We watched an informational movie about Jameson, and then took a tour of the museum where we again learned how Jameson is made and aged. Following the tour, those of age were again served complimentary drinks and then we spent the rest of the day free as a team to walk the city on our own and do some souvenir shopping. We then had a team dinner at the hotel, and we are again able to spend the night free together in Dublin.

There will be an update on Wednesday’s activities as well as how the Pioneers did in our first game against Irish National 21 teams.

Two wins, Italian food, the Colosseum and sleep!

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Oglethorpe’s men’s basketball team is on a nine-day trip to Europe. They will check in with Division III basketball fans from time to time. Wade Weldon is our correspondent.

Bon Giorno from Rome! Then Oglethorpe men’s basketball departed to Rome at 7:10 am on Friday. Before our departure we played our final game in France against a local semi-pro team. We opened up with a 12-0 lead and their coach called a time out within the first three minutes of the game in attempt to dwindle our fire. We continued to move the ball as a team and cruised to a 94-69 victory. We hit 14 three’s and continued our undefeated streak on foreign soil.

After the victory, we had a quick three hour nap before heading to the airport for our 7:10 a.m. flight to Rome. We landed in Rome half asleep, and hit the ground running with a three hour bus tour of the city. Luckily, we had free time after the tour and caught about a three hour nap before our final game in Rome on Friday night.

Once again, we opened up hot despite the tired legs. We started the game with a 10-0 lead and finished with a 102-76 victory. The speed of our offense and our zone press was hard for the local team to adjust to. The 24 second shot clock caused our opponent to panic and turn the ball over. After the victory, the Italian fans and kids were very excited to meet us and we exchanged our jerseys and other paraphernalia with their home team. After a short bus ride back to our hotel, the Petrels celebrated our 3-0 winning streak with a four-course, local, Italian meal.

Today we woke up after a rejuvenating 8 hours of sleep and took the metro to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. It was amazing to see the ancient Roman architecture and wonder how it would be to compete as a gladiator in the Colosseum. After touring the Colosseum, we went to the Roman Forum and walked around and took great pictures of the city skyline.

You always hear about the pick-pockets in the Roman metro and today we experienced it first hand. One of our chaperons had 40 euros taken out of his fanny pack by a team of local thieves including a baby as a decoy. From now on, we will keep a closer eye on our belongings and watch out for gypsies trying to make a living off American tourists.

Today we dined at a local pizzeria near our hotel. The team enjoyed fresh mozzarella, mussels from Naples, and authentic Italian pizza. Tomorrow, we are taking a day trip to explore the beautiful city of Florence. I will update you the next time I find an internet cafe. Ciao.

Omaha Beach, Arc de Triomphe

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Oglethorpe’s men’s basketball team is on a nine-day trip to Europe. They will check in with Division III basketball fans from time to time.

Bonjour from Paris! This is Wade Weldon from the Oglethorpe men’s basketball team giving you the latest on the men’s basketball team trip to Europe.

Oglethorpe visited Omaha Beach, the site of the Allied Forces' invasion of France on June 6, 1944.On Tuesday, we played our first basketball game in the town of Dravaille against a local team. We came out running and took off with a 101-66 victory. This team had good size and some athletes but they could not keep up with our speed. We shot very poorly from the field and the foul line because our legs were fatigued. Next time we won’t climb to the top of the Arc de Triomphe on a game day. Despite the tired legs, the Petrels are undefeated on foreign soil.

Yesterday, we took a four-hour bus ride to the beaches of Normandy to reflect on the men that gave their lives on D-Day, June 6, 1944. After watching Saving Private Ryan on the bus, the team was excited to see the beach and learn more about the D-Day invasion of Normandy. When we arrived, the weather was foggy and musky. This made the beach look very similar to the way it did at 6:30 am when U.S. infantry and armoured divisions landed on the coast of France on June 6, 1944. After exploring Normandy the team went to the Normandy American Cemetery to honor the American soldiers that died in Europe during World War II. This was a very emotional experience for me because my grandfather fought in this war.

Today we went to the Palace of Versailles, home of Louis XIV. This is one of the largest palaces in the world. I was awestruck when I saw the architecture of this palace and it’s picturesque landscape. No wonder the peasants revolted against Louis XVI because he was living in such royal quarters while they were living in poverty. After this, we took a bus to Montmarte and the Bascilica de Sacre Couer. This historical church is the highest point in France and it offered some of the best views of the city.

Tonight we are playing our second game against another local club team. I will update you on the results of this game in my next entry.

Oglethorpe lands in Paris

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Oglethorpe’s men’s basketball team is on a nine-day trip to Europe. They will check in with Division III basketball fans from time to time.

Oglethorpe players pose in front of the LouvreHello, my name is Wade Weldon. I am a basketball player at Oglethorpe University majoring in business administration. I just finished my sophomore year and my basketball team was given the opportunity to travel to Europe and tour the beautiful countries, France and Italy. I will be posting journal entries periodically throughout our trip.

Yesterday, we arrived at Charles de Gaulle International airport around midday. After being on a plane for 11 hours, we landed and immediately hit the ground running. A Mercedes tour bus picked us up and toured us around the entire city. We stopped at the Eiffel Tower, ate crepes, and admired the great views of the city. After this our tour guide took us to the famous Louvre Museum. The team was fascinated by the museum’s beautiful paintings and historical golden ceilings that give the Louvre its world-renowned reputation. When we returned from the tour, we went back to our hotel and then dined at a great restaurant called Mollard. Here, we enjoyed 10-dollar cokes and three course meals. After being on our feet all day, we immediately crashed after eating dinner.

Oglethorpe players pose in front of the Eiffel TowerToday, we woke up and took the metro to the Musee D’Orsay. We spent the morning touring this beautiful museum and enjoyed famous impressionist paintings by Monet, Van Gogh, and Renoir. After touring the museum we took the metro to the famous Champs Elysee and enjoyed shopping and local dining. After lunch, we went to the Arc de Triumph. This historical architecture was built to celebrate one of Napoleon’s victories. The team climbed the arch and admired the great views of the city. Later today, we are scheduled to play our first basketball game in the suburbs of Paris against a local club/semi-pro team. I am very excited about this game because I have been injured for a few months and I’m ready to get back on the court.

I will give an update tomorrow about how our game went after we return from our trip to the D-Day beaches of Normandy.

When coaches move on

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The recent departures of Howard Payne’s Chris Kielsmeier and Bowdoin’s Stefanie Pemper should remind us all that coaching in Division III can be fairly transient.

Many great coaches have given their life’s work to Division III. Others have started in Division III and moved on. For the most part, this is the nature of the business. I was talking about this at the Final Four with our colleague, Chris Pesotski, and while I don’t think he agreed fully with my theory, here it is anyway.

Among the top coaches in Division III, we really have two basic groups. I know this may be a little oversimplified, but here goes anyway. There are coaches who are lifers, often working at their alma mater, who love the Division III experience and would never have it any other way. And there are coaches who look to pursue jobs at the scholarship level.

We had three lifers at the men’s Final Four: Not only have Mark Edwards, Dave Hixon and Glenn VanWieren been coaching at their respective schools for decades, they are all coaching at alma mater. I think it was fairly clear Kielsmeier was not a lifer. He had built a great program at Howard Payne, but he had a Division I background and no particular ties to West Texas. And Pemper was beginning to show signs of liferism, but got a good opportunity and is running with it.

It’s hard to tell who’s a lifer and who isn’t for coaches in their 30s and 40s. I would be willing to bet the coaches themselves don’t necessarily know either. But the coaches who have taken Division I head coaching jobs, such as Pemper, Hardin-Simmons/Oklahoma State/Charleston Southern’s Julie Goodenough, or even UW-Platteville/UW-Milwaukee/UW-Madison’s Bo Ryan … and then those who got D-I head coaching jobs after brief assistant coaching stints, such as Catholic/Maryland/Vermont’s Mike Lonergan and King’s/Virginia Commonwealth/Mount St. Mary’s Bryan Whitten, were all relatively young when they left Division III.

OK, not Bo Ryan, but Ryan is the exception to almost every so-called rule.

The point is, we should be glad for our coaches when they move on and up. Ryan talks about his Platteville experiences all the time. They help shine the spotlight on Division III, just a little.

And just a little is good. Really.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad coaches in Division III, and in some instances there isn’t a lot of pressure to get better. That’s good for the institution of pure amateur basketball — no scholarships, no particular emphasis on winning — but bad for the kids who could use more help to reach their full potential. Sometimes ADs don’t have the intestinal fortitude to fire someone, and the win-loss record should never, ever be the only measuring stick. But if the program isn’t improving, and the players aren’t getting as much out of it as they should, isn’t that a reason to change?

We have coaches trying to get back into Division III this summer — recognizable coaches who would make an immediate impact on their school after doing something else or coaching elsewhere for a while. I hope they find what they’re looking for.