Old Dominion Basketball Takes Talents to Europe
The Old Dominion basketball team is in the late stages of a preseason venture overseas as the guys get ready to finish a 10-day European trip Friday. This is the first voyage out of the U.S. for ODU basketball since 2008. The team was in Italy for two games last week and arrived in Greece yesterday for another set of games.
College basketball fans know what these preseason expeditions can do for a team. They build camaraderie, confidence and can even establish an identity. Back in ’08, the Monarchs traveled to the Bahamas and the young team finished 25-10. They didn’t make it to the NCAATournament, but the group was able to conquer the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Tournament. The ensuing two seasons produced back-to-back CAA Championships and trips to the NCAA Tournament.
This year’s bunch hopes to repeat the type of success with their trip to Europe. So far, the team is off to a great start. In their sweep through Italy, the team punished the Mestre Club Team 92-40 then followed that performance with a 84-42 drubbing to the Orvieto Club. Senior North Carolina State-transfer, DeShawn Painter and junior guard Donte Hill have led the team with great performances. Painter scored 21 points and hauled down 20 rebounds in the first game, while Hill scored 19 points and had four steals in the second game. Meanwhile, freshman guard Keenan Palmore performed well dishing out nine assists the first game and scoring 14 points against Orvieto.
The Monarchs look to keep this momentum going in the remaining games in Greece and take what they have learned back to the States.
