#euromavs Italy Blog: Post #2
by JT Gibson and Randy Reed II
Part 1 - JT GIBSON
Good evening from Milan! JT Gibson here with part one of our team's latest blog. Today in Italy, we visited one of the wealthiest areas in the world: Lake Como. On a private boat tour on the lake, we saw some of Italy's most amazing homes, three of which were even owned by George Clooney. Some of the houses have even been in the scenes from movies like Oceans 12 and 007 Casino Royale.
With this being my first time overseas, I've finally been able to see how the people of another culture live and work. Lake Como was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, and it was great experiencing what life is like halfway around the world.
While we explored the city of Como, I tried gelato for the first time. It was delicious! Walking around, we noticed that the buildings are very compact here and that cars drive down the alleyways where pedestrians walk. At first that seemed very dangerous, but to the Italian shopkeepers, it was the norm. We also saw multiple neighborhood dogs out on the streets without their owners, but they were surprisingly quiet and didn't bother each other or the visitors.
Other than sightseeing, the most important event of the day was our first game of the tour -- and it was my first game as a Maverick! We were all excited as we approached the gym, and I was anxious to make my collegiate debut. My big bro Randy Reed might have had a Sports Center Top 10-level dunk, and on top of it all, we got a great win to start off the week of competition.
Thanks for reading! I'll turn over the blog to Randy Reed now.
Part 2 - RANDY REED II
This is Randy Reed, coming to you from Milan at 10 p.m. Today was a packed day, and every moment was amazing. We woke up at 6:30 a.m. for breakfast, followed by a bus ride to our private tour of Lake Como. It is the smallest lake in Italy, yet one of the wealthiest places in the world. The lake is inhabited by aristocrats from Russia and the United States, including our very own George Clooney. As our tour guide explained, movie scenes were filmed at many of the most extravagant homes on the lake.
After our one-hour tour, we docked the boat at Bellagio, which was a tourist-heavy area of the lake. The shops there were filled with bags, dresses, scarves and jewelry. Bellagio was much different than I expected. The ground was made up of stones, and the stairs were very high. Dogs are really popular here, and the sidewalks and streets are one and the same, as cars were driving right where we walked in the one-way alleys. A few people noticed that we were foreign basketball players and told us to "show the Italians how real basketball is played." I think we represented our home country pretty well in our first game, which came a bit later in the day.
The temps in the gym at Palazzetto Dello Sport had us dripping in sweat before warmups even started. The basketballs were European, and the floor was wood and lacked the spring our American courts have. The opposing team, All Star Varese, was made up of 17- to 23-year-old Italian professional players.
Coach Hansen subbed us in waves like Kentucky does; we became reinforcements for each other and brought good energy and effort. We won the game by about 40 points, and just about every guy played plenty of minutes and had opportunities to score. It was nice to see everyone on the team get out there and feel a game-like atmosphere in an Omaha jersey. I think it was crucial for the newcomers because they finally got the monkey off their back.
Our team had some nice highlights during the game. Zach Pirog had a nice flush, JT Gibson was hot from three, and Daniel Meyer played really well. And a shoutout to Tra-Deon Hollins for two reasons: 1) he unselfishly threw me a pass for a fastbreak dunk, and 2) he later threw me a crazy alley-oop pass that seemed impossible to catch for another dunk. After the game, we shook hands, thanked All Star Varese for hosting us and then took a picture mixed in with the opposing team.
Then, a guy called my name and said I was the game's MVP. I thought it was a joke stemming from my dunk, but he was serious! I think I have to deem Tra-Deon Co-MVP though, because it was his passes that got the job done.
Before I close, I want to thank all the people that had a hand in this trip. I'm so thankful to our coaching staff for recruiting me and for this amazing opportunity. My teammates deserve a shout -- they are amazing guys, and I wouldn't want to share this experience with another crew. I also appreciate our fans for their support all year around, including this week as we try to keep you posted on everything we're doing and seeing here. Finally, I want to thank God because five years ago when I graduated high school, I never thought I would ever do something this amazing. This year has so much in store for our program, and we're looking to make some major moves. This trip is just the beginning.
