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At least two men’s college basketball teams will be in Costa Rica next week for a tournament.
Lamar University’s (LU) Cardinals from Beaumont, Texas, and the University of Texas at El Paso’s (UTEP) Miners will face off against Costa Rica’s national team as well as teams from McGill University and the University of British Columbia.
This early preseason tournament has emotions among the Texan players running high as they prepare to travel to meet stuff competition at the event from August 15 – 20.
“This has become a popular trend in (NCAA) Division I basketball,” said LU head coach Tic Price. “The NCAA will grant some earlier practice to prepare for these trips and then you get some extra games in as well. It goes beyond taking a vacation. We are trying to get better as a team, and we are going there to take care of business. The goal is that these trips will help you be better prepared for the season as you take on teams that have been playing together for a while,” according to a report in the Port Arthur News.
The Cardinals’ Costa Rica trip is organized through Basketball Traveler’s Inc. a company that aids college teams participate throughout the world in tournaments to strengthen their skills and team building.
“We want to get better as a team, but this is also an opportunity to give our guys a chance to experience other cultures they might not otherwise have,” said Price. “We’re in the business of graduating young men – helping them achieve their next step in life whether that be on the court or in the business world. I want our players to be well-rounded young men. We will be doing team-building projects while on this trip, in addition to working on the court.
“In addition to that, the international game is a little different than ours. We will have to adjust to a 24-second shot clock, they have smaller lanes and the international game is a different style than what the majority of fans are used to in the United States.
“Despite those challenges, we are looking for our guys to be aggressive. I want to us clean up our offensive execution with the new wrinkles we’re adding. I want to see which guys aggressively pursue rebounds and make half-court stops. We look at the effort areas, which guys are playing with heart and determination,” added Price.
The El Paso, Texas men’s college team basketball is also on the line-up for the tournament.
The UTEP Miners will compete in three games in Costa Rica, and will give the fans the opportunity to get a glimpse of the six new players who are joining the team, said an article in the university’s paper The Prospector.
says that his team will get the most out of the 10 days they have and have two-a-days practices, making it 20 practices for the student-athletes.
“The beauty of the Costa Rica trip is not the rainforests, the zip lining, the beach and the waterfalls—it’s about the 20 practices,” said head coach Tim Floyd to The Prospector. “They (student-athletes) are not going to be in regular season shape, and our hope is that they close the gap by the time the trip is done. We’re going to put them in a better position for them to have success that they wouldn’t have otherwise.”
UTEP will face McGill University twice and the University of British Columbia once on their trip to Costa Rica.
“Honestly, this trip came right on time. It’s good that we get these 10 days to practice—it’ll help us build more team chemistry and we could learn the plays quicker,” incoming freshman Kobe Magee said in an interview with The Prospector. “This trip is more about chemistry than anything else. We haven’t really played together. Getting to know each other on the court is the most important thing.”
Looks like Costa Rican Mother’s Day (August 15) week will be a good time to see some great hoop at the Gimnasio Nacional on the southeast corner of La Sabana metropolitan park in San José.
