August 3, 2023 / UConn Athletic Communications
MONTE CARLO, Monaco – The first road trip for the 2023-24 UConn men’s basketball team figures to be their longest of the season – both in time and distance. But Day One of the Huskies’ summer foreign tour was also a test of stamina.
UConn’s eight-day journey to France, Monaco and Spain began Wednesday morning with a team workout as usual at the Werth Center, but that was the last usual event of the day. Directly after the workout, the Huskies boarded a bus for the three-hour ride from Storrs to Newark Airport, where UConn checked in for its eight-hour, overnight, across the ocean flight directly to Nice, France.
Landing Thursday morning at 9:20 a.m. local time, the UConn travel party then boarded another bus, this one bound for Monte Carlo, some 31 km away, heavy traffic making the trip significantly longer than the expected 30 minutes.
Still, once the Huskies checked into their hotel in Monte Carlo, the activities continued with a luncheon and the hotel’s rooftop restaurant. That was followed by a walking tour with a guide through the streets of Monte Carlo, tracing the route of the famous Monaco Grand Prix, held each year on Memorial Day weekend. The 2.1-mile Formula 1 course winds directly through the street of the city, reaching speeds of 200 mph, with its hairpin turns and treacherous curves.
Returning to the team hotel, the Huskies were not finished yet, boarding a bus for a short shooting practice at Stade des Mongeghetti, a local gym, not the venue where the Huskies will play their first game of the tour on Saturday.
“Would you rather be here, or just sitting around your hotel rooms,” UConn Coach Dan Hurley asked the group, not really expecting an answer.
The two-days-in-one beginning finally ended with a team dinner at Giacomo Italian, a restaurant on the beach.
“Sure, we’re tired after today, but it’s been great,” sophomore forward Alex Karaban said. “We’re having a good time together and that’s what’s important.”
Day Two on Friday figures to be a lot less strenuous, with a Catamaran Tour planned, but no practice.
None of the Huskies has ever before come to Europe to play basketball.
“We’re seeing a lot of things for the first time as a team,” sophomore Donovan Clingan said. “Stuff like that helps a team bond and that translates to the court.”