Trip Recap

The Bullets have returned from Italy full of pizza, pasta, gelato and memories. Italy was such a special trip and I am so fortunate that I had the opportunity to coach, learn and grow with our group this time of the year. The foundation that we laid these past three weeks will be invaluable as we work together to build a program of unparalleled quality. If being in Italy and competing against second league professional teams wasn't enough motivation for our group, our women's lacrosse team won the National Championship for the SECOND YEAR IN A ROW! We watched two of their games at team dinners...talk about inspiring!

I hope our fans enjoyed reading our player blog posts. They did such a great job of owning their day and connecting with our fans back home. Simply put, they were Gettysburg Great! Not only did we have the opportunity to compete on the court, explore cities like Venice, Florence and Rome but we had the opportunity to get to know each other. I left the trip having a good idea of who we are as a team, developed a better feel for our individual personalities and enjoyed sharing stories, laughs and the trip experience with our players. On May 30, this is what I can tell you about our group...

• They are really appreciative. They buy into "being where your feet are." They immersed themselves in a foreign culture, some even tried to speak a little Italian. They treated our bus driver and tour guide like superstars...as a Coach, that makes you smile. I was really proud of their attitude and appreciation the entire trip. 
• They are attentive and intellectually curious. They asked thoughtful questions, especially when we were at the Colosseum. As a Coach you love players and teams who want to learn!
• They are really, really funny. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Laughter is a great medicine for bringing people together. It certainly did that. 
• We have a competitive edge. They focus on the things that lead to winning. It's one thing to talk about it but it's another thing to do it. We have a group that does.
• We are great with adjustments. We only had 7 practices and implemented a new system prior to our trip departure. A lot of our coaching and strategy was done on the fly. I was really impressed with our ability to pick up concepts quickly and execute them.
• They are a group I'd go into the Colosseum with. It's only been 3 weeks as their Coach but their maturity, investment, togetherness has really impressed me. Wishing we could fast forward to October! 

All of our games were played against second league teams in Italy. Most of the teams had players in their 20's but a few brought down a ringer just for our game that was a seasoned veteran. All 4 games were a great test for our guys. We played even lineups and minutes. I wasn't so concerned on winning the games but developing a better feel for our personnel, what style works, how each player likes to be coached, etc. It is amazing how different the US game is from the European game. It took us a few games to adjust to the physicality, lack of foul calls (we didn't have refs for 2 of the games!) and in Europe it seems like you can take 4 steps without dribbling (I no longer know what a travel is!). Because of the learning curve with the refs, rules and physical nature of the game it provided us with great adversity which we pushed through. We got to work on certain situations, more stoppage of play with quarters allowed us to work on ATO execution and develop a hit first mentality. 

Our final game was the most memorable. The home team was a great host (Alex English, former NBA player, his ex club) they did lineups and played both anthems. It was really special to hear the Italian National Anthem and watch the fans and players proudly sing their anthem in unison. After the game, fans came pouring over to our players and asked them for autographs and photos...that was really cool! This was my favorite part of the trip, it's more than just a game...sport connects, that's one of the greatest lessons we could have learned. After the paparazzi stopped both teams enjoyed dinner together (our favorite meal of the entire trip) at this small restaurant owned by the parents of a player on the host team. The passion overseas is unmatched...I know we took some back with us. 

So what's next...all of our players are home; some have internships, two will be on campus, one will be playing for Luxembourg in the U20 FIBA European Championships in July but all will be working on their game and body so we can keep taking steps forward to a building a championship caliber culture. 

I'd like to extend a special thanks to Coach Petrie for organizing this trip the past three years. This experience for our team would not have happened without his leadership. Coach Slanovec was also instrumental in the planning of this trip and he deserves a special thanks as well. 

We traveled to Italy ready to share our Passion, Investment and Enthusiasm. I'd say we did that and more, now we're ready to attack our next journey together. Bullet Basketball is all about ships...Friendships, relationships and championships...we checked off the two most important ships on that list in Italy. 

Ciao! 

-Coach Dunne

May 25, 2018

The Bullets last day in Italy was a memorable one. We started our final early wake up in the chaotic morning traffic of Rome en route for the holy Vatican City. The normal 20 minute bus ride took closer to an hour, but regardless we met up with our fantastic tour guide Manuela for the second day of sight seeing in Rome. After waiting in line and getting through security we entered into the city state that is home to the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church and Pope. Our tour started with going through the crowded Vatican Museum and viewing incredible displays of statues, tapestries, maps, coffins, and two thousand year old sculptures which all lead up to the breath-taking Sistine Chapel. Seeing the work of the world renowned artist Michelangelo was a once in a life time experience and was something that we will all remember for the rest of our lives. The paintings of Judgement Day and the original Creation were absolutely stunning and beautiful. 

After passing through the famous chapel we headed to the largest church in the world, St. Peters Basilica. No words can do justice to the sheer size and beauty of this church. It was one of the most remarkable and breath taking structures we had all seen and seeing mummified bodies of former Popes made the sacredness of the greatest architecture of the Renaissance period even that more genuine. After parting ways with Manuela we had some free time to grab what seemed like the 1000th prosciutto and mozzarella panini of the trip followed by delicious gelato for the 7th day in a row. Spending time in such a historic and sacred place is an experience we will never forget.  

As our time in Italy starts to dwindle down, it's starting to kick in that we have to leave this truly amazing country tomorrow morning. We have all learned so much on and off the court throughout this trip and we took full advantage of this opportunity to emerge ourselves into a foreign culture. On the court, we finished 2-2 against some great competition (and not so great refereeing) and got a real feel for what the European game is like. We executed a new offense and more importantly grew as a team. Next year the Bullets are going to be a serious problem for the rest of the Centennial Conference and we're all excited to come back and get after it again October 15th. Off the court we were able to fully dive into a new culture and get a taste of what going abroad would be like. Leo, our fantastic and funny tour guide, along with our other tour guides were all helpful in learning and trying new things. Italy has been an unforgettable trip for our whole team and there's no other group of guys we would have wanted to travel the world with. Hopefully we can all catch up on some sleep on the plane ride back. Ciao and go Bullets!

-Joey Carroll, Class of 2020

May 24, 2018

On the second to last day of the trip the Bullets showed no sign of slowing down. We took off for a long day in the city of Rome beginning with a tour through the Coliseum, formerly known as the Amphitheater. As we approached the famous Roman venue we passed many ancient ruins from the Roman Empire. Being inside the Coliseum was a surreal experience for all of us. It was amazing to visualize the bloody battles that took place in that same venue in front of thousands of screaming spectators. Naturally, we debated who would stand the best chance in the arena battling fellow gladiators and bloodthirsty lions and tigers. The general consensus was that Wil Rasmussen (aka L) would have the best chance at surviving given the proper weapon.

Our tour continued on through the scenic city of Rome to the Roman Forum, followed by the beautiful Trevi Fountain and finishing up with the historic Basilica- The Pantheon. Each site was breathtaking, but at the end we were all famished and ready to bless our palettes with some more Italian cuisine. Until 4pm we spent our free time roaming the city (no pun intended). Per usual this time consisted of great food, great gelato, amazing sites, avoiding annoying street vendors, and making more great memories.

As we all reconnected in front of the Pantheon we were treated to an unbelievable violin performances by a street performer. He played familiar songs such as Despacito (Justin Bieber), All of Me (John Legend), Someone Like You (Adele), Shape of You (Ed Sheeran). This was a great ending to our day spent in Rome.

We then boarded our bus captained by the legendary Damiano, and headed off to face our final Italian opponent Virtus Velletri. This match was an unbelievable way to end the basketball aspect of our trip. Virtus showed tremendous respect to us by playing the American national anthem and announcing the name of each of our players as we exchanged shirts with their players. It was a successful day for us on the court as we held on to win 71-65 and even our record in Italy to 2-2. We had great contributions from numerous players. Alec “Rod” Warren led the way once again capping off his outstanding play in Italy with 15 points including dagger threes down the stretch. In spite of Rod’s great performance it was the high flying dunks of Churon Lanier-Martin that made him the crowd favorite. Following the game Chu could be seen signing autographs and taking pictures with young Virtus fans. Many other bullets were asked to sign autographs which was a very cool and humbling experience for us.

We capped our night off with an amazing dinner at a local pizza restaurant. And finally headed back to the hotel to gear up for what is sure to be an amazing final day.

-Danny Duffey, Class of 2020

May 23, 2018

As we left the beautiful city of Montecatini and headed toward San Gimignano where no one knew anything about it. We all eventually found out that we were in for a treat. We entered this medieval town in the region of Tuscany which had tall towers, unique buildings, and an amazing culture. The Game of Thrones feel was in full effect (for anyone who watches it). As we explored the city we came upon an extremely tall tower called the big tower. We climbed hundreds of steps finally reaching the top of the tower to see an amazing view. We took pictures and all got very nauseous looking over the edge. While we were taking pictures for our memories (and parents), our rising sophomore Evan Czulada said a quote describing how beautiful the view was: “I feel like you have to smile with this view.” Evan was spot on staring out into the distance of this gorgeous region. 

After our hour in San Gimignano was up we were on our way to Siena. The third of four cities we were in for that day also had a medieval feel to it. We saw another amazing detailed church and most of us went up another tall tower that looked over the whole city of Siena which also had an incredible view. As we explored another city on our own we all discovered the best pizza and gelato places to fill our stomachs with. Our tour guide Leo (who is the man) poorly influenced many of us to his collage of taking pictures of tourists taking pictures of their friends in very weird positions in which gave Leo great satisfaction and many laughs throughout our team. When our hour and a half was up in Siena we were in trek for the city of Rome. 

The amazing scenery on the two hour bus ride had us all in awe as a rainbow actually showed up in the distance of a beautiful mountain region. Our long great day ended with checking into our hotel in Rome where we will stay the next three days, and everyone is extremely excited for what is in store for these final days on a once in a lifetime trip.

-Nick Antolini, Class of 2020

May 22, 2018

Our day began as we woke up from our hotel in Monticatini. The weather was quite dull and rainy but nothing was going to stop us from exploring Italy. Shortly after breakfast in our hotel, we made the short trip into the city of Florence. Florence is known as the city of the Renaisance time. This could be seen by looking at all the beutiful architecture and statues around the city. We began our day in Florence by taking a guided tour throughout the city. We passed by the Bargello Castle which used to function as a prison. Executions were prevalent in the past in Florence and the Bargello Castle was a hotspot for public executions. Now, the Bargello castle has been changed into a historical museum. On our tour, we learned that Leonardo Davinci actually began painting his famous Mona Lisa in the city of Florence. The architecture around Florence was absolutely stunning. We passed by several beautiful marble sculptures that depicted the great talents of the Renaisance. In the main square, we could see the magnificent Duomo Cathedral with Brunelleschis dome. Finally as we finished the tour at the Academy Gallery to see the Michealangelos massive statue of David. We finished our day in Florence with free time to explore the city and a scavenger hunt. At the end of our day we traveled outside of the center of Florence to play our third game of the trip against Basket Olimpia Legnaia. It was a hard fought, exciting, and physical game. Unfortuanately, we lost the game in exciting fashion but still was a great experience. 

-Danny Bomberger, Class of 2021

May 21, 2018

We started off the day leaving the beautiful city of Ferrara. An hour later, we arrived at the city of Bologna, also known as the city of music due to its rich history as the birthplace of many famous Italian musicians. Throughout the city, we even saw many people playing instruments along the streets. We began our day of exploration at the Piazza Majora, the main square of the city. Our first site was the largest church built by bricks in the world, The Basilica of San Petronio. From that center point, we explored the city in our assigned units for game number two. One of the other major sites of Bologna we visited was the University of Bologna, the oldest university in the world (founded in 1088). The beauty and integrity of the infrastructure of this university blew us all away. Another popular stop for the team was a basketball shop called Back Door, which was essentially the Italian version of a Foot Locker, with a wide selection of basketball shoes like Jordan retros as well as basketball clothing. 

After several hours in Bologna, we made our way to Montecatini to check into our hotel, Hotel Giglio. We played our second game of the trip in the evening against a local team in the second Italian basketball league. Although the outcome of the game was not what we wanted, it was an awesome experience for our team. The opponent was a great challenge, and the game itself was very physical and intense. We showed a lot of resilience throughout the game, so we were content as a team from a growth standpoint. 

-Alec Warren, Class of 2019

May 20, 2018

We started off our day with a short ride to a vineyard and had the opportunity to taste a variety of red and white wines with a diverse number of flavors. The vineyard produces about 50,000 bottles of wine every year! We then met our tour guide who walked us to Pomposa Abbey which is a 6th-century church with a towering campanile. The interior of the church was covered with century-old murals that stretched across the ceilings and walls. There were three layers of visual stories from the Bible, from Adam and Eve in the Old Testament to the story of Jesus Christ followed by a depiction of the Apocalypse complete with 7- headed dragons and knights with lions heads riding horses. Perhaps the most fascinating and peculiar part of this chapter of our trip was examining the shin bone (yes, an actual human bone!) of Guido de Pomposa, one of the original monks of the Abbey. The bone is set in a beautiful display case and decorated with gold and red velvet in a tribute to the life of Guido de Pomposa.

After the conclusion of our tour, we broke off for lunch and free time and stumbled upon a Medieval festival. There were traditional foods being cooked on open grills and performers dressed as knights and noblewomen. Some of our guys felt what it was like to be on death row in the medieval era, allowing themselves to be chained up in a mock guillotine while others pretended to be in Game of Thrones by playing with real swords and shields.  

At night we had the opportunity to go see a soccer game where SPAL was playing Sampdoria in an extremely meaningful game. SPAL had to win in order to stay in their current league so the game was extremely important to them. We all bought tons of SPAL gear for the game but it turned out we had to sit in the Sampdoria section of the stadium so we were forced by officials to remove all of our gear so we were not put into danger. We were escorted through the back of the stadium because the police were nervous that we might cause fights or riots unintentionally in the stands! It was mind blowing to see how passionate the fans were about their teams. We even saw a guy rip a stadium seat out of the ground and wave it in the air which I didn’t think was even possible because those seats are bolted into cement! We were told to leave the game early in case angry fans attacked us because SPAL was up 3-0. SPAL ended up winning 3-1! The game was a once in a lifetime experience that let us witness the passionate culture here in Italy!

Leo (our exceptional tour guide) took us back to our hotel where we ate another phenomenal italian meal at our hotel! It was a great day to prepare us for our game today as we look to get our second win in Montecatini for the second leg of our trip!

-Nick Lord, Class of 2020