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Owl Basketball Goes International

Front:  Cam Stewart (RIC), Kevin Ritter (KSC), Matt Hickey (KSC), Jamie Crawford (Lasell) Back: Coach Rob Colbert (KSC), Brad Caravoulis (Lasell), Otis Thompson (Mt. Ida), Jose Guitian (Lasell), Travon Little (KSC), Kaseem Johnson (RIC)
Front: Cam Stewart (RIC), Kevin Ritter (KSC), Matt Hickey (KSC), Jamie Crawford (Lasell) Back: Coach Rob Colbert (KSC), Brad Caravoulis (Lasell), Otis Thompson (Mt. Ida), Jose Guitian (Lasell), Travon Little (KSC), Kaseem Johnson (RIC)

Keene NH, 7/15/2008 - Keene State men’s basketball coach Rob Colbert recently took a nine-man squad to Greece and Italy on a 10-day, five-game tour set up by USA Athletes International. Colbert’s team included three of his former Owl players; Travon Little, Kevin Ritter, and Matt Hickey. With limited practice time, Colbert was concerned about how the team would gel. In addition to the KSC trio, players came from LEC rival Rhode Island College, Lasell College, and Mount Ida College.

His anxiety lasted until the start of the first game in Greece, when his team got together for a pre-game cheer. Before heading out on the court, the players in unison yelled out “U-S-A.”

“When they put on that USA basketball jersey, everything changed,” said Colbert. “You could see the look in their eyes. They were no longer from Keene State or Lasell; they were Americans representing their country.”

The team did America proud, winning all five games on their schedule against competitive club programs made up of lower-tier national players. “They had some talented players, but we were a little bit deeper on the bench,” said Colbert.

For the most part, the American team adjusted well to the international game, which includes a deeper three-point line, a trapezoid lane, and an eight- second backcourt rule. However, a different interpretation of the traveling violation and the time-out rule took getting used to.

“I think we got called for traveling about 100 times,” said Colbert. “We had some problems with time-outs (which can only be called on dead balls), but the officials were patient with me.”

Surprisingly, the communication among the players wasn’t much of an issue. Following the evening competition, the players would get together for dinner and converse about the games, referred to as “friendlys” because no championship was awarded.

“They fed us like kings,” said Hickey, who called the trip a once- in-a-lifetime opportunity.”At one meal in Greece, we filled up on the first course, not knowing that it was the first of five courses,” said Ritter. “Maybe they were trying to fatten us up for the next game.”

Instead of exchanging addresses and numbers, the players swapped jerseys and permissions to be on each other’s MySpace or Facebook pages. There was also plenty of time to do some sightseeing. The players visited the Acropolis and took a gondola ride in Venice.

“When we walked into the sports facility, people took our pictures and wanted autographs, even the jerseys off our backs,” said Colbert.

“It was an eye-opening experience,” he said. “With everything going on in the world, the most surprising thing was how well we were received. It was neat for our kids not only to get an opportunity to play international games, but also to learn about different cultures.”

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