The Duquesne men’s basketball team will take part in a three-game, nine-day trip to Ireland to help prepare for the 2015-16 season, the school announced today.
The Dukes -- who will play games in Dublin, Cork and Galway -- will leave for Ireland on Aug. 4 and return to Pittsburgh on Aug. 12.
"This is an excellent opportunity for our coaching staff to learn a little about our team and, at the same time, for our players to learn more about each other," Duquesne coach Jim Ferry said in a release. "With the program now stabilized, we'll be able to use the 10 days of practice as well as the games to see how some of our pieces fit. Off the floor, you can't place a value on the chance to experience a new and different culture."
It will be the second such trip in the program's history. In 2007, under then-coach Ron Everhart, Duquesne traveled to Toronto to play four games in three days over Labor Day weekend.
The Dukes head into next season with eight returning scholarship players -- a group led by guards Micah Mason and Derrick Colter -- from a team that finished 12-19 last season.
Craig Meyer: cmeyer@post-gazette.com and Twitter @CraigMeyerPG
First Published: June 15, 2015, 6:12 p.m.