UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State men’s basketball program will get an early jump on the 2017-18 season when it takes a foreign trip to the Bahamas for three games Aug. 4-11.
Game dates, opponents and sites are still being finalized; however, while in the Bahamas, the Nittany Lions will stay at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort.
“This trip is exactly what we need at this point,” said Patrick Chambers, Penn State head coach. “It will give us the opportunity to work on our chemistry and culture with many new faces. We can reinforce good habits and get a good look at what we need to work on heading into the season. Hopefully we will be ahead of the curve a little bit.”
The team will get 10 practices to prepare for the foreign tour with all players expected to make the trip. NCAA basketball teams are allowed to take an international tour to play exhibition games once every four years. The Nittany Lions last traveled abroad to Belgium, France and England in 2013.
Penn State returns all five starters and more than 80 percent of its scoring for next season, including top-three scorers Tony Carr (13.2 ppg), Lamar Stevens (12.7) and Shep Garner (12.0). Defensive standouts Mike Watkins and Josh Reaves round out the starting lineup from a year ago and will anchor the Nittany Lions in the upcoming campaign.
The Bahamas trip will be the first action in a Penn State uniform for junior transfer Satchel Pierce, who will suit up for the Nittany Lions this year, and incoming freshmen Trent Buttrick, John Harrar and Jamari Wheeler.
Fans wishing to attend the games in the Bahamas can arrange travel packages by contacting Lea Miller at lea.miller@leamillerassociates.com or 404-668-7468.