The Siena team bus rolled onto campus just before 7 p.m. ending a two-week trip overseas for the Saints.

Coach Fran McCaffery said this team is now a veteran one - scary news for the rest of the MAAC if the Saints will be better than last season.

Here are some quotes from some of the players I caught up with. Also, look for my story in Saturday's edition.

On the trip
“It was fun,” said senior Kenny Hasbrouck, who says he has something like 600 pictures. “It was a good experience.”

On seeing the Vatican
“It was humongous,” Hasbrouck said.

On the five games
“The competition was excellent,” McCaffery said. “I was very pleased with that. I was concerned about that before we left.”

On the teams trips
“They played extremely hard every possession,” McCaffery said. “The one game we lost, we had a wake-up call 14 hours before tip-off. We were on our feet all day and still bused two hours and played extremely hard. I think that says a lot about the character of this team. This is no longer a young team. This is an experienced team and we’ll blend in with the three rookies that get here this weekend.”

On Rossiter
“His numbers were phenomenal,” McCaffery said. “You look at his rebounding and point totals. We were going to him in key situations.”

On Kyle Hines - a McCaffery player at UNC Greensboro, who played for the team that beat Siena, Basket Veroli
“Kyle’s just a very special player,” McCaffery said...“It was great to see him and he was one of my favorite players that I ever coached,” McCaffery said. “He’s special and I really wish him well.”

On being seasoned
“Being a sophomore now, I feel a lot more mature,” Jackson said. “I’m just trying to work hard on my game and be a big part of this team this year.”

On the big 36-point night
“I didn’t even know if I was going to start that game,” Jackson said. “Coach told me I was starting and I played the whole game. He was calling plays for me and said just go, keep attacking.”