I ventured over to Siena today before practice.

The team leaves for Italy on Saturday morning and will practice this week to prepare.

Make sure to check out the article I will write later in the week - it will probably appear Friday - on how the team feels getting back together and getting ready for the trip.

All of the players I spoke with today said they had never been to Europe, so it should be a once in a lifetime experience.

Coach Fran McCaffery mentioned specifically that Clarence Jackson is a player he's interested in seeing how he progresses with additional minutes.

With Chris De La Rosa transferring, Jackson will see a lot more time at the guard spot behind Ronald Moore and Kenny Hasbrouck.

It was good to see Tay Fisher as well, who was helping out the team with their day basketball camp.

Fisher said he will be leaving for the Harlem Globetrotters tryout on Wednesday. Fisher will tryout on Wednesday and Thursday and return Friday, but will not be making the trip to Italy even though he said the school does have a ticket for him.

The players were all mentioning how the target will be on them from the very get-go this season and that this trip will help them get prepared for gameday scenarios.