Andy Katz of ESPN reports that Pitt, along with several other high profile teams, will participate in a series of exhibition games in The Bahamas in August. The Bahamas in August? Hawaii in November? Not a bad time to be a member of the Pitt basketball program. The NCAA allows for teams to participate in international exhibitions every four years, and Pitt is making their first trip since traveling to Ireland four years ago.
Joining the Panthers, notable programs such as Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio State, Cincinnati, and Ole Miss will also be there during the month of August. As previously mentioned, the Panthers are taking part in the Maui Invitational in November, thus giving the 2014-15 Panthers two trips to some pretty exciting destinations. During these off-season trips, teams play professional caliber players, and in some cases the games can be pretty heated. Still, the extra days of practice, game experiences, and team bonding moments make these kind of trips very good for college programs. Last time Pitt made one of these trips, they went on to a 28-6 record, and won the Big East.
Pitt's schedule consists of four games
August 2 - Commonwealth Giants
August 3 - Bahamas All-Stars
August 5 - Street Legends All-Stars
August 6 - Atlantis All-Stars
The games should provide the team with solid game experience, and get some of the younger guys some action. Pitt has five scholarship sophomores on the roster, along with three incoming freshmen. Despite the youth on the roster, the Panthers are bringing back three starters and their top four players off the bench. As always with this program, expectations are high, and the extra practice should be a good thing.
