HU men's basketball benefits from Bahamas trip

HAMPTON, Virginia --  Hampton University basketball's preseason trip to the Bahamas provided all of the benefits coach Ed Joyner Jr. hoped when he scheduled it.

A bridge from the Pirates' run at the end of last season. Evidence of the individual improvement players made over the summer. An early start defining roles for the upcoming season. And, oh yeah, team building and camaraderie.

"Our guys left hugging each other," Joyner said.

The Pirates played three games against Bahamian competition during a recent six-day trip and had 10 practice sessions leading up to the trip. The NCAA permits such international trips once every four years, and Joyner said the makeup of the present roster made for ideal timing.

"We felt that this year it would be more beneficial to us now so that we're not going into the season trying to figure anything out," he said. "We're building off of what we did last year. We thought that we finished strong, and we thought that this would be a perfect time to take a trip, to build off of what we did last year."

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