Ohio University Canada Trip Days 5 & 6: To Sum it All Up!

To sum it all up, the trip to Montreal was a success! On day five we were able to tour Olympic Stadium, home of the 1976 Games. This was where Bruce Jenner made a name for himself winning the gold medal in the decathalon. The team got to take pictures outside of the stadium which was great.

The city of Montreal finally paid off their debt for the Olympic complex in 2008, and was a major debt for the city over the course of multiple decades…especially after the Montreal Expos left town. 

As far as our third and final game, we played against Brookwood Elite. It was our most complete performance of the tour, and we were able to play well without Senior guard Bean Willis. 

After the game, we ate at an authentic Lebanese restaurant which was recommended by our tour guide George. It was great food and reminded me of Saalam Restaurant in Athens. After dinner, we got to head up to Saint Catherine’s street which was very unique. There are a bunch of restaurants, vendors, etc… on this street. We were, however, pummeled by a rain storm, but luckily the Marriott had umbrellas for the staff! 

On the way home we got a great view of New York City from the sky. 

What a place that is! 

 When we arrived back at the Convo, we noticed the new banners that have been hung in the center of the arena. They look great! 

All in all, we were very fortunate as a new staff to be able to take this trip. We saw a group of guys come together as a team and gut out three wins, under some pretty difficult circumstances. We cannot wait for the season to start but until then, the Bobcats are CANADIAN NATIONAL CHAMPS!

Go Bobcats
Coach Kemp

Ohio University Canada Trip Days 3 & 4: Crepes, Chucks & Champs

Wow…The last two days have flown by, and have been jam packed with a lot of great events for the Bobcats! Wednesday began with a trip to Quebec City. We drove inside the city walls of Old Quebec. The cobblestone streets reminded us a little bit of Court Street in uptown Athens. The area was filled with shops, vendors, and stands where you could bargain for a deal if you found a souvenir you liked.

 

After our tour of Old Quebec we were off to pre-game meal, and our game against Laval University. Laval had played against Vermont and Indiana in the past few weeks, and were a solid team. Our guys showed a ton of resilience after a long day of travel, and a full schedule of touring. At one point in the game we were up by 17 points and Laval fought their way back into it. We were able to come away with the win. The highlight of the game for me was Wadly Mompremier's efforts on the glass. He came away with 11 rebounds and a bunch of blocked shots. It has been great to see him continue to develop. 

Final Score: 78-72!


Day four was our off day, and we let the guys explore Montreal. We first went to a very famous church in downtown Montreal. The only way you can hold events there is to receive a state order from the Canadian government. Apparantly Celine Dion is a big deal because she had her wedding at this church. Everything in the sanctuary was handcrafted. 

Later in the day, our tour guide George took the coaches out for lunch. We went to Schwart's Deli, and ordered a Canadian smoked meat sandwich. It reminded me of our pastrami or corned beef sandwich similar to what you would order in a New York deli. 

 He also took us to try a crepe ice cream cone. The French influence is definitely here in Montreal! 

When nighttime arrived, our coaching staff had the chance to dine with some great supporters of our program who came to watch us play. We cannot thank them enough for their support! A few of them even brought their shoes, in case we need them for a game!

Today we will tour the Olympic Stadium, where the 1976 games were held. Maybe I can find the exact spot where Bruce Jenner from the Kardashians received his gold medal…Michelyn will be jealous!


Go Bobcats!
Coach Kemp

Ohio University Canada Trip Day 2: Prayers & Wins

First things first…The Bobcats have the best fans in basketball! Our group of travelers almost outnumbered the home team last night!

Day #2 of our trip around Canada began with a drive around some of the nicest areas of the city. Many of the neighborhoods reminded me of our old neighborhood in Toledo, Old Orchard.

Picture taken from tour bus!

The tour was highlighted by a stop at Saint Joseph's Oratory on Mount Royal in Montreal. It was founded by Brother Andre, who was a priest here long ago. It is a massive structure that can seat up to 10,000 worshipers. I still cannnot get over the size of the organ in the back of the sanctuary. People from all over the world come to this church to receive the blessings of Saint Joseph. It was packed! 

It was a great cultural experience for our team, but was highlighted by a family that traveled to Montreal from Asia who recognized Coach Phillips from the NCAA Tournament run at NDSU last year. 

Also, we learned that our very own Wadly Mompremier is fluent in Creole, which is a dialect of the French language. We never knew that until he was speaking to a group of New Yorkers who were originally from Haiti. 

The game last night against Queens University went about like we would expect for a first outing. One great statistical measure for success going forward is that our opponent hit 12 threes, most of them heavily contested and we were still able to win. The guys have listened and processed everything we have preached thus far. 

Final Score: 80-75!

Today we will tour Quebec City, and see how we fare against a very good Laval University team. 

Go Bobcats
Coach Kemp

Loutraki: Day 3

Hi folks! Let's venture back to Greece and reminisce over our experiences had. If you missed my previous post, here it is where I discussed what we did and experienced over our first two days!

Day 3 we were still in Loutraki and played another exhibition game which we again WON! Our day started with a day trip to Ancient Corinth where we visited the remains of the city. We spent most of our time at the Apollos Temple remains.

UT Men's Basketball Team & Coaches

The whole gang!

After we left Ancient Corinth we took a private cruise through the Canal of Corinth which was quite amazing! To think that humans thousands of years ago were capable of excavating and engineering such a large project.

With Coach Kemp

Later that night we played another game which we won!!!

The Scoreboard baby!!

After the game everyone standing around waiting for the bus to pull up.

All smiles after a W!

Michelyn