Inside Tennessee basketball's 10-day Italy trip: There was singing, dancing, shopping and gelato
Jahmai Mashack rested in the lobby of the Hotel Helvetia & Bristol Firenze and started singing.
"But if you close your eyes ..." the Tennessee basketball guard sang, reciting the words to Bastille's "Pompeii." The 2013 hit was stuck in his head and how could it not have been? It echoed through the Mama Florence Cooking School earlier that afternoon and turned into a room-wide rendition. Santiago Vescovi sang and smiled. Kaylan Makan covered his eyes, taking the lyrics literally. Freshmen JP Estrella, Cade Phillips and Cameron Carr belted the chorus. Estrella danced like a big kid.
And amid that spontaneous singalong in cramped kitchen, the 2023-24 Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball team was exactly that − a team.
Tennessee returned Wednesday from a 10-day trip to Italy. It wound from Milan to Lake Como to Florence to Rome. It featured three basketball games, but those were secondary. It encompassed sightseeing, shopping and strolling the streets of Italy. It was about experiences and togetherness, which I witnessed for myself in tagging along for the trip with the Vols.
Tennessee's experience included tours, learning Roman history
The steps to the top of Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence are cramped, steep and spiraling, at times. There are more than 450 steps to reach the outer edge of the dome.
Jonas Aidoo squeezed and bent his 7-foot frame up every step on Aug. 4.
Tennessee had a game later that day against the Lithuanian U21 national team, but the players were overlooking the city of Florence and had yet to pick up a basketball on the trip. As Vols coach Rick Barnes said prior to the trip, the focus was on experiences.
That ascent was on the fourth day of the trip, the first full day in Florence. The Vols started with a half-day in Milan, where players were spurred into religious conversations during a tour of the Duomo di Milano. Josiah-Jordan James marveled at a statue in the centuries-old church and Freddie Dilione lit a candle by an altar. They had already visited in Lake Como, where a boat tour from Como to Bellagio was the highlight. They stopped at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello, where Zakai Zeigler quipped, "Do you guys do NIL?"
Rome featured tours and learning-centered experiences daily ranging from the Trevi Fountain to the Colosseum. It had a walking tour to see landmarks across the historic city, which saw Barnes pepper the most-receptive tour guide with questions. It also featured Aidoo dancing to accordion music on the streets by the Trevi Fountain and a "Go Vols!" being yelled from a restaurant patio toward the team.
From shopping to eating, the Vols did it together
Tennessee had a tightly scheduled itinerary during each day of the trip, coordinated via an app. The plan changed almost every day to accommodate more free time for the players. That was a goal for Barnes and director of basketball operations Mary-Carter Eggert, who is a non-stop source of answers, organization and communication.
The Vols used that free time to branch off for food and explore the cities. Sometimes, that was in small groups and other times as a team. The whole group had a meal together at the Hard Rock Cafe in Florence. Pairs and groups wandered back into the hotel at Florence in the minutes before curfew on the second night in Florence. Estrella and Phillips looked like longtime best friends, always by each other's side. Transfers Jordan Gainey and Dalton Knecht slipped seamlessly into the group for their humor and easy-going personalities.
Food was naturally a winner, notably the team-wide welcome dinner in Como with steak cooked over an open fire and a farewell dinner in Rome. Gelato was highly popular at every stop, especially a gelato cart as the dessert following the Como rooftop dinner.
Shopping was perhaps the favorite pasttime on the trip. All the players bolted into the Louis Vuitton store in Milan before departing for Como. At least three players left Italy with the same crossbody Louis Vuitton bag and it wasn't uncommon to see shopping bags entering the hotel.
During it all, the primary purpose of the trip shone through. This team, which features more new faces than returning ones, was thrown into an unfamiliar setting and forced to adapt together. They were successful at that.
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Dilione settled comfortably into a table with the "old heads" during a final dinner on a hotel rooftop in Rome. He was fine being with coaches and support staff instead of his teammates not out of desired separation but confidence.
But the bonding was most evident in a pasta-making class, where the fifth-year senior Vescovi teamed up with four new players and D.J. Jefferson to win the a competition. That six-person team led the singing that spread around the room to the rest of the team.
They had experiences. They had togetherness. And those things will linger long after a catchy tune finally leaves everyone's minds.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball: Italy trip full of bonding, shopping for Vols
