There might not be a Louisville team that has ever needed a summer exhibition trip more than the 2015-16 group, and thankfully that trip is happening.
Here's the U of L release with all the details:
The University of Louisville men's basketball team will play as many as six games against national teams from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic during a week-long trip to Puerto Rico in August.
The Cardinals will face the Puerto Rico National Team, the Puerto Rico Junior National Team and the Dominican Republic National Team during their Aug. 10-17 visit to Puerto Rico. Details on game dates will be available at a later date.
The competition coincides with UofL Coach Rick Pitino's decision to serve as the head coach of the Puerto Rico basketball team in two international events this summer. During the games in Puerto Rico, Pitino will coach the Puerto Rico team while his UofL assistant coaches will direct the Cardinals. The opportunity to face off against the Puerto Rican teams was among the top reasons that Pitino took the position.
Pitino will coach the Puerto Rico team in the Pan American Games on July 21-25 in Toronto, Canada. He will also coach the team in a 10-team, pre-Olympic FIBA qualifying tournament in Monterrey, Mexico on Aug. 25-Sept. 5, where the top two teams qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Louisville last participated in a foreign trip with its team in August of 2011, when the Cardinals played local professional teams in the Bahamas during their visit. UofL attained a waiver to allow the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a United States territory, to serve as the destination for the team's foreign trip. The Cardinals will have 10 days of practice in Louisville prior to leaving on August 10.
In addition to being extremely important, a week of Cardinal basketball in mid-August will be the perfect distraction during those seemingly endless final weeks of the countdown to college football.
