A little basketball, lots of sightseeing

IOWA CITY - This has been, in the words of Lisa Bluder, 'a summer I'll never forget.”

The University of Iowa women's basketball coach led Team USA to a silver medal in the Pan American Games. She has done the typical summer recruiting circuit.

It's another day, another flight on Tuesday, when the Hawkeyes depart for an 11-day tour of Italy.

'It's been a blur, but it's been extremely fun,” Bluder said Monday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 'I'd rather be busy and productive.”

The Hawkeyes are coming off a 26-8 season, culminated by the program's first Sweet 16 appearance since 1996. It's not the games - there's just three of them - that will benefit the team the most.

It's the 10 extra practices, which began July 30. And it's the opportunity to reform chemistry, which was one item the Hawkeyes referred to constantly as one of their keys to success in 2014-15.

'We have a great foundation,” said junior Ally Disterhoft, one of two co-captains (senior Kali Peschel is the other). 'We have to build off that. The (returners) have gotten better. We know the culture. And we're here to accept and embrace the freshmen.”

Three of the rookies - Megan Gustafson, Tagyn Larson and Hannah Stewart - will play their first games as Hawkeyes overseas. Point guard Tania Davis suffered a dislocated left shoulder within the last week, and will not play in Italy.

The Hawkeyes depart at 12:50 p.m. Tuesday, and are scheduled to arrive in Rome at 7:20 a.m. Wednesday. The team's first game will be Friday in Pontebuggianese, followed by contests Aug. 18 and Aug. 19 in Trieste and Inverigo.

Most of the rest of the time will be spent sightseeing.

'We want to win games, yes, but what I really look forward to is the amazement in the kids' faces when they view the Sistine Chapel, or the joy when they're eating a beautiful meal,” Bluder said.

Said Disterhoft, who will be visiting Europe for the first time: 'I can't wait for the food, the pasta. I'm looking forward to experiencing a different culture, seeing their art, the architecture.”

Peschel is making her second European voyage of the summer. She studied six weeks in Spain.

'This will be a good opportunity for us. I'm going to be a sponge, just take it all in,” she said. 'I'm a beach person, so that will be great. I'm looking forward to seeing the monuments. But I'm not a big museum person.”

According to Bluder, Alexa Kastanek and Carly Mohns have made the most progress among last year's players.

'When we scrimmage, it always seems Alexa is on the winning team, and that's worth something,” Bluder said. 'Carly has made really good strides.”

The Hawkeyes are scheduled to return home Aug. 22.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com