Nov. 16, 2007
UIC Men's Basketball Paradise Jam Photo Gallery - First Edition
St. Thomas, USVI- The UIC men's basketball team is getting ready for Friday's game against Winthrop at the 2007 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, and uicflames.com is there every step of the way to chronicle the Flames' journey through the tournament.
John Jaramillo of the UIC Sports Information Office checks in from St. Thomas with a recap of the Flames' past two-plus days of activites in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Greetings Flames fans,
We're less than three hours away from tip-off between UIC and Winthrop. It might take us that long to get to the arena; traffic here is brutal. If you thought the Dan Ryan was bad, try automobile transportation here in the Virgin Islands. You're better off trying to ride one of the many giant iguanas here. Rollercoaster fans: this is the place for you. Left side of the road + no lane lines + fast drivers + steep hills = hold on for your life.
If the driving is the worst part about this trip, though, we're in good shape.
The weather here is gorgeous; temperatures have been in the mid-to-upper 80s each day with plenty of sunshine. Nice hotel, albeit a small cup of coffee is $2.50. Those coffee shops back home are looking mighty nice right about now.
We landed in St. Thomas on Wednesday afternoon at about 4:00 p.m. local time (two-hour time difference between here and Chicago). The team was taken to the official Paradise Jam hotel, the Marriott Frenchman's Reef, where they had lunch before heading off to practice at Antilles High School's Mark Marin Center.
On Thursday the team gathered for a late breakfast before heading to practice at the Sports & Fitness Center on the campus of the University of the Virgin Islands. The team got two hours of work in before heading back to the hotel.
Thursday night the Paradise Jam folks hosted each team for a welcome party near the top of the moutains, requiring a skyride Gondola to get up there. A couple of assistant coaches that shall remain nameless were a little hesitant to hop aboard (that might be an understatement), but they got on for the ride and return trip.
At the welcome party the Flames ate and watched a bird show that featured some bike-riding and basketball-playing feathered friends. Fun stuff.
Coach Collins and Co. ran into Mike Brey, former UIC assistant Gene Cross and the rest of the Notre Dame program before heading back to the hotel.
Today we had an early breakfast, shootaround right after and pre-game meal. Everything has happened so quickly here, and the team has been all business in getting ready for what could be an interesting tourney.
Some quick notes:
- UIC is getting votes in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. A good showing here might help the team crack into the rankings.
- A win would be huge; both UIC teams under Coach Collins that have started 3-0 have finished their season in the Big Dance.
We're getting ready to leave for the arena shortly. I'll check back in and hopefully get some player contributions to the journal after a big win.
Go Flames,
John
