Michigan State, UNC, Florida and Texas starting new event
By Joe Nardone
The plane! The Plane! Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Michigan State AD, Mark Hollis, told ESPN on Wednesday that a new four-team event is going to start in 2018. The programs involved will be Michigan State, North Carolina, Florida and the Texas Longhorns.
The basic format of the event is pretty neat. It will take place over eight days with stops in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The teams will, obviously, be playing each other. The kicker? They will be flying together on a chartered plane. Meaning there is a real chance that Tom Izzo could snuggle with Rick Barnes or something — likely something, but a man can have weird dreams, right?
This is pretty neat for everyone involved. Lots of these players will know each other from AAU and whatnot. So it will give them a chance to catch up. As for the coaches, it might be used as an opportunity to talk shop or whatever. More than likely, however, it will be used as a way for Billy Donovan to test his hair products on Roy Williams. I kid, kind of.
The travel schedule seems pretty hectic, though. Travel to MSG on December 14th, play games there the following two days and then fly out to Chicago. Luckily, though, it seems like Hollis (as well as the other ADs involved) all made sure the criteria included stops at historical locations, which will include the Freedom Tower and even a stop at Wall Street.