Going back to last summer, the Waynesburg University men’s basketball team looked forward to experiencing “The Emerald Isle.”

Before the start of the 2018 Fall semester, the program announced plans for a preseason trip to Ireland in August 2019. For the most part, the trip, which ran from Aug.11-21, went on as scheduled.

What didn’t go according to plan, however, was that the Yellow Jackets went to Ireland without Mark Christner as their head coach.

This past April, Christer left Greene County to take over the women’s basketball program at his alma mater, Calvin. So in addition to the Ireland trip providing players a once-in-a-lifetime European tour, it also gave them a chance to get familiar with their new general, Tim Fusina.

For Fusina, who Waynesburg hired in late July, the preseason trip was a massive opportunity to connect with nine of his players.

“As a new coach, getting to spend time around nine of our returners was very important,” Fusina said. “Having time to practice prior to the trip, and also being able to compete in games when we were over there. But also just to be in the hotel with them, on the bus with them, and as we were sightseeing and touring the country, I think it was huge for us to be around each other, and I think we grew closer as a group.”

Over 10 days, the Yellow Jackets visited several Irish cities, including Dublin and Killarney. Although the trip wasn’t exactly a vacation for Waynesburg because of the demands of the hardwood, the team took time to enjoy what Ireland had to offer.

For junior Matt Popeck— who was unable to participate due to a knee injury— a highlight of the trip was visiting Charles Fort, located in County Cork. Fusina, as well as senior Brennan Smith, enjoyed the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare.

“We went and did something we were never going to get to do again, and we did it all with our best friends,” Popeck said. “As a team we’re like brothers, just being able to experience that together is what made it so special.”

The Yellow Jackets had plenty of time to enjoy the country, but the trip’s main focus was on the game of basketball.

Fusina’s strategy will be different from what the Jackets grew to know under Christner. The Jackets will be implementing the Pack Line defense, which the University of Virginia has used with great success in the ACC. For Fusina, the players are more than holding their own in picking up his coaching style.

“They’re doing a great job,” he said. “I don’t just say that to make it sound nice, to make it sound like everything’s great. They’ve adjusted to my style to how we want to play. They understand what to do. They understand if there are mistakes that are made, they’re easily corrected.”

Although Waynesburg went 0-3 in games against Fr. Mathews, Garvey’s Tralee Warriors and Galway City, both Fusina and Smith feel the team made great strides from the first game to the third game.

“We cut our turnovers down,” Fusina said. “We defended a lot better, especially in the third game… offensively we were able to get great shots, we were able to get better shots. We took some of the little things that we talk about at timeouts, at halftime and in meetings we had on the trip and applied them to games.”

“The third game, we really put it all together,” Smith said.  “I would say offensively and defensively. We played really well. So yeah, I would say we just improved game by game, honestly.

Although Popeck was unable to perform on the trip, he was grateful for the chance to go to Ireland, and understands that it’s a chance he might not get again.

“There (isn’t any other place) like it,” he said. “I saw some things I know I’ll never get to see again unless I go back there. It was so unique and just so beautiful.

With the Jackets under the direction of a new head coach for the first time in almost a decade, this preseason trip can also be looked at as the dawning of a new age.

“Not a lot of schools get a chance to do this, especially a new coach coming in,” Fusina said. “The main thing that this year is about I feel is trusting one another and understanding what this new era of Waynesburg basketball is going to be about. I don’t think there’s a better way to start it off than doing it in August, and then going away with each other for two weeks.”