The Cyclone men’s basketball team is now less than a week away from their departure for a 10-day trip to Italy.

Coach Fred Hoiberg said that though the team does not know exactly who their opponents will be, the experience it gets playing them could be invaluable.

“To be able to do this 10 days of practice and then to go over there and experiment against teams over there — professional teams — is such a huge thing,” Hoiberg said.

The team will likely play three or four games against professional teams on their trip, which will last from August 9 to August 19 and include stays in Florence, Rome and Milan.

“I’m just excited to be around these guys without their cell phones. I don’t know if they’re going to know what to do without Twitter and Facebook and all that technology,” Hoiberg said. “I’m excited that these guys are going to have to sit together … bond and talk about life.”

With four new transfer players in Chris Allen, Chris Babb, Royce White and Anthony Booker now eligible, White said the timing of the trip was good for the team.

“It’s more valuable than you can imagine,” White said. “It’s going to be a big season. I told [Hoiberg] the other day that it feels magical. I can feel it inside, and when you’re about to have a big season, it’s something you can feel and I feel it. Hopefully it’s not a false feeling.”

With expectations like these for the coming season, Hoiberg said he wants to embrace the positive outlook fans of the Iowa State basketball program have.

“There is a lot of excitement, and there should be and we want expectations,” Hoiberg said. “I don’t want to go into a season again saying ‘Well, we don’t expect much out of this group.’ I want our fans to expect us to compete for Big 12 championships every year.”

For Allen, a transfer from Michigan State, this is not only an opportunity to travel with his teammates, but also to explore his ancestral roots.

“This is something nobody knows about me: I’m 25 percent Italian,” Allen said. “My Grandpa was 100 percent Italian.”

On the trip, Allen and the rest of the team will have opportunities to visit the Vatican, Lake Como and the Coliseum.

While Cyclone guard Scott Christopherson said that he looks forward to the sights and experiences of Italy, those are not what he is there for.

“For me, it’s kind of like a business trip,” Christopherson said. “This is my last year, so I’m not really looking to take anything lightly. I’m pretty much looking to get over there and start building our team in the right direction.”