CALGARY – For the second year in a row, the University of Calgary Dinos men's basketball team has been invited to take part in competition against NCAA teams.

Coming off their third Canada West championship in four years, the Dinos are in the U.S. Virgin Islands to kick off their non-conference and exhibition schedule. The Dinos will play three games in St. Thomas, VI, beginning on Wednesday against the Youngstown State Penguins. Calgary will face the Penguins again on Aug. 16 before closing out their tour versus the Massachusetts Minutemen on Aug. 22.

The entire tour will be held at the University of the Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center, which annually hosts the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam with some of the best NCAA Division-I men's and women's basketball teams. 

"This is a great opportunity to prepare for the season without mentally exhausting our guys with practice and in-game experiences we would usually have in August," said Dinos lead assistant coach Dan Pearson. "It allows us to get the fruits of the play, without the physical drawbacks of playing basketball at this time of year."

In 2018, the Dinos made preseason trips to Costa Rica, Germany, and Atlantic Canada before embarking on their undefeated regular season.

Unlike last year's tour to Costa Rica – which featured a large group of returning players – the Dinos are welcoming nine new players into the fold, including Ali Raza and Jeffrey Tezo who both red-shirted in 2018-19.

"For new guys, like Brett Layton last year, it really helps us to come in and get five games under our belt right away," explained Pearson when asked about the benefits of the trip. "To get film on ourselves and get the feeling of playing under that tempo, it set the foundation for us to come into the first couple weeks of practice in September."

The Dinos will play their first games at the Jack Simpson Gym during the Calgary Cup, beginning on Oct. 11 against the StFX X-Men. Calgary opens the Canada West season on Nov. 8-9 when they visit the UBC Thunderbirds.