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Notre Dame: Ireland, Aug. 12-25

What happened: When your nickname is the Fighting Irish, playing in Ireland doesn't much feel like a road game. Notre Dame played six games against two teams from Ireland and one from Poland and Iceland. The Irish visited three cities -- Belfast, Dublin and Limerick -- and won all six games, with only two of them by close margins. "I wasn't interested in us playing the Spurs in August," coach Mike Brey says of his veteran club.

One thing the trip demonstrated is that 6-foot senior guard Kyle McAlarney will not be bothered by the longer three-point line this season. He drilled 10 threes en route to a sterling 32-point performance in a 88-76 win over Poland in Dublin. As a team the Irish shot 45 percent from behind the arc. The two other members of Notre Dame's nucleus, junior forward Luke Harangody and senior point guard Tory Jackson, also had plenty of bright spots, with Harangody showing off his improved shooting range. (Brey says The Gody might even squeeze off a few three-pointers this season.)

Perhaps the most significant moment of the trip came during one exchange when Jackson calmed Brey down as he was chastising one of the other players. "Coach, I got it," Jackson assured him before talking to the offending player himself. Later on the team bus, Brey told Jackson how pleased he was because that was something only a veteran guard could do. That kind of leadership will be invaluable during the Big East grind.

Revelation: Brey knows his Big Three are ready to compete, and a fourth starter, 6-9 senior Zach Hillesland, is likewise tested and proven. The question was whether he would get encouraging signs from the players with less experience. The best came from 6-7 senior forward Ryan Ayers, who made a steal and scored the game-winning basket against Ireland in Dublin, capping off a 24-point performance -- pretty good for someone with a career 2.2-point average. "He took some bad shots, which I thought was terrific," Brey said. "I'm usually on him about playing too safe."

Postcard moment: On the team's first day in Ireland, Brey called off practice so they could visit the Cliffs of Moher. But the coolest thing they did was attend a Gaelic football game at Dublin's famed Croke Park, the fifth-largest stadium in Europe. Brey gave his guys time to explore the towns by themselves without any chaperones or curfew. "I told them I'm going to treat you like men unless you screw it up," he says. "They were great, but I've had to remind them since we got home that we're not in Ireland anymore."

Purdue: Australia, August 6-17

What happened: Matt Painter took an unusual tack when it came to planning an overseas trip: He wanted to play some really good teams. That's what he found Down Under, where the Boilermakers, who along with Michigan State will be favored to win the Big Ten this season, went 2-3, including 1-3 against teams from Australia's tough National Basketball League. "Everybody we talked to that went to Australia raved about the level of play in their professional league," Painter says. "We've been getting patted on the back for four months for surprising so many people last season, but I think this trip brought us back to reality."

Purdue lack of a consistent post scorer was an even bigger problem in Australia because the team did not have 6-4 junior guard Keaton Grant, the incumbent point guard who was still recovering from offseason knee surgery. (Painter expects him to be ready by the start of practice.) Since the trip came too early to bring along his freshman, Painter also did not have Lewis Jackson, who should also see time at the point this season. Painter had some success going to a smaller lineup, but even when he went bigger his team still struggled on the boards.

Still, Painter liked what he saw out of the the two sophomores who will once again by the team's foundation this season, 6-3 guard E'Twaun Moore and 6-8 forward Robbie Hummel. Moore averaged 27 points a game on the trip (keep in mind their games were 48 minutes long and used a 24-second shot clock) and got some extra ballhandling responsibilities in Grant's absence. Hummel continued to show the versatility that will make him such a difficult matchup. Though Hummel is more comfortable roaming the perimeter, Painter played him extended minutes at power forward, but he also had Hummel bring up the ball against the press. While Painter would like to see Hummel get a little more aggressive as a scorer -- "Sometimes he stops looking at the basket if he misses a couple shots," Painter says. -- he does not want Hummel to get to the point where is forcing up bad shots. "Robbie likes to defer to other players, which really helps our chemistry," Painter says. "A lot of people tell me our guys are fun to watch, and I think that's a big reason why."

Revelation: JaJuan Johnson will never be a candidate to enter a bodybuilding competition, but the 6-10, 215-pound sophomore center showed he has the potential to be a defensive force this season. Johnson, who only started playing competitive basketball when he was a junior in high school, led the team in blocks during the Australia trip and shot nearly 50 percent from the field. "He has improved his strength," Painter says. "He still has a very narrow frame, but he can be a guy who makes a difference for us on defense."

Postcard moment: Spending 11 days in the western cities of Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns afforded the players, coaches and traveling contingent lots of tourist opportunities, from going bungee jumping to touring the opera house and aquarium in Sydney to visiting the zoo in Brisbon. ("You can just walk up to those kangaroos and pet 'em like they're dogs," Painter says.) One excursion the coach turned down, however, was the team's boat ride through the Great Barrier Reef in Cairnes. Says Painter, "I get seasick every time I'm on a boat, and I'm done fighting it."

Southern Illinois: Windsor, Canada, August 30-September 2

What happened: The Salukis won three games by an average of seven points against collegiate teams from Canada. But the most important thing they won was the confidence that senior point guard Bryan Mullins, has recovered from the stress fracture that sidelined him for the final two games of last season. Mullins hadn't seen competitive action since he hurt himself last March, but Southern Illinois coach Chris Lowery was able to increase his minutes each game -- from 14 to 15 to 27. "He wasn't there from a physical standpoint, but as far as running our team, knowing what to do, teaching things to the other guys, he hasn't missed a beat," Lowery says.

The leading scorer on the trip was Kevin Dillard, a 6-foot freshman point guard from Homewood, Ill., who was the state's Mr. Basketball as a high school senior. Dillard didn't shoot it great up north (31.8 percent in the three games) but he did make 19 of his 20 free throw attempts. More important, he showed the toughness that has long defined this program. Lowery believes he can play Dillard and Mullins at the same time even though they are both technically play the same position. "Kevin is a typical Chicago-tough point guard," Lowery says. "You have to play him and Bryan together. Those guys are both too good."

Dillard and some of the other six newcomers were so impressive that they spooked Josh Bone, a 6-3 junior guard who was one of three returning starters from last season. As soon as the Salukis returned to Carbondale, Bone, who averaged 13.3 minutes on the Canada trip but made just 1 of his 13 field goal attempts, surprised Lowery by telling him he wanted to transfer. Lowery says Bone's decision was "not mutual." His exodus opens the possibility that 6-4 freshman guard Ryan Hare (10.3 points, 52.6 percent fg in Canada) will move into the starting lineup from Day 1.

Revelation: Along with Dillard, Anthony Booker, a 6-8 freshman forward from Florissant, Missouri, will need to contribute right away for the Salukis to be successful. His stats in Canada weren't eye-popping (6.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg), but he showed the ability to give this team an offensive jolt it lacked last season. "He's a tremendous athlete, a major get for us," Lowery says. "He's a threat to score from the block to the three-point line."

Postcard moment: The off-court highlight of this trip was a team dinner at Bubbi's restaurant, home of the world famous $75 hamburger. The restaurant offers $1,000 to any patron who can consume the burger in 90 minutes, but while a few of the players claimed they could pull it off, they balked when they saw the size of it. "They said it's the equivalent of 26 Whoppers," Lowery says. "You can only cut it in half and you have to eat all of the bun, too. Thank goodness none of our guys wanted to try it."