It's like Christmas coming early for Valparaiso University men's basketball fans and players alike.
 
Coming off the program's best season since joining the Missouri Valley Conference, the Beacons won't have to wait until November to take the court in a game situation. Instead, the opportunity will come next week as the squad heads to Nassau, The Bahamas for a pair of exhibition games against international competition as part of the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League.
 
"It's moments like this that you look forward to building with your team," head coach Roger Powell Jr. said. "Having some games and extended practice time this summer is helping us get ready quicker. Next week, we're going to play some tough teams. I wanted to give us a chance to play against good quality opponents to see where we are and what we need to work on to prepare for the regular season when we get back in the fall. We are very grateful for the people who supported our program and made it possible for us to have this trip and get this experience."
 
The Beacons will play Carleton University (Canada) at 2 p.m. CT / 3 p.m. ET on Monday before facing off with Dalhousie University (Canada) at 6:30 p.m. CT / 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The games will be streamed on FloCollege.
 
"When we were planning the trip, I wanted to have some challenging games," Powell said. "I wanted to play teams that will give us a game; I didn't want to go out there and just play anybody. Carleton beat us when I was an assistant coach under Bryce, and they recently won the championship in their province. These are going to be some real games that will be good for us to prepare us as we get ready for the preseason."
 
When Powell and his staff set out to assemble the remainder of the roster this spring, they did so with a strong starting point. Junior Justus McNair (Joliet, Ill. / Joliet West) is back for his third season in the program, while the five-member sophomore class (including one redshirt freshman) all elected to return – JT Pettigrew (Lisle, Ill. / Bolingbrook), Rakim Chaney (Rockford, Ill. / Rockford Auburn [212 Sports Academy]), Carter Hopoi (Tauranga, New Zealand / Mount Manganui College NZ), Sader Servilus (Montreal, Quebec, Canada / Fort Erie International Academy) and Kobe Walker (Normal, Ill. / Normal Community).
 
The Beacons had also signed three freshmen last November – Justin Curry II (Noblesville, Ind. / Noblesville), Hudson Scroggins (Lake Bluff, Ill. / Lake Forest [Kimball Union Academy]) and Rajan Roberts (Chicago, Ill. / AZ Compass Prep) – so Powell had nine scholarship players already set going into spring recruiting.
 
"It was refreshing that we didn't have to sign a whole team," Powell said. "That was a blessing because that is a lot of work trying to put a whole roster together in a couple months. It was good having some returners and it was awesome bringing the recruits on campus and giving them the chance to spend time with the returners, that was an advantage in recruiting. They got to see the culture and spend time with all the guys who knew the culture. I'm excited about how it turned out."
 
Powell and his staff brought in a pair of in-conference transfers – redshirt junior Kai Yu (Zhuhai, Guangdong, China / Link Prep [Bradley/Liberty] and junior Bruno Alocen (Barcelona, Spain / Manresa [Indiana State]). They join forces with sophomore Terron Garrett (St. Louis, Mo. / Vashon [Mineral Area College]) and senior Dylan Moles (Greenfield, Ind. / Greenfield Central [Marian]) to comprise the incoming transfer quartet. George Richardson (Chicago, Ill. / Evanston [Link Year Prep]) was added to the three previously-signed rookies, rounding out the four-member freshman class.
 
The group has bonded on and off the court already this summer, with more of both set to occur in Nassau in the coming days.
 
"It was a really good summer," Powell said. "We're getting our new guys up to speed with our basketball terminology and the way we play. The returners have done a good job of helping with that, and the newcomers are picking it up. The new guys had weeks in the summer to get acquainted with our program, from team time to practices to barbeques at my house. They're getting comfortable with being there and I've enjoyed this group this summer."