Jayhawks basketball team tours Rome, the Colosseum, Pantheon and Venti Fountain | The Kansas City Star

Kansas assistant coach Kurtis Townsend turned his head around, facing freshman forward Billy Preston in front of the Fountain of the Four Rivers on the Piazza Navona.

“Billy, andiamo!”

An amused KU coach Bill Self turned to Townsend after he heard the phrase.

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“What was that?”

“We’ve got to teach them something,” Townsend said with a smile.

“Andiamo!” — Italian for “Let’s go!” — worked this time, as the KU men’s basketball team gathered quickly to head back to the team bus following a walking tour of Rome on Wednesday morning. The itinerary included stops at the famed Colosseum, Pantheon and Venti Fountain.

KU guard Malik Newman was most impressed by the Colosseum.

“Just learning about the history, learning about what they had to go through to survive another day,” Newman said. “... To just be actually up close and personal inside it, I think that was very cool.”

The Jayhawks’ sightseeing trip finished about six hours before their exhibition opener, as they will face Stella Azurra/HSC Roma at 11:30 a.m. central time Wednesday.

Here’s a closer look at the KU’s Rome outing.