Life as a Division I basketball player or coach can be a bit lonely at times.

Players leave their homes, families and friends to attend far-away colleges. They travel often during the season and wind up spending some holidays in strange places.

Such is the case this week for the four teams involved in the Dead River Co. Classic at Alfond Arena in Orono.

Players from Bradley University of Peoria, Ill., Xavier University of Cincinnati, Ohio, and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay joined their hosts from UMaine for turkey dinner Thursday night at the Black Bear Inn in Orono.

Today, they’ll gather at Alfond Arena for the first round of tournament action.

Times like these require players and coaches who aren’t surrounded by family to lean on themselves for mutual support.

“I think our sport’s very hard,” said UMaine coach Sharon Versyp. “They usually miss Thanksgiving with their families and at Christmas they only have a couple days. That’s why the family atmosphere with our team and caring for one another is so important.”

Ever since her arrival in Orono, Versyp has made it imperative to develop a close-knit family feeling among the players and coaches. Fostering that kind of atmosphere of love and trust is important on and off the court.

“We just talked about that,” Versyp said. “We watched some film and talked about how thankful we need to be that we do have each other. If you can’t be with your mom and dad, what’s better than being with your team.

Versyp, who is a native of Indiana, is fortunate this week to be entertaining some of her immediate family members, who made the trip to Maine for the holiday.

Bears look to ‘Stuff the Alfond’

While Thursday was a day for Americans to stuff their turkeys and their faces, UMaine has billed today as “Stuff the Alfond” day for the opening round of the Dead River Co. Classic.

All tickets to tonight’s two-game session are $5.

Xavier and Wisconsin-Green Bay open the event with a 4:30 p.m. contest, followed by UMaine-Bradley at 7 p.m.

In spite of its relatively remote location in the far northeastern corner of the country, UMaine has been able to attract numerous top quality teams over the years for the Dead River Classic.

“They’re all very good, solid teams,” Versyp said of the field. “We’re excited to have such a competitive tournament.”

UMaine has become known in recent years for its excellent atmosphere and high level of play.

UMaine players on the mend

The Bears go into tonight’s game minus three members of the squad.

Junior forward Anna James (illness), junior guard Ellen Geraghty (back spasms) and freshman guard Kelly Manning (knee) all will miss the Bradley game.

Sophomore guard Pam Cruz, who saw limited action against Georgia, may be available for limited action. She is coming off knee surgery earlier this fall.