Jake Morrow has never been out of the country. He loves playing basketball.

This weekend, the Minnesota State senior will combine his first international experience with his favorite sport when the Mavericks take a four-day basketball trip to Barbados.

“You don’t get many chances to leave the country and do what you like to do,” he said. “We’re going for the basketball, but hopefully when it’s all done, we’ll have come together as a team.”

The Mavericks leave today for a four-day trip to the island in the southern Caribbean, playing three games against local teams, learning something about a new place and developing some team chemistry.

“We want to have some fun,” coach Matt Margenthaler said. “Being together as a team, we’ll do a lot of things that will help us later in the season.”

The NCAA allows universities to send its athletic programs on international trips every four years. The Mavericks’ men’s basketball team has never made a tour outside of the United States.

Margenthaler said the trip was arranged to take place after school began, allowing transfer Travis Nelson and incoming freshman Alex Weldon to participate. The team is granted 10 days of practice before the trip, though team practices can’t resume until Oct. 15 in preparation for the first season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

There are 35 players, coaches and parents on the trip, which is being paid for by a private donor. The players will return Monday, thus missing just one day of classes.

“The biggest part of this is the games,’’ Morrow said. “We’ve got two new guys, and we’re getting to practice early. It’s going to be a great experience.”

The Mavericks will play a game against the Barbados club champion on Friday, then play Saturday and Sunday against an all-star team from the club league. The games will be played with international rules.

Margenthaler said that guard Jadee Jones won’t play because he’s recovering from ankle surgery. Stephen Kirschbaum (mono), Weldon (ankle) and Kyle Swanson (shoulder) also won’t play, but all players will make the trip. All four are expected to be ready when team practices begin Oct. 15.

“The conditioning won’t be where it needs to be,” Margenthaler said. We have a veteran team, and we’ll use this time to work on fundamentals. We’ll try to practice things that will help us in October.”