Its been a while since I wrote on here. I have been busy practicing and preparing for the season. We have played one game in the EBL so far and it did not go in our favor. I was battling a sinus infection and was pretty much ineffective from the gate during the game against a very solid team in King Szczecin. Hopefully our game coming up this Sunday will be better for the team and for me.

Yesterday we had a scrimmage against another Polish team from the I Liga. It was a bloodbath as we won by 40 points easily. I was the only American that played and even then I played sparingly. In roughly 18-20 minutes I had 9 points 5 rebounds and 1 block.

Everything in Poland so far has not been too bad. Ive found two or three local restaurants that are very good and affordable. The weather has actually been absolutely perfect and I am enjoying walking everywhere to see the city. I doubt I’ll feel the same way when the weather gets colder in the winter! This weekend we are headed to Germany for a preseason tournament and then Monday should be our next day off.

Yesterday, September 1, we played our first game in the gym with fans and spectators watching. The scrimmage was against a team from the Polish 2nd Division, also known as the I Liga. The guys on my team knew most of the opposing players and things were very light before the game started.

The three Americans, Anthony, Jalen, and myself did not start because the coach wanted to build the anticipation for the crowd. We are the first Americans to be on the team in fifteen years and everyone is quite excited. When we entered the game the crowd roared in excitement and Anthony quickly made a nice move by splitting a pick and roll drawing ooh’s and ahhh’s from the crowd. I did much better this game with 18 points and close to 10 rebounds, but there is always room for improvement. Jalen did well by being a Swiss army knife on the defensive end switching every screen and rebounding out of his area.

After the game we took a myriad of pictures with fans who’s kids were amazed by the play of the team. For many of those young kids especially the ones younger than 14 this is probably their first time seeing a black person before and they were unhesitant to ask for pictures and autographs. All in all European basketball so far has not been easy by any means but it has been extremely fun. It’s also been extremely loud as fans bring anything they can into the stadium to make noise for their favorite players and team. This includes large drums, airhorns, pots, pans, and anything else they can use to keep the stadium at a deafening decibel.

So far this week we are doing “preparation camp” which is what the Polish call their hell week or minicamp. It has been a great experience so far with lots of running on the beach or in the forrest. Thankfully, my preparation in the summer has allowed me not to be too sore. I believe that all those cycling classes are paying off in the form of sprint endurance. Below is a picture of the team after our first workout on the Baltic Sea!

Yesterday, we had practice that showcased the first live drills we have done since I got here. In 1v1 I go against a Polish center named Marcel. He is incredibly strong in the post and is a vet of the Polish top division for many years. I think I am going to start lifting with him on our lift days so that I can get stronger. I truly believe that strength will be the key to a long career and therefore should start sooner rather later. Today we have a “three a day” beach run at 10:30, lifting weights at 17:00 and then practice at 19:00.

We are only a few days from getting our apartments and we couldn’t be more happy to have a place to store food i.e., a freezer and refrigerator. 

Scrimmaged yesterday against a team from German ProA league. They were very well coached and we could not get the W. I was the only American that played for Spojnia yesterday, the other two were busy with physicals and plane rides. Ended up with 11 points and around 6 or 7 rebounds.  The game is much different, extremely physical and very movement oriented. I believe I could do well in European basketball as long as I stay focused and motivated. Getting used to the physical hand checking and arm bars will be the hardest part, everything else is not too difficult. Training camp begins next week where we will do two a days every day until Saturday so that we can be prepared for what is to come.

Side note: Went to a restaurant with a Polish teammate last night. Food was very good and it was cool to have somebody from team invite us to eat. Another teammate said he will take us somewhere else when training camp is over. Poland has some good cuisine and it will be nice to try it. Also bags came in but some stuff was missing. However, everything important for basketball such as clothes and shoes was in there.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton