Former NCAA players carving out basketball lives outside the USA

[stuart]

Thought I would start out a thread for former-NCAA stars that have made a life playing basketball outside of the USA (NBA). I always found these stories interesting because I feel as if they are so under-reported and thus, detrimentally affects global basketball diversity.

In the USA, or at least in the media, it's either you make it in the NBA (great) or you don't (BAD). I'd like to collect some of the news articles that show success for the segment that falls in-between the NBA and skid row.

Stuart

[stuart]

First up: Jared Jordan, former Marist standout that led the NCAA in assists in 2007 and 2008.

http://www.courant.com/sports/basket...,6096307.story

Jared Jordan Shifts Focus From NBA Dream To Europe
The dream was to be in the NBA by this point, and Jared Jordan, so close a few times, has spent the last two years pursuing that goal.

After being selected by the Clippers in the second round of the 2007 draft, then failing to earn a roster spot after a trade to the Knicks, Jordan spent a year in Lithuania — where the pay was good, but the basketball was not. Jordan was stuck behind former Oklahoma guard Hollis Price and generally unhappy overseas.

So last season, after training camp with the Hornets, the point guard from Hartford who led the nation in assists as a junior and senior at Marist played in what felt like another country, Rio Grande, Texas.

"Basically, it was like Mexico," Jordan said of his time with the Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League — where the basketball was good, but the pay was not.

So now, after playing in an NBA summer league with the Warriors, Jordan has shifted gears mentally.

Speaking Saturday before scoring 34 points for All Axxess in a 120-117 loss to Doc Hurley All-Stars at the Greater Hartford Pro-Am, he said he's excited for the next step. He has signed a one-year contract to play for Bonn Telecom in Germany, a team with a good reputation in a good league that pays players such as Jordan more than $200,000. With a pro-rated contract in the Development League last year, Jordan made less than $20,000.

"For the first time in my life I really feel like I'm ready for something like this," Jordan said. "I'm just ready to get out and go. The NBA is always the dream, but there does come a point where you have to focus on a career in Europe. You just have to find the right situation."

Jordan says he'll have that in Bonn. The nomadic life of a professional athlete is still trying — Jordan's parents are still in Hartford, as well as so many friends — but his girlfriend will be moving to Germany with him. And "The Magician," as he was known in college, is going with a healthy mind-set.

This is the job. This is the lifestyle. Jordan says that while he would love a call from an NBA team, he doesn't see himself attending any more training camps in the next few years. Being on top of the basketball world is a thrill, but not so much when that experience entails such limited playing time and a tenuous, at best, spot on any team.

"I'm going to start building my career overseas," Jordan said. "Then, who knows, maybe something can happen like what happened to Will Solomon. You go away for a while, spend a few years getting better, and you end up in the NBA."

Blocking Memories

Mickell Gladness, then a junior forward at Alabama A&M, put together one of the most impressive defensive stretches in NCAA history in early 2007. The highlight: He had an NCAA-record 16 blocks in a 79-73 victory over Texas Southern.

"[My teammates] kept forcing the shooters toward me, or they would just keep coming at me," he said Saturday before scoring 24 points for the Hurley All-Stars. "I was like, 'OK, if you're going to keep coming at me, then I'm going to keep blocking shots and adding to my stats."

The next game, two days later against Prairie View A&M, Gladness had 13 blocks. And in a four-game stretch, he had 47 blocks.

Gladness averaged 10.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.5 blocks as a senior in 2007-08 but went undrafted. He spent last season playing in Holland and has since spent time in Hartford, where his wife grew up.

[stuart]

Where are they now? Rashard Griffith is now playing in Romania.

http://www.uwbadgers.com/mobile/mobi...&storyID=18506

Where are they now? Rashard Griffith

MADISON, Wis. - Rashard Griffth was a standout on the men’s basketball team during his collegiate career at Wisconsin (1994-95) and has since become one of the top players in the international game. With the Badgers, Griffth helped lead Wisconsin to the 1994 NCAA tournament, the school’s first appearance in 47 years. Griffth led the Big Ten in blocks that year and capped the season with 22 points and 15 rebounds in a NCAA first-round win over Cincinnati. As a sophomore, Griffith became the first Badger since 1977 to average a double-double with 17.2 points and 11.2 boards per game.

Griffith was a second-round NBA draft pick of the Milwaukee Bucks after leaving Madison and has since spent 14 seasons playing internationally throughout Europe. He has spent time playing in Turkey, Israel, Spain and Italy before signing with his current team in Romania. With 18 championships and the 1997 Turkish League MVP on his resume, the 7-foot big-man is in the midst of an incredible career.

He was back in Madison in late July and caught up with UWBadgers.com.

Where are you living and playing these days?
“I’m still playing in Romania with CSU Asesoft. This will be my third season with them coming up. I actually leave next week to head back over there for camp. We start camp in early August and then start games in September and the season goes all the way until June.”

What’s Romanian living like?
“You know, I like it. It’s like any another European country. There is a misconception about the country because whenever they show stories and footage from of over there it’s always the bad things. But I enjoy it. Like any place, it has bad areas, but also great areas. It’s nice living and the people are okay. It’s also pretty close to other European countries like Spain and France, so you can travel easily.”

How did last season go?
“We won the championship again. That makes 18 championships that I’ve been a part of over my career.”

Do you get rings for all of those championships?
“They do things a little differently over there. They don’t really give out rings, it’s more like trophies and other things. I’ve got a lot of them collected from over the years.”

With all of those titles, do have one pro career highlight?
“Probably winning the European League championship in 2001 with Italian club Kinder Bologna. I was on a team with Manu Ginobili and Marko Jaric, so we had a really good team and that was fun. Winning the Euroleague title is basically like winning the NBA title over in the States.”

You’ve played in so many different places, what is your favorite place to live?
“I’d say Spain or Italy. I really enjoyed my time there.”

Why are you back in Madison?
“I come back every summer these days, it’s like my second home. After leaving in 1995, I didn’t come back to Madison until 2005. Howard Moore had been trying to get me back and I finally did and now I come back every year to see people.”

Place in Madison that is a “must visit” when you come back?
“I didn’t really go out a lot when I was a student there, so I don’t have many spots that I need to go to. It was pretty much go to practice, go to class and then back to the Regent where I lived. Now when I come back, I just like to see all that has changed on campus. They’ve done a great job here. When I was here we played in the Fieldhouse and now with the Kohl Center and everything, it’s neat to just go over there and see it and talk to people like Coach Ryan and Howard.”

Favorite Badger memory?
“I’d say making the NCAA tournament during my freshman year in 1994. That was the first time Wisconsin had been there since 1947, so that was cool.”

What are post playing-career plans?
“I want to pass along all of the knowledge and experience that I’ve gathered on to others. So I want to go into coaching and teaching at camps. I’m not sure what level I’d want to coach at, but I want to stay involved in the game and help coach others.”

[stuart]

Smaller unknown players such as former Utah player Nick Jacobson, former North Dakota State standout Lance Berwald, and former Minnesota State University Moorhead Brett Beeson have had/are having successful careers overseas.

Basketball abroad: Former area hoopsters have enjoyed time playing professionally overseas
Let the record show that Nick Jacobson remains a staunch Republican. But he grew to appreciate a Democratic-like national health care system in Belgium where his 17-month-old daughter was born.

Jacobson, a Fargoan who played college basketball at Utah, is one of nearly 2,500 Americans who play professionally in Europe. In 2008, Jacobson was the hot-shooting guard for the team in Bree, Belgium, when he and his wife, Amy, became the proud parents of Mia.

“If there was any experience that sold me on wanting my government to pay for my health care, that may have been it,” said Jacobson, whose hospital bill totaled $800. “I got the best of both worlds. I wasn’t paying taxes but I was getting the benefits.”

Despite the laborious 10-month seasons of European basketball, the benefits are numerous – as former North Dakota State standout Lance Berwald discovered from 1985 to 1996. In Greece, he was provided a home he says was nicer than his current home in Bloomington, Minn. His final season in Spain, Berwald made $550,000.

“It was a good life,” said the 47-year-old Berwald, now a branch vice president for Coldwell-Banker Burnett Realty.

In a world where salaries still range from $30,000 to $7 million, Jacobson and former Minnesota State University Moorhead standout Brett Beeson are carving out lucrative careers with salaries in the six figures.

Since graduating in 2004 from Utah where he was one of the Utes’ premier outside shooters, Jacobson has played for five different teams in four countries while living in Salt Lake City during the offseason.

Since 1996 when he led all NCAA Division II scorers averaging 33.3 points at MSUM, Beeson has played for nine different teams in four countries while living in Santa Monica, Calif., during the offseason.

Much of the money they make has gone into their savings accounts.

“The only bills are for food, phone and fun,” Beeson said. “I always did everything to make myself the best player that I could be, but I never thought I would be doing this.”

‘Baptism by fire’

Jacobson was raised Catholic – playing two years at Fargo Shanley before finishing his high school career at Roseville, Minn. After playing four years of college basketball in the Mormon-dominated state of Utah, Jacobson experienced major culture shock when he landed his first job.

Welcome to the Muslim world of Istanbul, Turkey, population 12 million. Jacobson and his wife rarely met anyone who could speak English.

“It was much bigger than a basketball experience,” Jacobson said. “The city was so chaotic, tangled and messy. There were traffic jams at 2 in the morning. There was a level of poverty that I had never seen … people riding donkeys on the side of the freeway.

“At the time, it was so frustrating. I couldn’t wait to get out of there.”

Jacobson figures what he described as a “baptism by fire” prepared him for anything overseas basketball was going to throw at him. After stints in Bremerhaven, Germany, and Bree, Belgium, Jacobson last year played in Domzale, Slovenia – a country of 2 million located on the Adriatic Sea east of northern Italy.

“It was gorgeous country with the Alps nearby … it was a fantastic place to live,” said Jacobson, who has spent Christmas breaks with his family in places like London, Paris, Prague and Venice.

Not far from Venice on the Spanish island of Minorca, Beeson was vacationing this past June after completing his 11th season of overseas basketball.

When his career started in 1997 in Brest, France, Beeson could only speak English. He now speaks fluent French and Spanish – so well he’s considering teaching languages or becoming an international scout for an NBA franchise after his playing career.

“At first, I had to rely on people who could speak English … if they didn’t, there was no communication,” Beeson said. “Life has become a lot more enjoyable. You can ask directions, talk to a pretty girl.”

Beeson, who grew up in Moorhead for 12 years before moving to Eden Prairie, Minn., is now a 36-year-old bachelor who hopes to recover from a hamstring injury for the upcoming season.

“My first love is basketball,” Beeson said. “That’s ended a lot of relationships that I’ve had. But I’m going to keep playing for as long as I can.”

Big fish in a small pond
Berwald is the only NDSU player ever selected in the NBA draft. After playing in a 1984 summer league with the Los Angeles Lakers, Berwald got a call from a team in France – offering him $75,000 with a lot of bonuses.

“For me, it was a financial decision,” Berwald said. “I was married and had two little kids. I needed to make some money.”

Becoming what he described as a “bigger fish in a smaller pond,” the 6-foot-10 Berwald played for seven different teams in the top leagues in France, Spain and Greece. He averaged 15 to 21 points in eight of his 12 seasons and more than 10 rebounds in five of those seasons.

A ruptured Achilles tendon injury eventually ended his career. But he did manage to average 16.5 points and 10.6 rebounds during his second-to-last season for Peristeri Nikas in Greece.

“If I couldn’t play in the NBA, I wanted to play at the highest level that I could and make as much money as I could,” Berwald said.

Jacobson and Beeson – both shooting guards – have been making decent money playing in lower leagues.

In 2000 in Switzerland, Beeson was the most valuable player, averaging 29.5 points in the second-highest of four leagues. In 2002 in Israel, he was the MVP, averaging 25 points in the second-highest of three leagues. In 2008 in Spain, he was the MVP, averaging 24 points in the lowest of four leagues.

Last season, Beeson averaged 17 points for a team in Cornella, Spain, in the third highest of four leagues.

“It’s been a fun ride,” Beeson said. “But every year, I have to prove myself on the court. With only one-year contracts, there is no security. I have to produce. If I don’t, my career could come to an abrupt halt.”

Jacobson has consistently averaged nearly 15 points in each of his four seasons overseas. Filling his role as a shooting guard for Helios-Damzale last season, Jacobson’s 15.6-scoring average ranked third in the Adriatic League – the highest of three leagues in Slovenia.

Like Beeson, the 28-year-old Jacobson is preparing for another 10-month season. From the middle of August when teams start preseason training until the playoffs end in June, Jacobson has gotten used to the usual weekly grind of two-a-day practices for five days, one game that draws anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 fans before a day off.

“You repeat that on end, forever it feels like,” Jacobson said. “That’s one of the biggest mental challenges of it. It’s way too long of a season.

“But, I would never complain about what basketball has done for me. It’s been pretty exciting.”

[stuart]

Former Georgia guard Sundiata Gaines' story...

Gaines works out for Hawks
Sundiata Gaines' basketball journey has literally taken him halfway around the world.

Gaines followed up his Georgia career with a successful season in Italy. This week, he returned to familiar country for an Atlanta Hawks mini-camp with hopes of gaining an invitation to an NBA team's training camp in the fall.

"It's a long way," Gaines said. "I'm happy to even get a chance to do something like that. I've gone from the big city (New York) to a small town (Athens), and the place I played in Italy (Cantu) was kind of a small town, too. I've always kind of been on the move in my career. I'm used to being in different places and different cultures."

Gaines grew up in New York City. He played in the NCAA Tournament as well as every hostile gym in the Southeastern Conference. Cantu is in northern Italy about halfway between Milan and the Swiss border. Gaines said the environment at an Italian Serie A basketball game was unlike anything he's ever seen.

"The atmosphere overseas is probably the best atmosphere you're going to get, other than the playoffs of the NBA or the finals," Gaines said. "The people in Italy treat it with a great passion, a lot like college-campus kids."

They go all-out in every game or maybe even more. Any city you go in, they love their town and they love their team. It's that way in about every town. It's football, or soccer I mean, and basketball with soccer being the first. They're very passionate about it and they're vocal."

The Hawks are the fourth NBA club to have invited Gaines to mini-camp this summer. He also had workouts with Dallas, New York and New Jersey. The invitations to mini-camp are a significant step forward because last year he received no NBA offers.

"Playing in the NBA is a big deal for anybody," Gaines said. "You live for it every day. That was my motto and my goal when I went to Italy - to try to work and improve so I can come back and play in the NBA."

Gaines had a standout rookie season at NGC Cantu. He was second on the team in scoring (13.1 points per game), first in assists (2.5) and fourth in rebounding (3.4). He shot 45.2 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from the 3-point line. He played so well that he probably priced himself out of NGC Cantu which is one of the smaller clubs in Italy's top league. NGC Cantu went 14-16 last season and finished in a three-way tie for eighth place in the 16-team league.

"I've got a lot of offers to go back overseas but right now I'm trying to work out with the NBA and see if something can happen there," Gaines said. "If I don't hook on with the NBA, I'd go back over there. I'd have to go back with another team. The team I was with told me they didn't have enough money, that's how good of a year I had. I'll make double or a little more than double what I made last year."

Gaines was one of the most versatile players to ever suit up for Georgia. He is the only player in the program's history to accumulate at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists in a career. He was named the MVP as Georgia came from the bottom of the standings to win the 2008 Southeastern Conference Tournament. Gaines said his quickness and 3-point shooting have improved since playing at Georgia. His knowledge of the game has increased and he is an all-around better player who has drawn some notice from NBA clubs. Although he likes playing in Europe, the NBA remains his goal and overseas experience is a way to realize that dream.

"It (playing overseas) is all right," Gaines said. "It's a great learning experience for me. I'm not too big on being over there. It's not the lifestyle I want to live. But for the moment, it's been good for me. It's been a learning experience and helped me get better with my game."

[Phantim3dx]

very good thread, anyone who would like to add please add. im always interested in former oklahoma state and syracuse players now somewhere overseas.

[stuart]

Matt Walsh formerly of Florida

http://www.euroleague.net/euroleague...ter-matt-walsh

Union Olimpija added more firepower to its roster for the coming season by inking sharpshooter Matt Walsh to a one-year deal. Walsh (197. 26) arrives from Spirou Charleroi, where he averaged 13.3 points and 2.3 assists in nine Eurocup games last season. He helped Spirou win back-to-back Belgian League titles in the last two seasons. Walsh also earned Belgian League finals MVP. He previously played for Manresa in Spain, Olimpia GE Larisa in Greece, the Arkansas in the NBDL and Miami in the NBA. He helped the University of Florida win the South Eastern Conference Tournament in 2005, earning MVP honors.

"Walsh is a wing player that will shine in offense. He already had some experience in Europe and his best basketball years are about to arrive," Union Olimpija head coach Jure Zdovc said. "He is very ambitious and already worked with coach Drazen Anzulovic in Belgium, so he is well aware of our basketball school. I expect him to be a good fit and I am happy that we managed to bring him to Olimpija."

[stuart]

http://www.mlive.com/spartans/index....asketball.html

Marquise Gray's next basketball stop likely Europe
by A. Sherrod Blakely

Former Spartan Marquise Gray made just one appearance for the Detroit Pistons' summer league team.
LAS VEGAS -- Former Michigan State forward Marquise Gray is no different from other undrafted college players.

Gray, who was a member of the Detroit Pistons' summer league team in Las Vegas, wants to play in the NBA.

But that seems unlikely this season after he played sparingly for the Pistons in a seldom-used role similar to his final days at MSU.

Still, Gray's dreams live on with his next destination likely to be in Europe.

"He just needs to play," said his agent Noah Crooms, who has had discussions with teams in Israel, France and Germany. "He's still a young guy with a lot of untapped potential."

Detroit gave most of its frontcourt minutes to first-round draft pick Austin Daye, who led the Pistons' summer league team in rebounds with 8.8 per game, and second-round picks DaJuan Summers and Jonas Jerebko.

But you won't hear Gray, who scored seven points in 17 minutes in his lone appearance, complaining.

"It's hard enough just to be on an NBA summer league team," Gray said last week. "It's a lot of great players that aren't on a team right now. I'm fortunate and blessed to be on one."

Basketball remains an important part of Gray's life.

But the 23-year-old has had enough setbacks to know there's more to life than layups and dunks.

"I've been through a lot of stuff," Gray said. "But by the grace of God, I've come through it all right."

As a high school senior, life on the court was great.

Despite not playing at one of the more acclaimed basketball programs in Flint, the Flint Beecher High School standout made a name for himself as one of the nation's top players. Rivalhoops.com ranked him the No. 21 player in the country, while two other recruiting services listed him among the nation's top 40 prospects.

Gray did not fully enjoy the attention because part of his focus was on his ill father, Joseph Washington Jr., who eventually died because of complications associated with diabetes.

Rather than focus on his father's death, Gray's thoughts centered on the good times the two shared.

"Growing up, I knew my father very well," Gray said. "We were very close. A lot of guys can't say that. I was fortunate and blessed to have both parents."

Although he was one of the nation's top high school players, Gray's lofty status never translated into major minutes at MSU.

After averaging career highs in points (6.8) and minutes played (18.7) as a sophomore, Gray's role shrunk as a junior (4.3 points, 13.1 minutes) and was even less as a senior (3.1 points in 9.5 minutes per game).

Naturally, he would have loved to have played more at Michigan State.

But he has no regrets about being a Spartan, because his time at MSU gave him an education -- something he values more than basketball.

"It was big for my family," said Gray, who was the first in his family to graduate from college. "I think more so right now, it's more for my mother (Rebecca Gray) than myself. I say that because I promised her, no matter what I did or what I wanted to do, I would graduate. That's made her very proud.

"I know later in life, I'll appreciate it more. The ball can't bounce forever. I know that. So for me to have that (degree), that's an accomplishment for myself. I'll have something to fall back on."

[stuart]

http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-baskb...031408abu.html

Catching Up With Big Ten Tournament Star Luke Recker
Former Indiana and Iowa standout is in his sixth year playing professionally in Europe

bigten.org: Luke, we appreciate you taking the time to respond to some fan questions. We asked people reading our blog to e-mail us Thursday with some questions and we are glad you had time to answer them all.
Recker: Thanks for the opportunity!

Q: You were a good student in college, while also excelling on the basketball court. Do you have any tips or superstitions (perhaps a lucky study outfit) that could help soon-to-be college basketball players prepare for the rigor of Big Ten academics and athletics? Thanks. Keep up the great work in Spain!!
A: Frank Riccard, do you think KFC is still open??? I think the most important thing for incoming student-athletes is time management. College athletics can seem like a full time job at times, so it's important to make time for studying. Sometimes, athletes can get distracted and forget the real reason they are there...to earn a degree! Generally I am not a very superstitious person, but I do have a pair of lucky socks that I like to rock!

Q: Are you playing overseas right now? How is that going? Are you married?
A: Yes, I am currently playing in Bilbao, Spain. My team is called Iurbentia Bilbao Basket, which is in the ACB, the top division in Spain. This is my sixth professional season, fifth in Europe, and third in Spain. I also spent two seasons in Italy. The experience has been incredible and I wouldn't change it for anything! Yes, I am married to a wonderful woman named Megan, who I met during my senior year at the University of Iowa. We are going on five years of marriage and are expecting our first child this summer!!

Q: Luke, I have two questions. 1) What similarities/differences did you see between Coach Knight and Coach Alford? 2) Do you keep in contact with any of your former teammates at Indiana/Arizona/Iowa?
A: Coach Alford ran his program at Iowa very similar to how Coach Knight ran his at IU. For instance, they had a lot of the same philosophies in regards to defense. Also, Coach Knight is the master of motion offense and we tried to implement the same principles at Iowa. At times, Iowa's practices felt eerily similar to those I experienced at IU!! There were some differences as well. Coach Alford liked to run offensive sets that flowed into motion, whereas Knight liked to stick with motion. Both are terrific coaches and I feel very lucky to have been the only player to play for both of them.

I do stay in contact with many of my former teammates. My best friends still today are some of my teammates from Iowa. Jason Smith was the best man in my wedding and Dean Oliver and Duez Henderson were groomsmen. I try to catch up with Reggie Evans every now and then. Also, I still keep in good touch with Jared Reiner and have played against him here in Europe. I talk less frequently with my teammates from IU and Arizona, but I have played against AJ Guyton and Andre Patterson over here. We always have a good time reminiscing about the old days!

Q: Luke, do you have a favorite memory from playing with the Hawks?
A: I love the University of Iowa and have so many fond memories of my time there. However, the one that takes the cake, would have to be the Big Ten Tournament in 2002. While we fell short against OSU, the two buzzer beaters were highlights of my college career. Also, my first game against IU in Carver was a great memory as well.

Q: What do think about Bob Knight's mid-season exit?
A: I have the utmost respect for Coach Knight, and I think he has earned the right to retire whenever he wants. I think he felt it was the best time to hand over the program to Pat. He had an amazing career and I wish him luck in the media.

Q: Luke, I want you to know that you ruined my spring break in 2002 when you hit the shot to beat my Hoosiers. That was your second game-winner in two days. Now for my question...you ever thought about coming back and going into broadcasting when you are done playing?


A: Sorry about that! I would love to get into broadcasting after I hang up the shoes. I love the game of basketball and can't imagine my life without it. Broadcasting would be a perfect way to stay connected to the game. Do you know of anyone hiring in a few years?!?!

Q: Are you content with playing overseas in the European leagues and being a star over there or would you rather come back to the States and play a certain role for a team in the NBA? Good luck!


A: I am absolutely content with my career in Europe. I have had numerous opportunities to return to the U.S. and try my hand at the NBA, but I have chosen to accept guaranteed contracts in Europe over a gamble that I would end up on an NBA roster. To be honest, I don't think I would be satisfied being the 13th, 14th, or 15th guy on an NBA bench that never sees the floor. Personally, I find it much more gratifying playing and being a difference-maker for my team. And the Sangria in Spain (or pasta in Italy) isn't bad either!

bigten.org: Luke, thanks again for checking in with us. You certainly made some memories at the Big Ten Tournament. Best of luck with your career in Spain and certainly with fatherhood as well.
Recker: Thanks again! I enjoyed it and I always enjoyed my time playing in the Big Ten Conference.

[stuart]

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/yb/133838215

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Former Timberline High, Oregon Star John Greig Now Working As a Sports Agent
Aug. 5--Maybe what's most amazing about John Greig's impressive basketball career is not so much what he did:

--Broke a Pac-10 record for consecutive free throws made with 40.
--Averaged 40 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds per game for an entire season while playing professionally in Europe.

--Played every position during his senior year at the University of Oregon.

It's what Greig, who grew up in Lacey, didn't do that's as surprising as his accomplishments. He didn't have a long, prosperous NBA career. A lanky, 6-foot-7 guard with a 38-inch vertical jump and a deadeye shooting touch, Greig played one season with the Seattle SuperSonics, who picked him in the third round of the 1982 draft and signed him to a one-year, $462,000 contract.

And maybe that's why Greig, now 48 and a member of the Timberline High School Hall of Fame, does what he does today. He's a sports agent living in Sammamish with his wife and three teenaged daughters. He manages 30 clients, a mix of NBA and European-league players with a combined payroll of over $15 million.

A couple of years ago, Greig gave up his prosperous real estate business and successful chain of coffee shops to concentrate on being a sports agent. It's not his chosen profession.

"Actually, I got drug into the agent business. I wasn't looking to do that," Greig said. "Ultimately, it was probably more about if I could save someone from going through what I went through."

Greig's NBA career ended unexpectedly. In his second season with the Sonics, Greig started at shooting guard in the team's final exhibition game and scored 17 points. At 10 p.m. the night before the season opener, Greig got a call from Sonics coach Lenny Wilkens to say he was going to be released. The team's general manager, Zollie Volchok, had made a trade for Reggie King, making Greig expendable.

"I was under the impression I was going to make the team," Greig said. "I started that last game. My teammates were very encouraging. Then I get a call saying 'We're sorry we're going to have to release you. Pick up your stuff.' I was the casualty."

As a rookie, Greig lived most of the season with Sonics center Jack Sikma. With Gus Williams and David Thompson the starting guards, Greig played in just nine games, going 7-for-13 from the field, 5-for-6 from the foul line and averaged 2.1 points in just 26 minutes played. But projected over 36 minutes a game, Greig would have averaged 26.3 points. So while his minutes were limited, he showed potential.

He showed the same scoring potential in Europe where he played six years with stops in Switzerland, France and Spain. He once scored 63 points in a game.

But the NBA never called.

"Back then there wasn't a great deal of money spent on scouting by NBA teams," Greig said. "There was a CBA back then and it was pretty rare players even signed from there. NBA teams back then concentrated on their rosters."

That put more value on a good agent.

"That was part of the problem," Greig said.

At 28, Greig retired from basketball, ready to get on with his life.

"I could have continued playing," Greig said. "But I was making so much money selling real estate that it didn't make sense for me to continue to play basketball."

At Timberline in 1978, Greig had a good senior year, but the team finished well under .500 after four players quit. He went to Wenatchee Valley Community College with plans of joining the Washington Huskies and coach Marv Harshman after one season. But Greig tore two tendons in his right ankle in the first game of the season.

An orthopedic doctor in Wenatchee advised surgery and told Greig his basketball career was over.

But Greig opted for rehab under the supervision of UW doctor Steve Bramwell and resumed playing by late December. The team reached the conference championship game, losing to a Walla Walla team led by Ricky Pierce, another former Sonic.

Off that Wenatchee team, four players were picked in the NBA draft. Besides Greig, there was Dan Caldwell (New York Knicks), Doug Harris (Golden State Warriors) and Byron Williams (Washington Bullets).

"There was a ton of talent in that conference," Greig said.

Harshman wasn't sure Greig was going to be healthy and wanted the sharp-shooting guard to play another season at Wenatchee. But Greig accepted a scholarship from Ducks coach Jim Haney in July and started three years on three straight losing teams, averaging 15.8 points his senior year. Today, Greig second-guesses his decision not to go to Washington.

"Marv's impression was that I wasn't going to be back and healthy so to have signed me in his mind was a real wild card," Greig said. "Marv and I are still very close. Every time we see each other we comment on what could have been."

After getting released from the Sonics, Greig played one season with Athletes in Action, a Christian-based team that allowed Greig to share his faith and earn a paycheck. He was paid $4,000 a month as the team played against major college teams before heading to Europe.

Now, Greig is back in basketball, working as an agent. He still shoots around, sometimes giving tips to his clients about moves on the court. But most of Greig's advice is about contracts and finding a team for players to join. It's the same advice Greig could have used 26 years ago.

[stuart]

http://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/sport...yword=topstory

College Basketball: Thomas to get his shot in Japan
Former Texas State guard signs one-year pro deal with Kyoto

Brandon Thomas pulled down his last rebound at Texas State two seasons ago.

Thomas had a dream to play professionally following college, but found his chances slim. There weren’t any NBA teams interested and his style wasn’t suited for Europe.

The 6-foot-3 inch guard is a force in the paint and on the defensive end. He led the Bobcats in rebounds and blocks as a junior and senior, giving the team a true stopper.

After not having success found for him, Thomas fired his agent, deciding to take it amongst himself to blaze a path into the professional ranks.

Two years later, Thomas struck gold, as he recently signed a one-year deal with a team in Japan.

He will play for the Kyoto Hannaryz in the Basketball Japan League.

“It all came about through networking,” Thomas said. “I knew some people who were connected internationally, so I just had to market myself. Luckily, someone knew a Japanese team that needed a forward.”

Thomas leaves for Japan this weekend and should have success in Asia.

Japanese professional basketball, compared to European, is far freer. It allows for more movement and doesn’t require its big men to be able to pull up from 18 feet.

The bj-league is a 12-team organization broken into two conferences (Eastern and Western). Kyoto’s team will be considered an expansion team for the 2009-10 season.

Teams are allowed to sign 15 players, regardless of their nationalities. When it’s game time though, no more than three non-Asian players can enter the game at the same time.

It’s also a league rule that at least one player of Japanese nationality must stay on the court during the game.

Thomas played two seasons with Texas State from 2006-08. He averaged 6.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.

The 24-year-old guard set a career high as a senior with 18 points against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Thomas also pulled down 15 rebounds that same game.

Thomas led the Bobcats in rebounds eight times in 2007-08 and nine times in 2006-07.

[stuart]

http://www.staugustine.com/stories/0..._1801254.shtml

A Call for Traveling
Former Flagler College star Bryan Borstelmann gets his shot at pro basketball in Denmark By STUART KORFHAGE

Former Flagler College standout Bryan Borstelmann will go just about anywhere to be a professional basketball player.

On Wednesday, his dream job took him to Denmark.

A year after graduating from Flagler as the fifth-leading scorer in school history, Borstelmann has signed with the Svendborg Rabbits of Denmark's Basketligaen, the highest level of pro basketball in the country.

"It's definitely a great opportunity," Borstelmann said Wednesday in Washington while waiting for his connecting flight to Europe.

"I've always wanted to play pro basketball. Europe is a great place to achieve some of my goals."

Borstelmann said he's been trying to stay in basketball shape while waiting for a chance. The hardest part was not losing hope while spending most of the last year working at Publix in St. Augustine.

"I didn't give up on it, but I did put it on backburner," Borstelmann said.

Last summer, the 6-foot, 7-inch forward played for the USA Select team that traveled overseas. It's the same organization that former Flagler players Chris Crumpler and Robbie Reyes joined. Reyes has played professionally in the Philippines, and Crumpler is on a travel team.

Borstelmann hoped the Select team would help him land with a foreign team last year, but a deal he thought would work out ended up falling apart when the team's coach was fired.

But Borstelmann's abilities remained known among the right scouts, and he ended up getting a call that led to a job.

"They basically called me without seeing me," Borstelmann said.

And he signed without seeing them. Bostelmann admitted that he hasn't seen much international basketball other than what he experienced with the Select team. A talk with the Svendborg coach, Craig Pedersen, was enough for Borstelmann to feel comfortable.

Pedersen, who is also the coach of the national team, said he values shooters.

Borstelmann is No. 2 on the career 3-pointers list at Flagler and has the versatility to play both forward spots -- and maybe even center. Borstelmann ranks as Flagler's fourth-best all-time rebounder and is No. 3 in career blocked shots.
"I want to get over there and show people what I can do," Borstelmann said. "Hopefully, I can get over there make an impact."

The goal for Borstelmann is to play well enough in Denmark that he can attract interest from an even higher European league. But even if that doesn't happen, he plans to make the most of his foreign experience.

Borstelmann said he's never lived anywhere other than Florida, so this will be an exciting learning experience for him away from the basketball court.

"I'm going to try to see some stuff that I normally wouldn't be able to," he said. "If I'm going to be there, I might as well take advantage of it."

Borstelmann said he'll start practice by the end of the week and start playing games in September. The Rabbits have lost in the Danish League finals three straight seasons.

[stuart]

http://www.theolympian.com/sports/bl...ry/931878.html

Woods is chasing his dream
Gio Woods had plenty of reasons to quit.

His dream of playing professional basketball seemed by some to be nothing more than a dream.

“A lot of people didn’t think I’d make it,” Woods said.

But Woods’ dream lives. In November, he’ll be included in the draft for the NBA developmental league.

Woods, who has hired an agent, is also hoping to sign with a team in Europe.

“I’ve never given up on anything,” Woods said. “A lot of people doubted me.”

Woods’ stock has risen in the past couple of months. He played well at a tryout for the NBA developmental league in June.

It’s been a long journey for Woods since graduating from River Ridge High in 2004. He played one year at Evergreen State, one year at San Jose Community College and two years at Central Washington. He averaged 9.5 points coming off the bench his senior year at CWU.

Woods started just five games last season, but he didn’t let that detract from his dream. Now, he just waits for the phone to ring.

[stuart]

Booker Woodfox of Creighton
http://www.omaha.com/article/2009072...TS02/707269868

Basketball: Ex-Bluejays star weighing overseas offers
Booker Woodfox had a good workout with the Milwaukee Bucks, but the NBA team told him he needs to work on point guard skills overseas.

Booker Woodfox has one rule, grounded in common sense, when it comes to his basketball future.

“I don't want to go where there's wars,'' he says.

That aside, the former Creighton star is open to a number of offers he has received from international teams. Woodfox said his agent has received offers from teams in Germany, France, Italy and others.

Woodfox expects to decide in the “next two or three weeks'' where he'll start his professional career.

“My agent says you don't want to jump at the first offer,'' Woodfox said, “in case something better pops up.''

While he's excited about the chance to play for pay, Woodfox said, it's not just about the money.

“I don't want to make it sound that I could care less about the money, but I just want to play basketball,'' he said. “You have only so many years you can play before your knees give out or you get hurt.

“I just want to go somewhere that I can play. It really doesn't matter to me.''

Woodfox said he knew after his final game for Creighton last March that the next step in his basketball career probably would take him overseas. The 6-foot-1 guard worked out for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Mavericks before the recent draft.

He said the Bucks' workout went particularly well, but that he was told by the organization that his game needed some more seasoning.

“They told me that I needed a year or two overseas,'' he said. “They want to see me run at the point, and I've never really played point guard. Well, I did back in high school, but it's totally different once you get to college and pro ball.

“They told me just to work on my entire game.''

The best part of Woodfox's game is his shooting. He finished last season second in the nation in 3-point field-goal accuracy (47.6 percent) while averaging 15.8 points for a Creighton team that won 27 games and shared the Missouri Valley regular-season championship.

The Valley named Woodfox its player of the year, and he wound up earning All-America honorable mention from the Associated Press.

Pretty heady stuff for a guy who isn't the biggest, fastest or strongest player ever to put on a Creighton uniform.

“When I came to Creighton, I was just worried about playing and getting some minutes here and there,'' he said. “Nobody thought I could play D-I. I knew I could, but I never even thought I could do some of the things I did. I thought I'd just be an average player, someone that could help a team.

“But I know if I couldn't shoot it, none of this would have been possible. It's all about shooting the ball, and I've always been able to do that.''

Woodfox plans to be in Omaha until around mid-August, working out with his former Creighton teammates. He said he's noticed a difference in many of them since they started ramping up their conditioning work.

Woodfox has even participated in the workouts a time or two.

“They're tough, but I can see improvements on every single guy,'' Woodfox said. “For example, Kaleb (Korver). He couldn't dunk before like he's dunking now. Cavel (Witter), I don't know if he could slap the backboard on a layup. Now he's getting up there and dunking.

“Everybody's a little stronger, everyone's a little quicker. It's working.''

Contact the writer: 679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

[stuart]

Aaron Jackson of Duquesne
http://kaaltv.com/article/stories/S1...html?cat=10216

Jackson to play overseas
Despite not being selected in the 2009 NBA Draft, Aaron Jackson's dream of playing professional basketball will still be coming true. It will just have to come true in another country.

The former guard has signed a one-year contract to play basketball professionally for Antalya of the Turkish Basketball League.

Prior to June’s NBA Draft, Jackson worked out for a dozen NBA teams. After going undrafted, Jackson was a part of the NBA’s Orlando Pro Summer League where he played in four out of five contests and averaged 3.75 points per game.

However, rather than continue to pursue his goal of playing in the NBA, Jackson signed a contract with Antalya the morning of July 28. Jackson will report to his new team on August 20.

The 6’4’’ guard capped off his Duquesne career by averaging 19.3 points per game and being named to the first team All-Atlantic 10. In Jackson’s time as a Duke, his team’s win total improved from 3-24 in his freshman season to 21-13 in his senior season. The guard concluded his college career by scoring 46 points against Virgina Tech in a double-overtime NIT loss.

For his career, Jackson totaled 1,428 points, 505 assists and 169 steals in a school-record tying 120 games.

Last season, Antalya finished sixth in the 16-team Pro A standings with a record of 17-13.

Jackson joins other Ron Everhart coached players, Kieron Achara, Reggie Jackson, Shawn James and Gary Tucker as the fifth former Duquesne player to play overseas.

[stuart]

Lisa Bue of North Dakota State
http://kaaltv.com/article/stories/S1...html?cat=10216

Bue Preparing for Another Season Overseas

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- Imagine living in a place where most people can't understand what you're saying. You have no friends or family near you because you're halfway around the globe.

That's what Austin native Lisa Bue went through this past year while playing basketball overseas.

We caught up with her earlier this week.

Lisa Bue never traveled overseas until last August, when the Austin native decided to play professional basketball in Europe.

"When I heard Bosnia at first, I was really skeptical, definitely wouldn't have said that was my first choice, but I had probably the most amazing experience there."

The 5-foot-10 guard is the all-time leading scorer at Austin High School, and had a great career at North Dakota State. but then she moved over 5,000 miles away.

"I got to Bosnia and it was definitely a shock for me to be so far away from home and really have no option of, to see my family and after that, after I made friends and settled in, it was really a fun experience."

Bue played her first four months in a Bosnian league, as well as a Eurocup league, where she averaged over 20 points and 11 rebounds per contest.

"The top teams in a division were really, really tough teams. I mean, definitely Division One college basketball level, and then once you got towards the bottom of a league that really didn't have much money, the competition was really pretty easy."

She then played the next four months in Romania, almost 400 miles from Bosnia, where she once again put up big numbers -- 15 points and 9 rebounds per game. She says she learned a lot about different styles of basketball.

"It wasn't quite as fundamental, it was more score score score score, and just run and run, which worked out ok for me because that's the kind of player I am, I'm a transition player, I like to run."

And now, Bue is running to another part of the country. She's just not sure exactly where yet.

"It has nothing to do with the teams I was playing for but just for the experience, I kind of want to go somewhere else, just to live somewhere new and experience a new country and new culture and language."

Bue says she's leaning towards playing in Finland next season, although nothing's been made official yet.

[stuart]

Mike Fratangelo of Haverford
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09218/988727-139.stm

For Wilkinsburg grad, basketball more than just a game
For a few weeks this spring, Mike Fratangelo woke each morning to the sweet sounds of the Persian Gulf, a body of water and its accompanying beaches that less than two decades ago served as the epicenter for a war bearing the same name.

When Fratangelo walked out of his apartment and headed to the gym for his tryout with a Kuwaiti professional basketball team, he would be quickly surrounded by hordes of unfamiliar faces, people with little knowledge of his culture.

For Fratangelo, though, exposure to atypical scenery was nothing new.

"I went to Wilkinsburg High School. I was the only white student in my class, so I had my own diversity experiences growing up," he said, laughing.

Fratangelo hasn't just experienced diversity, he has made it his career.

And basketball has been his principal platform.

A 2003 Wilkinsburg graduate, Fratangelo might only be a few years removed from his days pushing the ball up the floor for former Tigers coach Art Griffiths, but his push toward bringing people of different races and backgrounds together has reached a very activepace.

Fratangelo just completed his third summer as director of DiverseCity Hoops Summer Basketball Camp, which stresses improvement and growth off the court just as much as it does on it. At the same time, Fratangelo is actively pursuing a professional playing career overseas.

The camp, held at Haverford College outside Philadelphia, was the brainchild of Fratangelo and friend Greg Rosnick, with whom he attended classes and were teammates at Haverford. Fratangelo graduated with high honors two years ago with a degree in race and cultural studies, and recently earned a masters degree in social research from Bryn Mawr College. When Fratangelo and Rosnick sought a way to apply what they learned to community-based situations, the camp was born.

"We were taking education courses, and a lot of the material we were dealing with was theory based," Fratangelo said.

"We thought to ourselves, 'In what way can we make this theory a practical application to the real world?' And we thought what better way to combine something that we love, basketball, with another interest of ours, diversity, and make a camp out of it."

The camp, which in addition to basketball includes classroom sessions on topics such as leadership and identity, again made strides as far as participation this year, drawing about 50 youngsters for each of the two sessions, one for campers in second through fifth grade and another for those in sixth through ninth grade. Some of the campers were from the inner city and others from the suburbs.

"The whole idea is to get kids to know each other, to work with each other and to succeed through basketball," Fratangelo said.

As for his own on-court talents, Fratangelo is hoping more success will soon come his way. A 6-foot-3 combo guard who averaged double figures in points each of his final two years at Haverford, Fratangelo tried out for Al Arabi, a professional team in Kuwait, back in March. Fratangelo said each team in the league is allowed to have two "imports" on its roster.

The league begins in October, and Fratangelo expects to hear soon in regard to his future there, or potentially in another country, perhaps Germany.

"It went really well when I was [in Kuwait]," Fratangelo said. "I haven't signed a contract for this upcoming year, but I have an agent working hard for me to get a job and I'm just trying to get my foot in the door of a league. It's always been a dream of mine to play professionally."

Wherever Fratangelo lands, it's a good bet he'll blend in quickly. You don't have to go any further back than his days at Wilkinsburg to realize that.

Said Fratangelo: "The people and the lessons that I learned at Wilkinsburg, those are things I'll take with me for the rest of my life. Those experiences I wouldn't trade for the world."


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09218...#ixzz0NhvMOOHx

[stuart]

http://www.safsal.co.il/earticle.aspx?id=14746

Galil/Gilboa inks Pargo
Jeremy Pargo, Jannero's younger brother who just graduated from Gonzaga, will replace Brian Roberts in Galil/Gilboa. The 23-year-old guard wasn't drafted, but averaged 10.0 points for the Pistons in Las Vegas.

Jeremy Pargo (23, 1.88 m), one of the most intriguing guards in the NCAA in recent years, has signed this morning for one season with Hapoel Gilboa/Galil. He'll replace Brian Roberts who left for Bamberg of Germany, and will join Dion Dowell and Isiah Swann.

Pargo, Jannero's younger brother, has played the last four seasons with the University of Gonzaga. After one year in the shadow of superstar Adam Morrison, he became a regular starter as a sophmore.

Last year he averaged 10.2 points, 3.4 boards and 4.9 assists and helped the "Zags" regain the WCC crown and make the NCAA tournament Sweet 16, in which the team lost to future champions, North Carolina.

Pargo went undrafted, but had 10.0 points and 3.0 assists for Detroit Pistons in the summer league. He also worked out with Orlando Magic, but decided to take his chances abroad.

Galil/Gilboa, who finished third in the league last year, is known as a great place for youngsters to step up their game. Last year, Illinois' Brian Randle and Dayton's Brian Roberts were considered among the best players in the league even though they had no prior pro experience.

[stuart]

The stories of Jack Leasure, Pele Paelay, Josh Fowler, Trello Galloway, E.J. Gallup, and Lukas Varga

Hoopsters head across the pond
Players with local ties find success comes at a price playing overseas

It didn't take long for Pele Paelay to realize he was a long way from home.

"Just trying to buy things with U.S. dollars, people were looking at me like, 'Are you crazy?' I pulled out $20 and they are like, 'What are you doing?'" said the former Coastal Carolina standout, recalling his arrival in Germany last year for his first season of playing basketball professionally overseas. "The first day I came with U.S. dollars and I couldn't get anything, so the team gave me euros the next day."

Indeed, making the transition to not only playing professional basketball overseas but living there isn't easy. Several players with local ties have taken on such a challenge in order to continue their playing careers.

Finding a place to play
The process of landing a job playing overseas isn't always the same for every player. Nor is it always linear.

Most players sign an agent after college before fielding offers from overseas teams. However, some players bounce around the U.S. before finding the right situation across the pond.

After college, former Coastal Carolina sharpshooter Jack Leasure tried out for a couple of NBA teams without catching on and later was cut by his hometown Rochester (N.Y.) Razorsharks of the Premier Basketball League.
Then an Austrian team came calling.

"I was getting ready to get another job, thinking it wasn't going to happen. When I finally got it, it was just gravy. I was just really thankful to be in that situation. Just because it was taking so long and I didn't have anything that seemed like it was going to happen.

"At a certain point, you got to say, 'I can't wait for this forever, cause it's not going to happen.'"

He waited just long enough.

Leasure was signed in January by Kelag Worthersee Piraten, which, at the time was ravaged by injuries 14 games into the season. Before he knew it, Leasure was in a uniform and his professional career had begun.

"I found out I was going over on a Monday, then left that Wednesday. I left New York at 6 p.m. You fly overnight. I didn't sleep at all on the plane. I got there at 11 a.m. their time. It's like 2 a.m. our time. We had a game at 7 p.m. [their time]. It was exhausting. It made the rest of the games seem easy."

Former Myrtle Beach High player Trello Galloway and Coastal Carolina alums Paelay and E.J. Gallup had similar paths. Each tried out with NBA teams before winding up playing overseas.

Socastee High graduate Josh Fowler, who was at High Point and Coastal Carolina for stints in college, found his way overseas by playing for USA Select Basketball, a touring team aimed at giving former college players a chance to showcase themselves to squads overseas. While playing in an event in Wales, Fowler was impressive enough to earn a roster spot with the Glamorgan Gladiators over a USA Select teammate. He was their first paid player.

"This league wasn't very publicized," Fowler said. "It was trying to come up, the team was trying to build [its] personality."

Socastee High and Coker grad Lukas Varga, a Slovakian native, used his knowledge of overseas basketball to his advantage before even going to college. Following his senior year in high school, Varga went to Germany to play a year of pro ball - while leaving his college eligibility intact - with hopes of improving his college prospects.

"I went over for spring break for a week to try out for teams," said Varga, whose father endured a long international basketball career. "I came to the decision to play for [TSV Nordlingen] in Germany. I was being paid as a youth coach [as well] to keep my [college] eligibility."

In a far, faraway land
Paelay had been overseas as a child because his parents traveled a lot. However, living so far from home was quite an adjustment.
"There was a time where I was really frustrated, I really was homesick," he said. "I was talking smack, didn't want to be there. It wasn't even a week, just a couple days. Then you snap out of it."

Fowler said "keeping mentally sound" overseas is tough and everyone goes through "some type of isolation." His came thanks to the dreary weather in Wales.

"I almost went crazy a couple of times. Where I was at I was living in a valley - in the [United Kingdom] it rains a lot - where I was it rains even more. The cloud cover just kind of stuck over top. It was cold as hell, raining every day.
"You didn't really want to go anywhere."

Going out in public presents another set of obstacles - adjusting to everyday life in a foreign country.

"Just trying to get groceries or asking someone on the street a question [was very different]. Obviously with the language barrier it was tough," Leasure said. "The [traffic] light signals were different, all the street signs. Ordering at restaurants. All the stuff with the language barrier was challenging."
The uncertainties make forming off-the-court bonds with teammates that much more important, Gallup said½.

"The good thing is there's always guys on the team to help you out," he said. "When I got to Germany the first time, I met all the guys on the team and got to know them. They knew stuff like what grocery stores to go to, where to find banks where people spoke English."

After spending time in Spain, Galloway decided to leave Europe for the Middle East. That presented an entirely different situation considering the turmoil between the U.S. and Middle Eastern countries in recent years.

"Their attire, the way they dress, women are wrapped up. The men wear kanduras - [which is] almost like a white sheet pulled over you. The women are normally wrapped up in all black. That was the hardest part to get over," said Galloway, who has played in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the last three years.

"It scared me at first when I initially saw it [because of the stereotypes that go with the Middle East]. I saw the dress, the attire [and] I was like 'uh, oh.'" he added.

"But once I met some of the people, I was like 'wow.' They were thrilled to know I was a basketball player, that I was from America."

Varga, however, had the opposite experience of going from overseas to the United States as a 14-year-old.

"It was a big culture shock just to how the game is perceived [in the U.S.]," Varga said. "The way here people can just find games in recreation centers, playgrounds, everybody plays. The school system, where you try out for school. In Germany or Europe you just play for a club. It's not a competitive tryout deal."

Then there was the awe factor.

"I think kind of the whole time I was thinking, once in a while, 'I'm living in Austria right now: This is just way off from where I was last year.' It was cool to think about it in the grand scheme of things," Leasure said. "Living there for an extended period of time made it a lot different."

[stuart]

(continued) The stories of Jack Leasure, Pele Paelay, Josh Fowler, Trello Galloway, E.J. Gallup, and Lukas Varga

Who's footing the bill?
Pay scales overseas vary greatly from team to team, league to league and country to country. Gallup, who has played the last 2½ years for Ratiopharm Ulm in the top German league, Bundesliga, said the top players - many who have had at least some NBA experience - sometimes earn into the hundreds of thousands.

Paelay said players' salaries on the second-highest level begin at $1,000 a month and can go much higher.

Meanwhile, at lower levels some players have to find supplementary income.
"I was also getting paid to do coaching [in the schools]. I was being paid by the athletic association of Wales," Fowler said. "I was coaching these kids in basketball, putting together tournaments. I was kind of like a basketball coach for 15 different schools. A lot of guys are doing coaching as well.

"Without that coaching, I would have made a lot less money."

In most cases, the players are provided an apartment and car, therefore making their expenses minimal.

"Americans get paid a lot better than the local guys. And you don't really have any expenses," Leasure said. "You don't really have to make much to make a [decent living]."

That is assuming the check comes at all. Those who have played overseas are aware there is a problem with some teams not coming up with the money they promise players.

"Some guys go three or four months without getting paid," Galloway said. "Thank God I haven't gone through that. The biggest problem I've had is the team is like two or three weeks late.

"A lot of guys get sent home without getting paid [at all]. Sometimes you've got to take the good with the bad. That's one of the uncertainties [of playing overseas]."

Varga said researching a team - or making sure an agent does - is vital. Having been around international basketball nearly his whole life, he said getting plenty of information is well worth the extra time.

"Often teams are going bankrupt because of their financial situations. You've really got to look into the background of the team and their financial situations so that doesn't happen," said Varga, who is now studying sports communication and culture and works as a graduate assistant for the UNC-Charlotte men's basketball team. "It is more likely [to happen] in smaller leagues."

At the higher levels pay is not an issue. However, keeping a paycheck coming in can be.

"It's so cutthroat because everybody is trying to get there. If you're not doing your job, you won't last," said Galloway, 29, who has played overseas for more than five years. "It's just a matter of being able to maintain. A lot of guys get cut after two or three months. It's just the nature of the business."

A different game
Often, labels are attached to players from overseas when compared to those in the United States. Some say international players are soft and not as physically strong. Conversely, players from overseas are often lauded for their polished skills.

"Over there it's very team-oriented. Little dribble, you have a lot of sets. You work on your sets. You just pretty much scrimmage with your sets," Varga said. "Whereas in America, here it's just a lot of emphasis in strength, defense.

"It's coming together more now because the other half of the world is catching on. Europe is realizing, we need to emphasize more on this. The speed and athleticism of Americans is a big transition."

Leasure said a player's position is not so much a focal point among overseas players.

"Here, guys, especially big guys, get trained in practice growing up to be a 5-man (center). [So they] practice mostly post moves," he said. "Everyone there trains to be a basketball player. They train to shoot, pass, handle the ball. Everyone kind of thinks as a guard.

"You definitely notice it in the play."

However, as Paelay said, it's not like it's an entirely different sport.

"It's not really [that] different," Paelay said. "Just small stuff [is different]. It's different but it's not different. It's basketball."

Gallup said Bundesliga allows teams to have as many American players on their roster as they want and often there are as many as eight U.S. citizens on the court at once. He said the size and strength of the American players make for an interesting setup on the floor.

"The 3-point line is at the college length. I think that compacts everything. I think [the extra distance is] what spreads the NBA game out so much," Gallup said. "The guys [in Bundesliga] are just as big as the NBA guys, so everything gets totally condensed.

"Going from high school to college, you think the court shrinks because everyone gets bigger. College to pros, it's like it shrinks again."

Basketball, however, is still in the embryotic stages in some countries.
"There is a lot more [emphasis on] fundamentals [in Wales]. I think one of the things is basketball hasn't evolved much yet over there. They haven't been able to get into these And 1 tapes. They don't have that for kids to watch - stuff that wouldn't work in the real game," said Fowler, who no longer plays overseas after suffering a knee injury in Wales. "Rugby and soccer are the main sports over there and [in those] you have to have fundamentals to win. Because [basketball is] not a popular sport, you have to know the fundamentals before you can play something."

International celebrity
Gallup has become somewhat of a celebrity in Germany by making his way onto the television screen.

However, it wasn't for his basketball skills.

"We had like team days where we wouldn't practice, but we'd meet up and ball, play pingpong, darts, pool, games like that," Gallup said of he and his teammates. "Usually the TV or radio station would come and report about it. I guess I just kept winning [most of the games we played]. [A reporter] came up with the idea to have a TV show where fans play me and if they win they win season tickets.

"Every episode was of me playing some random German person."

And just like that "Beat E.J." was born. It was a five-week show in which he said he took on challengers in games such as ping pong, archery or a German version of bowling.

Galloway said American players are also thought of very highly of in Dubai.
"That's one of the cool things. We get invited to go [to professional events there]. [The PGA Tour is there], we get invited to go. Venus and Serena [Williams] come and we get invited to go. Even when Michael Jordan came I got a phone call to go and sit down and talk to him a little bit," he said.
Gallup said the overseas experience allowed him to meet and play against LeBron James through basketball camps.

Gallup also wooed crowds with his winning performance in the 3-point contest at last season's Bundesliga All-Star Weekend in Mannheim, Germany. Having entered the break as the leader of made 3-point baskets, Gallup performed in front of a crowd he said was comparable to that of an NBA All-Star game.
"It was crazy, I didn't know what to expect," Gallup said. "To be in the 3-point contest was great. That was a really good time. It was like one of my fondest memories."

Keeping the dream alive
Though overseas basketball presents an opportunity for many former college players to keep their playing careers alive, the ultimate goal for each of the players can vary.

Paelay said he hopes to have a monster year in France to get the attention of NBA teams.

"One of my main goals is still to get to the NBA," said Paelay, who hit a game-winning shot last week in a preseason game playing for Etoile Charleville-Mezieres in the France ProB League. "I'm the type of person where I set certain goals. I strive for whatever I want. There's no reason you shouldn't have [higher] goals."

Gallup, 27, who recently opened up a bar in Myrtle Beach with a friend, said he is leaving the NBA window slightly cracked while continuing his career overseas. He has received offers from teams for this season, but said he is still waiting to find the right fit.

Leasure, at 23 the youngest of the bunch, has spent much of his offseason instructing at a basketball academy along with former CCU player Colin Stevens and former CCU assistant coach John Bennett. He has yet to sign with a team for the upcoming season but said he expects to soon.

Galloway, the veteran of the group, said playing overseas has not only allowed him to see the world but has let him use his natural gifts to the fullest.

He said he intends to play again this year but has yet to sign a contract.

"I promised myself I'd play as long as God blessed me with the health to play," Galloway said. "I feel like that was my blessing. I'll play until he takes it away from me."