Tuesday night the regular season for the 2009-2010 season came to an end with a loss to La Havre. It was not something we were expecting to happen, a loss on our home floor and a loss against a lower tier team. We didn't exactly have our best performance and we didn't exactly have anything to play for. On the other hand, La Havre played very well and they were hungry for this game. A win for them kept their team from dropping down to the Pro B level. In this league, the two last teams in the league standings in Pro A drop down to Pro B for the next season and the top two teams from Pro B move up. La Havre had a little extra motivation but that is still no excuse for us to lose. We started the game flat footed. We were missing easy open baskets and leaving their shooters wide open for shots. Le Havre took advantage of our mistakes and closed out the first quarter leading 20-13. More of the same continued to happen in the second quarter. They were taking care of the little things during the game, hustling harder than us, scrapping hard on the glass, and just picking our defense apart. Despite being out hustled we kept the game close but just couldn't get over that hump and make a run against them. The first half ended with us being down seven, 32-39.
The half time talk wasn't so good. Coach was pretty frustrated with our first half performance. After the pep talk, we got a little fire under our belt and came out the second half ready to play. We picked up our defense with a full court trap to speed the game up for us. We got them out of their rhythm on offense and started to convert on the opposite end. We got the lead down to two and then they came up with a big basket and went on a small run themselves and push the lead back to seven. They took the momentum from us but we were able to get it back and get the lead back down to two again. The game became more intense as we started to body up more on defense and to our advantage created some turnovers. But we also got some fouls called against us that got the fans riled up. After that the gym became loud and the fans along with coach were on the officials for every whistle they blew. There were some big calls missed by the officials that went against us, but that is the nature of sports. We fought through it and kept making a run at them but La Havre would respond with a run on their own. The momentum would switch back and forth through the rest of the game. We finished the third quarter down six and we finished the game losing by six, 76-82. It was definitely hard to close out the regular season losing on our home court. We finished the year 13-17 and tenth in the league out of 16 teams. The expectation was met by the front office in term of staying in Pro A but I was particularly disappointed in how our season turned out for the team and for myself. I have high expectations in everything I do regardless of the situation. Although this wasn't the ideal situation for me, I should be proud of the fact I didn't let it break me. I finished the season coming off the bench averaging 23mpg, 10.1ppg, and 2spg. I finished second in the league in steals, something I'm very proud of! I am looking forward to this off season for some rest from basketball and seeing families and friends. But the unsatisfying feeling I have will provide extra motivation for me. This was a great league for me to play in and I look forward to continue playing in this league. I am very happy and blessed there is already offers on the table from a couple of different Pro A teams as well as from Vichy. But there is more to come so I will have to wait and see what is out there and then I'll weigh my options and find the best situation for Jen and I and for my career.
Thanks for tuning in as you all been a great audience. I will be updating the blog when I've made my decision about the upcoming season and will post a few times over the summer. The best part about that is I will be blogging from the states!!!! Jen is leaving me tomorrow to fly back while I have to wait till Monday. Till next time… love, peace, and happiness. God Bless!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Road Trip!
Hey everyone – it’s Jen checking in. Jonté and I have gone back and forth about who was going to write the blog about our trip. He started it about three times but was never satisfied with his work so he decided that I should give it a try. So…here is my try and I will warn you now that it’s going to be long and there are lots of pictures!
Before I go too far I have to say that what we were able to see and experience in the last few days is – in some ways – very difficult to describe with words. I’ll do my best but honestly, until you’ve seen it for yourself, you won’t have the full appreciation.
We left Saturday morning and headed north to Paris. We had both been to Paris previously but wanted to see the sights together. The drive was not bad at all but as we neared the hotel we ran into some issues. We weren’t able to find the hotel we originally wanted to stay at so we used the GPS to help us find a different hotel in the area. We were lucky enough to find a couple right next to each other but we had a very hard time actually getting there! The turn off of the main road was quite awkward – there were three different driveways – and so we ended up going around in circles three different times until we entered the right driveway. It was a little stressful in our car – we were both ready to just be there and sure didn’t anticipate our struggles. But – when we did finally arrive at the hotel we were happy with the price and the location was great. We stayed in the “La Defense” area of Paris – on the northwest side. The Metro stop was about 2 blocks away and we had a parking ramp for the car. It was all good!
The first thing on our agenda was to get some food. Jonté was hungry (shocking) so I wanted to take him to a place I had been to on my previous trip. The joint was called “Breakfast in America”. It’s like a 50’s style diner that serves typical American food. I know some of you are thinking we should have had some great French food or something but trust me – we’ve had plenty of French food and were really hungry for something we knew. The best part about dinner – Coors Light! We haven’t found any “good” beer over here so it was nice to taste a beer that we were familiar with.
We didn’t do much on Saturday night. It was late by the time we had finished dinner and we were both pretty tired as we didn’t sleep much the night before. We went down to the Champs Elysees and wandered around the Arc de Triomphe and then decided that we’d head back to the hotel and get a good night’s sleep so we could really enjoy the day on Sunday.
We got our money’s worth on Sunday and thankfully we seemed to avoid the rain as much as possible. We spent much of the day just wandering the city. We walked along the Champs Elysees again, over to the Seine River, down to the Louvre Museum, over to the Notre Dame, through the Latin Quarter, over to the Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens) and then to the Eiffel Tower. There is nothing quite like walking along the Seine River. It’s honestly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. We enjoyed just being on our own schedule and stopping by the little shops along the way. Architecturally the city of Paris is amazing. The pictures just don’t do it justice. The Latin Quarter was a little neighborhood just a few blocks from the Notre Dame. If it hadn’t been a Sunday I think that area would have been even busier than it was. Restaurants and shops – it was a cool section of town. One of my favorite stops was the Luxembourg Gardens. A friend of mine who’d been to Paris said this was a “must-see” and after being there I definitely agree. It’s like Paris’ version of Central Park. It’s not quite that big but it was just a really beautiful and peaceful park right in the middle of town. There were plenty of people out – and I imagine that on really nice days that park is full. We would have stayed longer but the rain clouds were moving in so we wanted to get somewhere to take cover for a little bit. Our last stop of the day was the Eiffel Tower. As we were riding the metro to the Trocadero we were actually in an above ground train. That allowed us to watch the rain just pound the city. We could tell we were going in the direction of the clear skies and were really hoping we would miss the downpour. As we came up out of the subway we were excited to see that the rain had stopped! The views of the Eiffel Tower we got were just awesome because the clouds and the color of the sky were so unique. If you are planning a trip to Paris I highly recommend that the first time you see the Eiffel Tower is from the Trocadero. It’s such a great sight. We took tons of pictures and slowly wandered across the river to the base of the tower. One of the things I really wanted to do was to go up to the top of the tower. By the time we got in line it was about 9:00 and it was cold and windy. We thought the rain was done though and we knew it was going to rain all day the next day so we decided to do it. One elevator takes you to the first level – then we switched elevators and went to the second level. On the second level – which is probably about 1/3 of the way up the tower – Jonté was able to take quite a few good pictures. I – on the other hand – was not feeling that great. I was way more scared and uncomfortable than I thought I would be. I’m really not afraid of heights but for some reason I was pretty unsteady. The last elevator - the one that takes you all the way to the top – goes right up through the middle of the tower and has glass walls. So in other words – you can see outside the whole ride up to the top. I didn’t really enjoy it at all but once we got to the top and I realized we were in a fully enclosed area I relaxed and was able to enjoy it! The view was amazing – we could see for miles. It was just a really unique way to see the city. We did climb up about 12 stairs and go outside but that was a short lived trip. It was so windy and cold – it felt like we were going to blow right off! We ventured back down to the bottom and walked back across the river to catch the light show before we called it a day. We had literally walked around all day and were ready to put our feet up.
Monday greeted us with more wind and rain. It was disappointing because the weather had been so great the past couple of weeks. We went back into Paris to have a good breakfast and do a little shopping before we took off. We left Paris and headed further north. We were headed to the coastal town of Honfleur and then we were going to work our way west to a couple of the beaches of Normandy. Since we didn’t have to be back until Wednesday we had a couple of days to see as much as we could. We stopped in Honfleur and walked around for a while – we were trying really hard not to think about how cold we were. The wind was just crazy and because we were right off the English Channel is made it even worse. Honfluer was cool though – a nice little port town and a good place for us to stop. We then made our way to Caen. By the time we reached Caen it was about 7:00 and we knew we were still about 25-30 miles from Omaha Beach. With the weather the way it was and the darkness rolling in we decided to stay in Caen for the night. We found a nice hotel and a Pizza Hut :)
Early the next morning we left Caen and headed north to Omaha Beach. For both Jonté and I the historical part of our trip was very important. My dad and Jonté’s stepdad are both history buffs and would have really loved to see the beaches of Normandy. So I think we both felt even more anxious to see all of it for them but we really hope they will both be able to see it for themselves next year. Omaha Beach is the site of the US Cemetery and Memorial – along with a great visitor’s center. The visitor’s center provided so much information about D-Day- what led up to it and even the events after it. To say that being there was humbling is an understatement. There are over 10,000 white crosses in the cemetery and all of those people died for our country. The grounds themselves were immaculate and the view – overlooking Omaha Beach – was inspiring. The whole place took my breath away. I kept thinking about what those soldiers must have been thinking as they were in their boats coming up towards the beach.
From Omaha Beach we traveled just west to another major battle sight – Pointe du Hoc. The cool thing about Pointe du Hoc is that the grounds really haven’t been touched. The old bunkers and the craters from exploding shells were still there. We weren’t able to get out to the memorial pillar because they are doing some work to stabilize the cliffs. Pointe du Hoc is on top of a huge rock cliff – which the US forces climbed. I wish we could have gotten out more to the edge but what we were able to see was so interesting.
Our next stop was Utah Beach. It was very, very different than Omaha Beach. There were a couple of monuments and a small museum. We managed to walk out onto the beach – even though the wind was so strong we weren’t sure we could even see with all the sand blowing in our faces. I ventured all the way out and put my feet in the water. It was cold – very cold. Again – as we stood there and thought about what the troops did all those years ago – we couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. I think if the weather had been nicer we would have stayed much longer at all three of our stops but in the end we were just so thankful to have had the chance to see them at all. It was truly inspiring.
To complete our busy day we traveled about 80 miles southwest to the Mont-St-Michel. I don’t really even know what words I have to describe the Mont. It’s like a town built around a famous Abbaye – only it’s built on a little island and is built up. Ok – that’s not a very good description – you all should really just Google it! From a distance it looks like a huge castle and up close it was one of the most unique places we’d ever been. We wandered around – climbed tons of stairs – and enjoyed the views. It was a nice way to end our trip.
So…all in all we had a really great few days. We made it home safely and are now back to our normal routine in Vichy. Jonté and the guys have one game left – on Tuesday the 11th. With the playoffs now out of the picture we’ll be heading home very soon. We are both getting very anxious – I plan to start packing sometime this weekend. Our trip was a great way to see another part of France before we’re back to the states for a while!
Hope this post finds all of you doing well – thanks for reading! Au revoir!
Before I go too far I have to say that what we were able to see and experience in the last few days is – in some ways – very difficult to describe with words. I’ll do my best but honestly, until you’ve seen it for yourself, you won’t have the full appreciation.
We left Saturday morning and headed north to Paris. We had both been to Paris previously but wanted to see the sights together. The drive was not bad at all but as we neared the hotel we ran into some issues. We weren’t able to find the hotel we originally wanted to stay at so we used the GPS to help us find a different hotel in the area. We were lucky enough to find a couple right next to each other but we had a very hard time actually getting there! The turn off of the main road was quite awkward – there were three different driveways – and so we ended up going around in circles three different times until we entered the right driveway. It was a little stressful in our car – we were both ready to just be there and sure didn’t anticipate our struggles. But – when we did finally arrive at the hotel we were happy with the price and the location was great. We stayed in the “La Defense” area of Paris – on the northwest side. The Metro stop was about 2 blocks away and we had a parking ramp for the car. It was all good!
The first thing on our agenda was to get some food. Jonté was hungry (shocking) so I wanted to take him to a place I had been to on my previous trip. The joint was called “Breakfast in America”. It’s like a 50’s style diner that serves typical American food. I know some of you are thinking we should have had some great French food or something but trust me – we’ve had plenty of French food and were really hungry for something we knew. The best part about dinner – Coors Light! We haven’t found any “good” beer over here so it was nice to taste a beer that we were familiar with.
We didn’t do much on Saturday night. It was late by the time we had finished dinner and we were both pretty tired as we didn’t sleep much the night before. We went down to the Champs Elysees and wandered around the Arc de Triomphe and then decided that we’d head back to the hotel and get a good night’s sleep so we could really enjoy the day on Sunday.
Jonte' outside of Breakfast in America; us in front of the Arc de Triomphe
The first pic of us with the Eiffel Tower; Jonte' acting tough during our walk
The Norte Dame; Luxembourg Gardens
Luxembourg Palace sits on one end of the Gardens; you can see the rain clouds moving in
Such a beautiful landmark - and the clouds behind make it look even better
We were having a little fun with the camera :)
A view of the Tower from about half way up; I'm smiling because I'm at the top of the Eiffel Tower!
The end of a great day in Paris
A view of Honfleur; we found a nice spot to enjoy a drink in Caen
Early the next morning we left Caen and headed north to Omaha Beach. For both Jonté and I the historical part of our trip was very important. My dad and Jonté’s stepdad are both history buffs and would have really loved to see the beaches of Normandy. So I think we both felt even more anxious to see all of it for them but we really hope they will both be able to see it for themselves next year. Omaha Beach is the site of the US Cemetery and Memorial – along with a great visitor’s center. The visitor’s center provided so much information about D-Day- what led up to it and even the events after it. To say that being there was humbling is an understatement. There are over 10,000 white crosses in the cemetery and all of those people died for our country. The grounds themselves were immaculate and the view – overlooking Omaha Beach – was inspiring. The whole place took my breath away. I kept thinking about what those soldiers must have been thinking as they were in their boats coming up towards the beach.
That powerful quote greets you at the entrance to the Visitor Center; a view of Omaha Beach
A view of the cemetary from the memorial and vice versa
Lasting image from Omaha Beach
From Omaha Beach we traveled just west to another major battle sight – Pointe du Hoc. The cool thing about Pointe du Hoc is that the grounds really haven’t been touched. The old bunkers and the craters from exploding shells were still there. We weren’t able to get out to the memorial pillar because they are doing some work to stabilize the cliffs. Pointe du Hoc is on top of a huge rock cliff – which the US forces climbed. I wish we could have gotten out more to the edge but what we were able to see was so interesting.
Jonte' getting warm down in a bunker; a view of Pointe du Hoc
Our next stop was Utah Beach. It was very, very different than Omaha Beach. There were a couple of monuments and a small museum. We managed to walk out onto the beach – even though the wind was so strong we weren’t sure we could even see with all the sand blowing in our faces. I ventured all the way out and put my feet in the water. It was cold – very cold. Again – as we stood there and thought about what the troops did all those years ago – we couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. I think if the weather had been nicer we would have stayed much longer at all three of our stops but in the end we were just so thankful to have had the chance to see them at all. It was truly inspiring.
Utah Beach; Jonte' with a statue dedicated to the Marines involved in the battle at Utah Beach
I told you I put my feet in the water...and it was COLD!
To complete our busy day we traveled about 80 miles southwest to the Mont-St-Michel. I don’t really even know what words I have to describe the Mont. It’s like a town built around a famous Abbaye – only it’s built on a little island and is built up. Ok – that’s not a very good description – you all should really just Google it! From a distance it looks like a huge castle and up close it was one of the most unique places we’d ever been. We wandered around – climbed tons of stairs – and enjoyed the views. It was a nice way to end our trip.
Our view from the car - we're about 5 miles away; Mont-St-Michel up close
A different view - this time looking out
So…all in all we had a really great few days. We made it home safely and are now back to our normal routine in Vichy. Jonté and the guys have one game left – on Tuesday the 11th. With the playoffs now out of the picture we’ll be heading home very soon. We are both getting very anxious – I plan to start packing sometime this weekend. Our trip was a great way to see another part of France before we’re back to the states for a while!
Hope this post finds all of you doing well – thanks for reading! Au revoir!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Miss The Cut...
Hey everyone I'm just getting home from our road game. We had a short road trip this time (2hrs) so it is nice to be home at a decent time. Even though we had a short road trip, today has kind of been a long day. Our game day routine for shorter road trips is very interesting. Here is a quick recap of today’s schedule...
•9:30 am: We depart Vichy in mini-vans instead of team bus
•12:00 pm: We arrive at the arena for shootaround which lasts an hour
•1:15/1:30 pm: We check in at the hotel for lunch
•2:30 pm: Report to our room for nap (coach is pretty strict about this)
•4:00 pm: Wake up call
•5:00 pm: Snack time
•6:15 pm: Departure to gym
•8:00 pm: Game time
Anyway about the game, well once again we ended up on the losing side of the scoreboard. I felt like we played well and put up a great fight but we had a rough third quarter that cost us the game. At the start of the second half we were down 2 with the score reading 42-40. At the end of the third quarter the score read 66-50 with us being down 16. The third quarter was ugly basketball. There were tons of fouls called on both squads but they manage to overcome the officials. I was whistled for my fourth foul so I sat on the bench much of the third period. During the fourth quarter we were able to make a run and trim the lead back down to single digits but we wouldn't get any closer than 8. I finished with 14 points and 3 steals. The loss ended all playoff hopes and our last game we be on May 11th. The good news is that we have the next few days off. Jen and I are planning to take our own little road trip. First we going to stop in Paris for a day or two and then visit the Normandy beaches. Before we return to Vichy we will visit Mont St. Michel.
This is all I have for now, thanks for tuning in. We will be posting about our road trip so check back soon. God Bless!
•9:30 am: We depart Vichy in mini-vans instead of team bus
•12:00 pm: We arrive at the arena for shootaround which lasts an hour
•1:15/1:30 pm: We check in at the hotel for lunch
•2:30 pm: Report to our room for nap (coach is pretty strict about this)
•4:00 pm: Wake up call
•5:00 pm: Snack time
•6:15 pm: Departure to gym
•8:00 pm: Game time
Anyway about the game, well once again we ended up on the losing side of the scoreboard. I felt like we played well and put up a great fight but we had a rough third quarter that cost us the game. At the start of the second half we were down 2 with the score reading 42-40. At the end of the third quarter the score read 66-50 with us being down 16. The third quarter was ugly basketball. There were tons of fouls called on both squads but they manage to overcome the officials. I was whistled for my fourth foul so I sat on the bench much of the third period. During the fourth quarter we were able to make a run and trim the lead back down to single digits but we wouldn't get any closer than 8. I finished with 14 points and 3 steals. The loss ended all playoff hopes and our last game we be on May 11th. The good news is that we have the next few days off. Jen and I are planning to take our own little road trip. First we going to stop in Paris for a day or two and then visit the Normandy beaches. Before we return to Vichy we will visit Mont St. Michel.
This is all I have for now, thanks for tuning in. We will be posting about our road trip so check back soon. God Bless!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
My Journey
Hello everyone - I was reminiscing about my past experiences with basketball and how I have gotten to where I am today. I must say that I am greatly blessed and very thankful for everything that has happened in my life thus far. I truly do feel like I am one of the luckiest guys around. My whole basketball career has been amazingly fun. Basketball has provided me the chance to create numerous opportunities for myself. Because of basketball I have my degree; I have the chance to travel the world; I created friendships that will last a lifetime; and I found the love of my life.
I want to take everyone back to where it all started, where my story began. Growing up, my family didn’t have a whole lot but two things we had for sure were each other and basketball. Basketball was an outlet for my brothers and I (all 5 of us); a chance to do something positive with ourselves and stay out of trouble. Well sometimes basketball got us into trouble with my mom because we stayed out past our curfew playing outside in the dark well after the sun had set. I can still hear my mom screaming for us to get in the house :) In high school I was fortunate enough to have played alongside my brothers Jason and Michael. During that time we racked up numerous wins, individual awards, broke records, and won a state championship together. With all the success we had in high school, I still found myself with very limited options to pursue basketball at the college level. Even with all the exposure I got from my AAU team, I still couldn’t attract a scholarship offer from the basketball world. It’s every kids dream to become a Division I athlete and play on the big stage. I so desperately wanted that for myself so I decided to turn to football. There were still no scholarship offers from any Division I football programs but I elected to walk on to Wisconsin. This was as close as I was going to get to my dream and I was determined to make something of myself at Wisconsin. But that dream didn’t last very long. Even though I was having a great time and made great improvements to my overall athletics abilities, something was still missing. That something was basketball. After I completed the spring season in 2004 is when I decided to opt out and find a place for basketball.
I went into my position coach's office to inform him I was leaving the program and wanted to play basketball somewhere. Right there he told me to my face that I was making a big mistake and was never going to make it professionally in basketball and my only chance was the NFL. I took that very personal and set out to prove him wrong. I may not have made it to the big league yet, but there is still time.
After going through the recruiting process for the second time and all the headaches that came with it, I decided to play at Winona State, the Division II school out of Minnesota. Winona State wasn't exactly my ideal choice but it was a school that was willing to let me play and I was very thankful for that. Never did I imagine I would accomplish so much during my time at Winona State. Through all the success I experienced there, I was given the opportunity to pursue a professional career.
So far it has turned out to be quite the ride. I had no idea what to expect or where I would be. I didn't have any big agencies knocking on my door so I had to rely on the little guy to provide me with an opportunity to play somewhere. That opportunity came later than I expected but it gave me my first job which was in Sweden. It wasn't the best paying job but it was a chance to prove I belonged. It turned out to be a great year for me as I grabbed some individual honors as well as helping my team reach the finals before falling in game 7. The things I accomplished last year helped me to a better paying job and a better league which is where I am now.
Everywhere I go I have to prove myself and make a name for myself. I'm one of the little guys that no one has heard of because I come from a Division II school. I love the challenge because it makes a great story for guys like myself, fighting for a chance to belong and to prove themselves. My story will never end as I continue to work hard and keep climbing uphill.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. We have a big game on the road this week. We will be taking on the defending champions from last year. A lot is riding on this game for us to keep our playoff hopes alive. I will be back to provide update about the game. Take care and God Bless!
I want to take everyone back to where it all started, where my story began. Growing up, my family didn’t have a whole lot but two things we had for sure were each other and basketball. Basketball was an outlet for my brothers and I (all 5 of us); a chance to do something positive with ourselves and stay out of trouble. Well sometimes basketball got us into trouble with my mom because we stayed out past our curfew playing outside in the dark well after the sun had set. I can still hear my mom screaming for us to get in the house :) In high school I was fortunate enough to have played alongside my brothers Jason and Michael. During that time we racked up numerous wins, individual awards, broke records, and won a state championship together. With all the success we had in high school, I still found myself with very limited options to pursue basketball at the college level. Even with all the exposure I got from my AAU team, I still couldn’t attract a scholarship offer from the basketball world. It’s every kids dream to become a Division I athlete and play on the big stage. I so desperately wanted that for myself so I decided to turn to football. There were still no scholarship offers from any Division I football programs but I elected to walk on to Wisconsin. This was as close as I was going to get to my dream and I was determined to make something of myself at Wisconsin. But that dream didn’t last very long. Even though I was having a great time and made great improvements to my overall athletics abilities, something was still missing. That something was basketball. After I completed the spring season in 2004 is when I decided to opt out and find a place for basketball.
I went into my position coach's office to inform him I was leaving the program and wanted to play basketball somewhere. Right there he told me to my face that I was making a big mistake and was never going to make it professionally in basketball and my only chance was the NFL. I took that very personal and set out to prove him wrong. I may not have made it to the big league yet, but there is still time.
After going through the recruiting process for the second time and all the headaches that came with it, I decided to play at Winona State, the Division II school out of Minnesota. Winona State wasn't exactly my ideal choice but it was a school that was willing to let me play and I was very thankful for that. Never did I imagine I would accomplish so much during my time at Winona State. Through all the success I experienced there, I was given the opportunity to pursue a professional career.
So far it has turned out to be quite the ride. I had no idea what to expect or where I would be. I didn't have any big agencies knocking on my door so I had to rely on the little guy to provide me with an opportunity to play somewhere. That opportunity came later than I expected but it gave me my first job which was in Sweden. It wasn't the best paying job but it was a chance to prove I belonged. It turned out to be a great year for me as I grabbed some individual honors as well as helping my team reach the finals before falling in game 7. The things I accomplished last year helped me to a better paying job and a better league which is where I am now.
Everywhere I go I have to prove myself and make a name for myself. I'm one of the little guys that no one has heard of because I come from a Division II school. I love the challenge because it makes a great story for guys like myself, fighting for a chance to belong and to prove themselves. My story will never end as I continue to work hard and keep climbing uphill.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. We have a big game on the road this week. We will be taking on the defending champions from last year. A lot is riding on this game for us to keep our playoff hopes alive. I will be back to provide update about the game. Take care and God Bless!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Amazing...
This past game was the most exciting finish we have had all season -thanks to my teammate Melody. He provided us with a half court buzzer beater that gave us a win against the top team in the league. You can imagine the whole gym went wild. We were down the entire game from the opening tip off all the way till the last second of the game. Our fans were definitely the sixth man tonight as they were just awesome throughout the game. It was the loudest it had ever been all season and it helped at the end. The game was a very physical match as the officials decided to swallow their whistles for the night. We sure took advantage of it - playing hard nose defense and they did the same. The intense defense caused both teams to struggle from the field as the final score was 64-62. The fourth quarter is where all the action took place. We kept the game close - not allowing the lead to grow larger than 5. Every time we made a big basket they would respond back with a big basket of their own. Then finally the last two minutes of the game we were able to tie the score off a pair of free throws. The score would stay the same till the last 30 seconds of the game. They had the ball and ran a pick and roll - our defense broke down giving up an easy lay-up with 8 seconds left of the clock. We called a timeout and drew up a play for a game winning 3. Instead the play didn't go that way...the play broke down and our point guard was driving down the middle of the paint. I broke away from my defender and came in behind him where he handed the ball off to me and left me to go against two defenders at the basket. I was able to split between two defenders in the air and lay the ball against the glass and watched the ball roll around the rim and then fall through. The game was tied at 61 with 4 seconds left on the clock. They took a time-out to set up a play. We had a feeling there were going to run the same play they did earlier in the game to end the third quarter with a 3 point basket. They did but this time we were playing too tight on defense and the ref blew the whistle giving them 2 shots at the foul line with 3 seconds on the clock. Our crowd was as loud as it been all night and caused our opponent to go 1-2 from the line missing the first and making the second. Instantly we took the ball out of bounds and were able to get it into Melody's hand as he took three dribble up the right sideline with his defender all over him. Melody crossed the mid court line - somehow managing to create him some space by jumping and then tossed it up there. I stood there at the half court line watching him and saw the ball in the air just waiting to see what happened. The gym was all of a sudden quiet and before you knew it the ball bounced off the glass and rolled around the rim three times before falling through. The place just went crazy, and everyone just went into a frenzy. I just couldn't believe it, it was amazing. We couldn't have asked for a better ending. That was an unexpected win but a great win for us. In addition to the game the club was celebrating the 1969/70 team 40 year anniversary that won the Euro-Cup championship that year. There was a big celebration after the game for that group of guys to go along with our celebration.
With our win and an unexpected loss by Paris we are now 1 game behind with 2 games to play. We have the tiebreaker over Paris and they have a tougher schedule so stay tuned. It’s going to be a wild finish.
Well that's all I have for this weekend. Jen took some pics after the game so they are below. I hope everyone had a great weekend and you were able to enjoy some sun. Thanks for checking in and I will be updating soon. God Bless you all.
With our win and an unexpected loss by Paris we are now 1 game behind with 2 games to play. We have the tiebreaker over Paris and they have a tougher schedule so stay tuned. It’s going to be a wild finish.
Well that's all I have for this weekend. Jen took some pics after the game so they are below. I hope everyone had a great weekend and you were able to enjoy some sun. Thanks for checking in and I will be updating soon. God Bless you all.
Monday, April 19, 2010
True Character
This past weekend was possibly the worst performance that I have ever delivered. It's something I don't want to get into details about. But I will say I was pretty upset and disgusted with myself after the game. I am more mad that I took the game for granted and that I didn't play with any heart. I may sound hard on myself but this is the game I love dearly and for me to perform the way I did is just unacceptable in my book. Every chance I get to play should be played to the maximum effort. I realize that there are many guys back home who would love to be in my position. To play the game of basketball and get paid to do it. To some guys this experience is all about the paycheck, but for guys like me it much more than just the paycheck.
As you can see, a lot of thoughts were racing through my head. I was trying to pinpoint what went wrong. The bottom line is I have no one to blame but myself. The positive thing is it was a learning lesson for me. I learn from my mistakes and it is time to brush it off and move forward. But I do know that I will never ever perform like that again. Now I have this extra motivation and I cannot wait for this upcoming game on Saturday. We will be playing against the top team in the league so I'm even more ready to redeem myself against a good team.
Life off the basketball court is great. We've been experiencing some great weather with lots of sunshine. Yesterday Jen was excited about the opportunity to lay out in the sun so she can work on her tan. Well, there isn't much for me to work on when it comes to tanning haha. But it sure did felt good to be outside. With all the good weather we have been getting it is making us more anxious to get back to the states. We will be flying out of here and moving back on May 15th (by the way I guess I should have mentioned that we lost on Saturday and are now virtually a lock to miss the playoffs). Hopefully we will be able to fly without any problems. I know it has to be tough for all those people stranded at the airports for the last couple of days due to the volcano ash. According to the news, the airlines are back up in the air which is good news. I hope everyone can arrive to their destination safely.
Well I hope all is well with everyone back home. Thanks for checking in and I will be back to give an update this weekend. Love, peace, and happiness. God Bless!
As you can see, a lot of thoughts were racing through my head. I was trying to pinpoint what went wrong. The bottom line is I have no one to blame but myself. The positive thing is it was a learning lesson for me. I learn from my mistakes and it is time to brush it off and move forward. But I do know that I will never ever perform like that again. Now I have this extra motivation and I cannot wait for this upcoming game on Saturday. We will be playing against the top team in the league so I'm even more ready to redeem myself against a good team.
Life off the basketball court is great. We've been experiencing some great weather with lots of sunshine. Yesterday Jen was excited about the opportunity to lay out in the sun so she can work on her tan. Well, there isn't much for me to work on when it comes to tanning haha. But it sure did felt good to be outside. With all the good weather we have been getting it is making us more anxious to get back to the states. We will be flying out of here and moving back on May 15th (by the way I guess I should have mentioned that we lost on Saturday and are now virtually a lock to miss the playoffs). Hopefully we will be able to fly without any problems. I know it has to be tough for all those people stranded at the airports for the last couple of days due to the volcano ash. According to the news, the airlines are back up in the air which is good news. I hope everyone can arrive to their destination safely.
Well I hope all is well with everyone back home. Thanks for checking in and I will be back to give an update this weekend. Love, peace, and happiness. God Bless!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Birthday Wishes
Hey everyone – it’s Jen. Jonté and the guys just left – they are heading to Chalon for a big game tonight. They really need a win in order to keep pace for the playoffs. Chalon has been playing well lately and it’s always hard to win on the road but hopefully Vichy will come ready to play!
I just wanted to take a second to send birthday wishes to some very special people. My awesome dad is celebrating his birthday today – HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! Wish we could celebrate with you – but we’re thinking about you :) Also celebrating today is a very special pair of young people. Keara and Kyle Ryan are hitting the double digits today! HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY Keara & Kyle! I can’t believe you are already 10 – where does the time go?!?!
Hope you all have a great Saturday – GO DRAGONS!
I just wanted to take a second to send birthday wishes to some very special people. My awesome dad is celebrating his birthday today – HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! Wish we could celebrate with you – but we’re thinking about you :) Also celebrating today is a very special pair of young people. Keara and Kyle Ryan are hitting the double digits today! HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY Keara & Kyle! I can’t believe you are already 10 – where does the time go?!?!
Hope you all have a great Saturday – GO DRAGONS!
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