My Canon Commercial

27 10 2011

Oddly enough, when I was in Hong Kong last year, I was asked to be a part of a Canon Commercial.  I helped them in having the play make sense in basketball terms and coordinate it with a moving camera and a low basket.  All in all it was a fun day.  The celebrity in the commercial we worked with was Daniel Wu who is apparently the Brad Pitt of Asia.

Click on the link below and click to play the video.  I’m in a red jersey and am the pasty white guy who makes the pass for the dunk.  🙂

http://www.lusciousmotion.com/Luscious_Motion/Canon_Daniel_Wu_Quicktime.html





The Season Begins

24 10 2011

After a lot of preparation, the season has begun.  We have now played our first 3 games and are 1-2.  We haven’t started as well as we would have liked, but we are getting better every game.  We have a few guys who are injured or banged up right now which does not help, but we will just be resting and practicing until our next game on Saturday the 29th.  If you’re in Macedonia, come see us in Skopje against Rabotnichki.   If not, I will try to have the results posted in the games/results section by Sunday.

Thanks for your support!





Almost Game Time

9 10 2011

The 2011-2012 season is upon us.  We have our first regular season game against Torus of Skopje this coming Saturday the 15th.  They are a good team this year and also compete in the Balkan League.  We are excited to get started and open up in front of our home crowd.

I hope to update as often as possible and possibly even get some video up.  If there are links to watching or following the games online, I will try to post them as well.





Preseason in MK

14 09 2011

After a summer that was great but entirely too short, it is time for basketball season again.  I have landed back in Macedonia for the 2011-2012 season.  I will be playing for the same team as last year (ABA Strumica).    We have a new coach and some new players. The league here will be much stronger this year, but I think our team will be better also.  ABA seems to be moving in the right direction.

We played some friendly games last week in Greece near Katerini.  Next Tuesday (20th), Wednesday (21st) and Thursday (22nd) we will again be going to Greece for some games.  We will play in Thessaloniki, Katerini and 1 other city against 2 Greek teams and a Turkish team.  Hopefully this will help us continue to improve.  We haven’t received an official schedule for the season yet, but the rumor is our first game will be October 15th.

All in all, things are good.  I hope to be settled into a new apartment by this weekend and am ready to begin the journey again.





From Hong Kong

18 07 2011

In mid-July, I again find myself in Asia.  For the 2nd year in a row, I am playing for the Hong Kong Champions, Winlings.  Tomorrow we start the SuperLeague Tournament which consists of 4 teams.  Every team has 2 import players.  Games are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.  This is a full schedule of games but it is a lot of fun. There is a great environment at the games and the American players usually put on a show.

I am hoping some photos will get posted on Facebook by the wonderful Winling fans and I can add them here, but until then, here is a photo taken the other day at practice.  Cheer us on over the week! 





Summer

27 06 2011

The summer is fully underway and am definitely enjoying it. After some time at home and working some of the Atlanta Hawks basketball camps, I am now playing with an Athletes in Action team.
We played in Ohio, Tennessee and now Chicago. The trip has been great on and off the court. I was even able to drive a couple of laps at the Bristol Motor Speedway.

There is a pretty good chance I will be going to China again in July but will update again soon!





Fun and Succesful Camp!

13 05 2011

One of my favorite things about being home is having the opportunity to work with kids and teach basketball and life lessons.  Coach Matt Rumble and I led a 4-day camp teaching the fundamentals and having fun. The campers also helped people in need by giving.  The campers donated over 20 pairs of athletic shoes to kids in Africa as well as canned goods to those in need.

Thank you to all the campers for working hard in a hot gym.  Special thanks also to Eddie McDonald And Jasper Middle School, Melissa Weeks, Deb’s bakery and supportive parents.

We hope to be able to host another camp soon.

(not all campers were available for the photo)





Highlights & Camp

28 04 2011

I have posted a couple of new highlight clips from 2 games in March under the Highlights section of the blog and listed it as Macedonia-2.  You can also see the video by clicking on the link HERE.

One thing I love about the off-season is having the chance to work with young people.  This is the most rewarding part of playing basketball, so I will also be conducting a basketball camp in Jasper May 9th-12th.  The camp is open to both boys and girls ages 8-12.  It will be from 4-6pm at Jasper Middle School.  The cost is $60.  Please email me (jtb2002@gmail.com) to reserve a spot or with questions.





End of the Season

15 04 2011

We finished our season Wednesday with a 88-92 loss to the 4th place team.  The loss put us finishing the season in 6th place which was not great, but acceptable considering the injuries and other challenges we faced.  I really enjoyed my time here and am grateful for the experience in Macedonia.

We also had a nice dinner/banquet on Tuesday and were reminded of all the positive memories over the season. There are some great guys and people involved with this team.  I’m hoping the best for everyone moving forward.

Thank you to all the friends, family and fans for the support!





Some Rest

21 03 2011

After a few tough losses, we have some time off.  We do not play again until April 2nd, so this week of rest will be rejuvenating.  It has been a tough stretch of games mentally and physically so the break comes at an opportune time.

I think a few teammates and I will go to Greece for a day or two, and I may go to Bulgaria for a couple of days as well.  It will be good for us to take our minds off of everything.

To see the last box score (loss to MZT), CLICK HERE.








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