11-18-2005, 03:42 PM
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 | Contributor | | Last Online: 05-31-2008 08:18 PM Join Date: Sep 2005
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| Being an American player in Europe
http://www.probasketballnews.com/celestand_1115.html
Former Villanova player (and LA Laker) John Celestand recently wrote an outstanding article about the American experience overseas. If you think it's an easy ride, think again. Quote:
The pressure of playing basketball overseas is similar to working in the emergency trauma room of a hospital. So if you’ve never played basketball in Europe or worked in a trauma unit, you don’t know the half of it.
Sorry, NBA veterans. While you may play in the best basketball league, loaded with the greatest talent in the world, the pressure to produce pales in comparison to an overseas job in any country in Europe.
With guaranteed contracts and multi-year deals, NBA stars and role players can sit back, shoot air balls, smoke a cigar and continue counting their money. I am not mad at them. It’s just conversation.
But while many Americans can make big-time money playing overseas basketball, you can bet you bottom dollar -- or Euro for that matter -- they will earn every bit of it.
Since basketball is rooted in America, as an American player you had better produce -- or else. You had better lead your team in scoring. You had better lead your team in assists. You had best lead your team in everything, if at all possible. And, you had better win.
You better make sure your teammates are playing well, too. Because at the end of the day, if they play bad, it’s YOUR FAULT. You are not getting them the ball where they want it. If you don’t score enough, you’re not living up to your reputation as an American. Of course, if you score too much, you’re not playing European style. You're just being a selfish American. You figure it out, but it had better be fast. And, you had better win.
If you played in the NBA before coming to Europe, it’s even worse. The referees give you no calls, and you are expected to score 30 points every night -- and you had better win. But you played in the NBA. What do you expect?
Don’t even think about wearing that nice leather jacket you purchased. You think the NBA has a dress code? You had better get comfortable in that team jacket that every one else is wearing. After all, wearing your own style makes you looked down upon and makes others feel as if you are trying to separate yourself from the team.
In Europe, you are a walking billboard on and off the court. You think those ugly sponsorship patches are just on the uniforms on the court? Guess again. If you are awarded a car, as most Americans overseas are, you can be sure that every time you go anywhere, the whole city, town or village will know. Your team banner and every sponsor’s sticker will be plastered all over your car, as though you are on your way to the Indy 500.
And don’t even think about going to a restaurant after a loss. It’s disrespectful to the fans. Mr. American had better just go back to his lonely apartment, watch some C-SPAN, and figure out a way to win.
To make matters worse, in many countries you never get paid on time. One time we were playing a team in Greece and I meet the Americans on the other team out for dinner. I explained to them that I hadn’t been paid in almost a month. They laughed and explained that they hadn’t been paid in three months because their team had been losing.
“Why don’t you just leave?” I asked.
“Because we’ll never get the money,” one player responded.
“What you gonna do?" I asked.
“Try to get a win,” he replied.
Imagine wondering if you are ever going to get paid. Imagine literally playing for your money. Every missed shot is money out the window. Every turnover is another day tacked on to that late payment. It’s like Wimpy from the cartoon Popeye, who says, “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”
Nor is it uncommon to come to practice and see a new American warming up on the other end. Usually, only two Americans can play on the same team in Europe. Sometimes, they’ll bring in a new guy and have no intentions on signing him. Just trying to light a fire under you or perhaps scare you into hitting some jump shots. They’ll just bring him in and watch all three of you tear each other’s heads off.
If you don’t play better, you are in trouble. If you do play better, you are in trouble. A good game only makes them think you were dogging it before. A no-win situation, right? No, you had better win.
Legend has it that former Atlanta Hawks star Dominique Wilkins once missed a game-winning shot in a championship game in Bologna, Italy -- the only city in Europe where basketball is more important than soccer. The fans were so enraged that they waited outside of his house and called for his head the next day. Dominique reportedly caught the next plane out with concerns for his safety.
I remember when I was playing in that same city on that same team in 2001. Bologna is the only city in Europe that has two teams. Of course, since I was the American I was expected to carry our team to victory. We were playing our crosstown rivals and I had a miserable time defending my man. He kept posting me up and shooting fadeaway jumpers. He kept taking these long steps when driving to the basket and I kept looking to the ref to call travel.
The coach took me out. “You can’t guard this guy?" he yelled. "You are an American, for gosh sakes!”
When I got to the bench, one of my teammates tried to console me.
“Don’t worry, John," he said. "That guy Ginobili is tough.”
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