This upcoming weekend, March 28th and 29th, we are in the Final 4 of the Hungarian Cup, which will be held in Sopron.  We are matched up with Mizo Pecs in the semi-finals on Saturday and hope to meet Sopron in the final on Sunday.  We want to redeem ourselves from the loss last week to Mizo Pecs, but more importantly get into the cup final!  Stay tuned..

Emoke Furesz lead our team with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.  I contributed 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocked shots.  My shots were not falling, but the important thing was to give something else for the team in order to win, and tonight that was on the defensive end.

This was a much needed victory after the tough defeat at Mizo Pecs last Sunday.  More importantly, it gives the team the confidence for the Hungarian Cup Final 4 next weekend, as well as the upcoming playoff race.  I think that our team could really surprise some people.

Michelle, did you always want to become a professional player or you came up to this in the course of time?
No, I did not always want to become a professional basketball player. I actually wanted to grow up and become a Pharmacist. I started playing basketball when I was 10 and my father was my coach. It was just a hobby for many years and then, when I reached high school, I made the varsity team as a freshman. This is when I found out I could probably get a college basketball scholarship, if I continue to get better and play well. That dream became a reality when I got to play at Drexel University, a mid-size Division I school. Around this time, the WNBA was founded, so of course, a new basketball goal of mine became to play in the WNBA. However, when I did not get drafted, I still had the chance to play professionally in Europe. At first, I was not sure, because I had other job opportunities in the U.S. after finishing my master’s degree in business. On the other hand, I also wanted to at least travel for a year before stepping into the “real world”. That’s why I did not sign with an agent at first, and played in the lower level of Luxembourg through a contact of my college coach. After that season, I realized that I really enjoyed this experience of playing basketball to earn a living and traveling in Europe. This was the point where I had really decided to make a career out of it and take it seriously. Looking back after 7 years, I would never had imagined my professional career would have lasted this long and that I would have had the chance to experience so many wonderful things. The most amazing thing for me is that I still have so much love and passion for the game of basketball. I have been extremely blessed and I can honestly say that I love my job!

In your opinion, what are the main features a professional player should have?
There are a lot of important features a professional basketball player should have. Of course, a professional should be talented and strive to become an all-around player, however, having a specialty could also take a player far in this business. I really believe the most important thing is that there should be a passion and love for the game. This really shows up in the job that is done because it influences work ethic and discipline, which are two other important features. Work ethic not only includes doing what you are told to the best of your ability, but also putting in the extra work that you need to keep getting better and to help your team. Discipline involves doing the little things, even off the court, such as eating right, getting enough sleep and limiting your partying. I would also add that mental strength and positive energy are important features as well. Both of these not only help you succeed, but also influence your teammates as well.

When you played with Gdynia it was your first experience in a Euroleague team. How did you feel about this?
It was a huge sense of accomplishment to be offered to play in Gdynia because I started playing professionally at such a low level and worked my way up the ladder as they say! A few years ago, it became one of my goals to play in the Euroleague, since it is basically the WNBA of Europe. When this became a reality, of course it was an exciting time. I really felt like all my hard work payed off and I deserved to be there. For several reasons, I do not think that things turned out how they should have. However, there was something unique and special about the atmosphere of Euroleague competition and I hope to play for another team in the future. Overall, Gdynia was a professional organization and I am glad that I got to experience playing for one of the best teams in Europe.

You played in many countries: Germany, Italy, Poland, Hungary. Which one was your favorite experience?
That is a hard question to answer! I have actually played in 6 countries: Luxembourg, Germany, France, Italy, Poland and Hungary! I have been fortunate and have basically moved up a level almost every year. Also, I can say that I enjoyed all of my experience, one way or another. It has been extremely interesting to learn about the different cultures of each country. If I had to pick one overall experience, then I would have to say Italy because of the food, travel and people. The Italian culture is wonderful and that is why, of course, many tourists pass through each year.

As far as we know, your fiancé is German. Do you speak German? Maybe you already feel half American – half German?
I have been in a relationship with a guy from Germany for 4 years. I met him while I played in Wasserburg, Germany. I would not say that I already feel half American because no matter who I date or where I live, I am definitely and always will be an American girl at heart! I played in Germany for 3.5 years and in this time period, I took a class and also had a private teacher, enabling me to have speak the language fairly well at one point. However, I have been playing out of Germany for 2 years and I do not use it as much as I would like. Also, the fact that my boyfriend and I speak English all the time, results in the fact that I am not as fluent in German as I should be!

Did you have any difficulty in adjusting to the new culture every time you changed the country?
I did not have as many difficulties as one would think, perhaps because I am very open-minded and interested in experiencing and learning about different cultures. Sometimes, I yearn for the feeling of comfort resulting from staying in one place for several years. Also, I would say it is difficult to leave special friendships behind. However, staying in one place was nearly impossible for me because I started playing at such a low level and had to keep moving up when the opportunity presented itself. Hindsight, I would not have had it any other way because I have had the chance to play on all levels and I have seen so many wonderful places. When I play somewhere, I am the type of person who gets out and sees something on my day off. I actually have over 10,000 pictures saved on my computer from the last 7 years! Every once in a while, it is really an amazing thing to look through them and go down memory lane.

What are your objectives for the professional future?
After all these years, I still love playing basketball. I want to continue to play professionally as long as I enjoy it, remain healthy and continue to have good job opportunities. I just turned 30, however, I have been recently told it is amazing how I still manage to keep improving and that I am playing my best basketball of my career. Some short term goals are to help Szeged to get to the Hungarian Cup Final, as well as the Hungarian Championship Final. I do not know what the future will bring, but I am interested in going back to the north of Italy, and of course, I would love to have the opportunity to play in the Euroleague again.

I can tell that Gdynia is a nice area to live in.  I love my apartment and car!  We have a good group of girls, who work hard, but are also a lot of fun and really make me laugh.  We had a press conference introducing the team this past week and the #1 question for me was about the Polish citizenship!  The truth of the matter is that I have no idea about what is going on with that!  Afterwards, this article was printed in the paper.  I think that I have never looked as old as I do in this picture!  It seems as though my skin is moving off my body!

A few days ago, FIBA Europe had its draw for the Euroleague teams, including my new team Lotos Gdynia. We will play in Group C with 5 other teams, including Ros Casares (Spain), USK Prague (Czech Republic), Union Halnaut Basket (France), UMMC Ekterinburg (Russia) and JBS Sibenik (Croatia).

I checked out the rosters from various teams and it looks like the whole WNBA is coming to play in Europe again. Of course, my team Lotos Gdynia signed some big names such as Alana Beard, who is among the top scorers in this year’s WNBA season with 18.3 points/game for the Washington Mystics. Also, there is a rumor that our team is after Tamika Catchings as well.

Lotos Gdynia also announced the hiring of its new head coach- Jacek Winnicki. Sounds like it will be an exciting season!  You can check out our teams website for up to date information at:  http://lotospkobp.pl/

You can visit the team’s website and also see the team here.

Michelle said, “For such a long time, I have worked extremely hard in order to get to this level. I feel good about this commitment with Lotos Gdynia. I am very excited to not only play in the Euroleague, but also to have the chance to live in Poland and explore my roots.”

The new season starts on September 1st. Over the next few weeks we will keep you updated on Michelle’s new team as well as other things going on.