I am heading down to Florida on Sunday, August 3 - Saturday August 9th.   No, not for what someone might instantly think, the beach or night life, but it will be for basketball.   I will work with a shooting coach, Marvin Harvey, otherwise known as “The Teacher” for a week.  Yes, it sounds like I am going back to school.  Marvin is well known among both NBA and WNBA players for his ability to develop great shooters.  I had worked with him 4 years ago and felt that he really helped my game.

You can check out his “Shooter’s Touch Academy” at: http://na4tb.com

Also, view the link “All Pro” on the left hand side of the website for pictures of the professional players that he has worked with over the years.

I can not tell you how excited I am to play my first Euroleague season! It is where I have wanted to be since I started playing in Europe 6 years ago. I started at the bottom and worked my way up, with nothing being handed to me- a great feeling. Of course, however, now that I will be given this opportunity, there is still a lot left to get done!

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/

Talk about an unbelievable atmosphere for basketball.. the Euroleague Men’s Final 4 provided just that. Great basketball, intense fans, and an amazing city to find whatever your heart desires. Even though the beginning of my trip started off as a disaster, I had an awesome weekend.

So, I get off the plane and go for my luggage. A few bags start coming out and then the machine stops. 15 minutes, 30 minutes and almost 1 hour goes by and I realize that, “Hey, there’s a problem here!! Where is my bag??” The woman at the counter investigates the problem and says, “Oh, the system says that rest of the bags came out on another machine.” ..hmmm, interesting. Why would that be? So, I go to the other machine and of course, it was not there. Well, at this point, there was absolutely no more time to waste because we didn’t want to be late for the game. What did I do? I left with no bag. So, the remaining question was, where’s that bag??

At the arena, there is mass hysteria. The fans- whoa, intense. I must say that I have never seen such die-hard fans in my life. The ones from Spain, Italy and Russia were certainly entertaining, however, the craziest fans were from Isreal. They took the real meaning of the die-hard fan to another level. Dressed in yellow and blue, and some with painted faces, they packed half the arena and were heard from the minute they walked in until the games were finished. Dedication. Also, I met a fan and he said that he paid 500 euros for his ticket on top of his expensive flight and hotel. Ridiculous. I would watch it from home.

However, the basketball was really great basketball and perhaps in a sense that is priceless. The final was a classic, especially the first half. CSKA Moscow and Macabbi Tel Aviv were neck in neck and Langdon was putting in an unbelievable performance. He went on the be MVP of the final. In the second half, CSKA pulled away, won by 20 or so, and showed that they were the best team in Europe this past year.

I also had the chance to do a lot of sight-seeing. I like Madrid. It has a unique feel to it. Two things that surprised me were the many beautiful parks, which is not common for such a big city, and the overwhelming amount of American tourists. Aren’t we in a recession? How can we afford this with the strong euro?! But, seriously, I have been to a lot of European cities, but I found the most American travelers here. Also, let me point out that it is also a very “open-minded” city, if you know what I mean! If that is what you are looking for, then this is the place for you, LOL.

So, I have decided, I will go to the Men’s Euroleague Final 4 each year, wherever it may be. (And of course, if I get my press pass.) Great basketball, fun people and a new city to explore- can’t beat that! Count me in! Maybe even next year, I will be joining the CSKA Moscow crew- I love Siskaukus and Langdon. (as basketball players of course!) Well, that’s enough about that.. so, as Heidi Klum would say.. Auf Wiedersehen!