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Learning the best way, from experience
 "To open this blog about the Euroleague regular season, maybe I should recount where I am coming from in this competition, and even before that. I had quite a bittersweet introduction to the Euroleague last year after Roma signed me for the Top 16. I stepped off a plane in Rome on a Monday morning and we left for Moscow on Tuesday to play CSKA. That was my first Euroleague game, on the road against the team that was champions, runner-up and was going to be champion again. I play 35 minutes that game - we had Alan Ray injured and another guy hurt - and we almost beat them. I played pretty well, too, but I missed the opportunity to win it. I was shooting two free throws with a few seconds left. The first one I made put us up by two points. But I missed the second, someone slapped the rebound out deep and next thing I knew, Trajan Langdon was making a open three-pointer to win the game. So, like I said, bittersweet. I was glad I had the opportunity to play against the top team in Europe, played them two pretty good games, in fact, but we lost both. It just left me wanting to taste more wins in the Euroleague this year!
"Now, I'm back in Rome, in part because I really like the coach here, Jasmin Repesa. He reminds me a lot of my college coach, Fran Dunphy, in terms of what they teach. I think he's a little crazier, maybe, but I really got comfortable with him as my coach last year. As a player, I like being on teams where I have a good relationship with the coach. That way you play more relaxed. Besides, I didn't want to readjust again after coming here in the middle of last season. I also thought we had great possibilities here after going to the Italian League finals last year and playing tough against Siena, even though they beat us in five games. I think that if anyone has a chance to compete with them this season, it's us.
"One of the cool things about being in the Euroleague is meeting up with former teammates, in my case from my old school, University of Pennsylvania. I kind of measure myself against players who were close to me, and there was a history in our basketball program of a lot of guys going overseas for pro careers. So I started to prepare myself for that, talking to guys who had been over here, like former Penn players Mike Jordan and Jerome Allen and Tim Begley and Jeff Schiffner, who gave me a little insight into what to expect being overseas. At the same time, you don't really learn fully until you get over here. They can tell you it's going to be an adjustment, but you are the one who is going to make the adjustments and try to get comfortable in your own way. They can tell you things to watch out for as a rookie, things that young players go through, what to ask for in your contract, like first-class plane tickets from the States. If your college guys don't tell you that, maybe nobody will!
"I even found a former teammate last week in the Euroleague opener in Berlin. One of Alba's big men, Adam Chubb, was a senior at Penn when I arrived there as a freshman. Adam was telling me before the game that Koko Archibong from Penn is also playing in the Euroleague, with Asseco Prokom. Unfortunately, we lost to Alba in a game we could have won, because we were ahead a lot. But we never really pulled away. We got it to 9 points at one time, and then missed opportunities to make it to 12 or 13 points. We didn't capitalize and, like always, it came back to haunt us. Right now, we are not the team we are going to be in the middle of the season. I know it doesn't count much to say that, because in the Euroleague every game matters. But we've got a lot of talent, so it's difficult to keep everyone satisfied and develop chemistry so fast. Last year's team was already together when I joined, so I just had to fit in. Now, it's a question of all of us coming together.
 "Everyone asks me about our new guard, Brandon Jennings, who made the jump from high school to the Euroleague. Brandon's got an adjustment to make like the rest of us, but you should remember that he was already away from his home in California for two years at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, so it's not like he's never left home. He was alone then, but now he has his mother and younger brother here with him in Rome. So if anything, he's got more help. As far as basketball is concerned, he's super-talented. On a non-Euroleague club, he could average 25 points. Just put him on a team as the go-to guy and give him 35 minutes, he would easily score 20, 23 points a game, in my opinion. I don't know what he expected coming in, but we've got a great opportunity to win if we put everything together. And winning, to me at least after the experiences I have had, is better than scoring 25 game and losing. When you win, you get recognition, especially as a point guard who leads a team.
"For me, that was another big adjustment. I came from a team in Greece where I played 40 minutes and had the ball every play and went down to 20 minutes a game here. What I learned from that is how to maximize my opportunities, and the same thing should happen for Brandon. He'll begin to understand how to make the most of every minute. It might take him 10 or 15 games, like it does for everyone else, but down the road he'll find his rhythm and get comfortable. The most valuable learning is what you do from experience. You can sit in a class all day, but you truly understand things once you are in the field. Reading about Rome in in history book is one thing, but having to live the culture, learn another language and understand people in that culture is the real learning. It's the same way with basketball. Wherever you go, basketball teaches discipline, and there's a lot to gain from that."
POSTED BY
Ibby Jaaber, Rome
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