For those of you who don't know me, I am one of CSKA's handful of newcomers this year, and thanks to the hard work all season, we are going to Berlin to try to keep this club's record of success going at the Final Four. That would be a great end to my rookie year as a pro. Even though I grew up in Russia and I'll be 24 right after the Final Four, I am a true rookie because I have spent the last seven years playing at high school and college in the United States. I am even kind of a rookie in Moscow - although I am lucky enough to speak the language! Everyday life is a little different here in Russia compared to what I was used to for seven years in the U.S. That's especially true in Moscow. It's such a big city, the prices are so much higher, the traffic is ridiculous. And even though I came from Siberia, I had lived in Florida in high school and Kansas in college, so the weather here is colder than what I became used to. More precisely, the coldest weather lasts a much longer span of time than anything in the States. So little things like that were bigger adjustments than you might think if you consider that I am Russian.

From a basketball standpoint, the big adjustment was getting used to the European style over here. I had never played organized basketball in Russia, only in America. So the first couple months were really hard. Then, I started understanding more and more as time went by. I am still trying to learn and adjust all the...