To get ready for the Final Four, we played a couple of friendly games last week with Efes Pilsen. One was behind closed doors on Thursday and another open to the public on Friday. It helped a lot, especially for a couple players who haven't played much in the previous weeks. You have to remember that we finished out playoff series on March 31 and had only a couple Russian League playoff games after that. So, some of us hadn't been on the court most of April, but especially Terence Morris, who never plays in the Russian League. The playoff games in Russia weren't that difficult, so our coaches thought the friendlies were a good thing to do for everyone in order to have some Euroleague-type competition going into the Final Four. We played good, even though we were trying to work on a couple things specifically for Barcelona and had to run those things to help us get ready. Of course, it was also important to get ready from a mental standpoint with a more competitive opponent against whom we needed to push ourselves closer to a Final Four level of play. Overall, it was a good level of play in both games, certainly so for exhibition games, and I think it helped us get ready for whatever comes our way now.

I know that I am a rookie, but I have to be ready, too. Coach Messina in the last practice was very clear that I might play if something comes up, and if so, I just want to make sure I help the team in any way possible. I bring...

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...