The Final Four is no walk in the park

Tue, 01 May 2007 11:41:28 GMT

As I unload my dogs from my car to let them run out in the open land, I look up to the sky, close my eyes and think back to high school. I was once told by a coach in high school that if you want to become a winner, you have to learn to win on the road. And I’m looking forward to this game because I’m amazed at how teams, cities, fans and the media get ready for this event like its a boxing match. They want to know who’s the strongest, who’s the fastest, who’s the quickest, and who’s in good shape for a fight to the finish. There are so many people from around the world that are going to be in Athens, Greece, to see who will be crowned as champs. A good friend of mine called me to say that she is mad at her little sister, because she gets to go Greece as a high school graduation present. She could choose from Las Vegas, Nevada; Madrid, Spain; and Athens, Greece. She and her friend choose Athens, because they heard that there is going to be a big basketball game in Athens. I was speechless to hear that lots of people in the United States of America know about the Euroleague.

Getting ready for the Euroleague Final Four is great: Spending lots of time working on your jump shot and free throw shooting. Watching film of your opponents to see what they bring to the table. It's cool to daydream of making up plays in your head: There are 10 seconds to go in the game... The ball is in your hands... You shoot... You miss the shot... The clock is ticking.... The ball get tipped back out to you... You shoot again... The ball goes in... Game over. You win.

Better yet, what about a pair of free throws needed to win the game. The gym is so loud that the floor is shaking like an earthquake. The rim is moving from side to side. The sweat is running down your face. You make the first one... The ref hands you the ball again and it get so louder that your ears are popping like popcorn... You can't think... You try to focus, but you can't because the fans are so loud... So you just throw the ball up and it goes of the backboard... And goes in. I hope that I never have to be in a spot like that, 'cause I might have to tell the coach to call a timeout so I can change my shorts as I smile.

But I'm looking forward to my team making another run. This is Tau's third time in a row at the Final Four and CSKA has been there five times I think. We just need to get ready. We lost to Real Madrid last week and we need to use that game as a reminder to get better. I’m looking forward to us playing hard when the ball is tipped off. I wish my mother and father and family were here to see their FRED HOUSE play in front of thousands of people. I never thought that I would ever make it to the Final Four. I’m not sure if I will ever make it back here, because it’s so hard to get here. So I have to make this one count. But I will have a big smile on my face when I get off the plane, because this is a blessing from god for myself and my team to be a part of history. As I open my eyes, I realize that I have to go and chase my dogs, because they're trying to catch a man on a bicycle. My fat bulldog is out of breath and I will have to carry him back to the car along with my other dog. What a life!

A Texas Boy on his way to the Final Four!

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 17:01:01 GMT

First of all, I would to thank god for making this possible, for me and Tau Ceramica to be a part of the Euroleague Final Four. It's a dream come true for me, making it to the Final Four after trying for three years with two different teams (Partizan Belgrade and Lietuvos Rytas). Well, when I first arrived to Partizan from the United States in the middle of the season, I didn't know anything about the Euroleague. I thought all basketball was the same, but it's not. Here you can do a little bit more than at home in the States. For exmample, you can knock the ball off the rim and take one more step when you go for a layup. Since then, watching these last four years how Barcelona, Maccabi Tel Aviv and CSKA won the title has made me want to be a part of that list too. So I feel that I waited long enough to be a part of something special. I knew that if I made it to another Euroleague team that I would give my all and play hard whenever I stepped on the floor, because there is no tomorrow and no turning back.

I still can't believe it! As I write this, I have less then 13 days, exactly 312 hours, until tipoff in the semifinals! I think that my team will be in great shape because we've been working hard every day to get ready. We have some tough games to play in the Spanish League before we head to Athens, Greece. I'm very happy and proud of what we have done so far but this is just a small step for us to get to what we want to achieve in basketball. Also this year, I watched Igor Rakocevic win the Alphonso Ford Trophy. What a great award to get, especially one named after such a great basketball player: sad to say we will miss him.

We just need to fix some little things in our game plan before we get on the plane to head to Greece. Panathinaikos is a very good team that runs and guns, from what I've seen. They have a couple players that I've played with on their team, like Robertas Javtokas and Milos Vujanic, but I think their key players are Ramunas Siskauskas, Dimitris Diamantidis, Dejan Tomasevic, Michael Batiste. It's going to be a great game for us and for them. But the way life is in European basketball, we can't think too much about Panathinaikos because we have some other games to play before we get to them. In the meantime, I'll try to not to get too excited about the Final Four. I will read some books, play some video games, walk my dogs and - of course - work on my basketball game to get ready.

Oh yes, and I will have to learn some Spanish, too. I have Pablo Prigioni, Luis Scola, Jesus Cilla and Tiago Splitter always making fun of me when we go out to restaurants to eat because I don't know much Spanish yet. I will get that one day, too!

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The Final Four is no walk in the park

A Texas Boy on his way to the Final Four!