Yes my friends, the time has come. The much-anticipated follow up to my blog debut has finally arrived. Ok, yes, I will admit it; I did not receive any critical acclaim for my first blogging attempt. Shocking I know, but I'm a self-admitted work in progress. However, the immensely talented editors over at Eurocupbasketball.com asked me for another go-round, so I'm taking that to mean the fans out there reading at least tolerated or maybe even moderately enjoyed my writing efforts. And with those reassurances fresh on my mind, I confidently embark into my second posting.

Enough of trying to sound somewhat smart, let's get to the important stuff here. Our team, Benetton Treviso, just won our fourth consecutive game in the Last 16 and guaranteed our trip to Torino for a spot in the Final Eight. On top of that, we put ourselves in very good position to qualify as the first-place seed in our group. Other people seem to think this is important, and obviously given the choice, our team would prefer to play a team finishing second in their group rather than first. However, especially as we narrow the field to the final eight teams of the competition, I think every matchup will be extremely dangerous and escaping with wins will be a huge challenge.

Luckily for me, I don't have to bother thinking about those kinds of things. We still have two important games left in the Last 16 to secure a first place position, and even... more

What's up, world wide web? CJ Wallace with Benetton Treviso here, making my international blog debut. What should you expect from my attempts at blogging? I would put all expectations on hold. But since it's my first rodeo (attempt), you will have to bear with me for the highs and lows of below-average writing, decent stories, and magnificent charm and wit. If the mix works, we will call it beginner's luck…and if not, the site editor will take all complaint e-mails!

We are just now coming off a win in Croatia against Zadar. It was great to get a big Eurocup win on the road, first because it gave us sole possession of first place at 2-0 in our group and also because our team has struggled a lot this year away from home. Including both the Italian League and the Eurocup, I think altogether our team is something like 11-2 at home and 4-8 on the road. Obviously, this is something our team has to address as the season heads for the finishing stretch, but winning over Zadar in a gym full of crazy fans was a graceful stride in the right direction. That's part of what makes the Eurocup so fun for a player like me: I love playing on the road in general, and being able to travel all around Europe and compete against a high level of competition in front of unbelievable fans is both a great experience and a difficult challenge.

Now usually, when I tell my friends or family something like "yeah we are headed... more