Movement

The last few weeks have been very interesting to say the least. I havent had internet at my new digs so an update has been hard to come by. For those of you who are now lost let me fill you in...I have been traded to the Bakersfield Jam which is of coarse located in the great city of Bakersfield, Ca. The trade was finalized on January 25 and the next day I was on a plane and out of Iowa. The last few games in Iowa had been a trial for me because I had played next to no minutes and the outside temperature had reach way down to -20. Needless to say an Arizona/California boy like myself was having some trouble adapting to that kind of cold. Your whole body just hurst all the time and I could never really seem to get warm. On top of it all not playing was a big bummer so I am outta there.
The new team actually was out looking for me. They had wanted to trade for me for a few weeks but our wonderful Iowa coach wouldnt answer his phone. (He can get pretty busy trying to figure out what he wanted to do) So I was wanted elsewhere and now I have a great opportunity to show my stuff. Well out here in the wonderful California world we have played 7 games and havent had a great showing but I have been playing over 30 minutes a game and really contributing to the new team. The new Coach Scott Roth was an Ex-NBA scout/coach which gives me the opportunity to work under a guy who has been to the top and has experience to share with me. It is great to have a coach who knows the game. He has already made a contribution to my game and I have increased my stats in all categories especially rebounding, this has always been a work in progress for me (thx Dusty). Man its great to be back in Cali!!!
On the personal front Jessica has been working her little butt off 6 days a week in her big corporate job. She is on her way to the top!! But it takes alot of hard work which we all know is no problem for miss Jess. Dad has been working more back in Detroit but seems to love it. He has access to the jet, big time baller status!! Jaker has been tearing it up at ASU playing club Volleyball and doing that whole school thing. Also he has continued to coach which I think may be a calling. They seem to like him at good old Xavier and I heard he does a good job and is well liked by his players (that couldnt be because he is tall and handsome could it??). Well whatever he is the man there. Mom is mom kicking ass. She does yoga like 3 times a day, hikes the mountain every morning, and still has time to put up with pops. She is doing so well... cancer what aint no thing!!! Well keep checking for updates

Slip and Sliding...

Well for you that have been following us on the website you already know where we stand as of late. We are on a slide down from the top. We have lost 8 in a row and who knows when it will end... It all started way back on Saturday December 29 at home against Rio Grande Valley. They started all guards and ran us up and down the court. It was pretty bad to see how fast they were and how slow we looked. I know this because I spent a lot of time watching from the front row. I had a great seat for sure (thats all I am gonna say about that right now). But that is when it all started, you know come to think of it that was also the first game that Jessica saw (she came out to visit that weekend). Could she have been the catalust for this whole thing??? Nope that would be too easy (I am sorry beautiful, love you:). Nope she is definately not the the cause. She did get to see first hand what was up though and you will have to ask her what she thought. We had a great weekend, but I dont think she will come back and I definately dont think she would ever live in good old Des Moines.

The slide has really taken effect on all of us and it really showed this past week at the showcase in Boise, Idaho. We lost both games and looked pretty terrible. It was a chance for us to show all our talents to the NBA scouts and some from Europe. But I dont think we did ourselves any favors. But Boise was so cold and beautiful!!! Love the Life in the D-league... I played well when I did play and got to match up against Kyrlynko Feselochich or something like that. He and I roomed together last summer in Florida at the IMG training facility. It is a cool experience playing ball mainly because you run into so many people over the years that are in similiar situations. We talk and share our stories about games, travel nightmares, and coaching conflicts. We all have pretty much the same stories. But that being said it is amazing how truly small the world is. The people I have met and continue to see will no doubt be what I will remember most. So many different stories and backgrounds but we are all following the same path and just keep running into each other. That is truly what I love most about playing basketball...all the people I have met that otherwise would probably never cross into my life. That is the true spirit of the life that is basketball...

Back on Track

Well after a shacky stretch we got back to our winning ways out here in the cold midwest. We were able to redeem ourselves against Ft. Wayne who had been using us as a whipping boy in our last 3 games against them. We went in there and laid the smack down and beat them by 25. That then catapulted us back home to get a win against Sioux Falls in overtime which was rediculous because we were up by 25 at the half and won by 3 in ot. But that is pro basketball no lead is big enough I guess. We had also beat Bakersfield which was a pivot pass, tear ass, first one to a hundred wins type game which I am glad to say we are able to run pretty well. I guess we could definately be considered a running team but we can slow it down and grind it out when we need to, but sometimes we forget that part and we turn into a head down dribble team. At this level you have to be able to use teammates to create for yourself. Guys are quick enough in the league to guard in the half court one on one pretty well. When you run down against a set defense you must be able to run an offense all the way through to make a team play defense for a little while to expose the leaks in the D.
Also this last week our allocated point guard from the Bulls, JamesOn Curry, was called back to Chicago. It has been interesting thus far without him because he was our pg and we hadnt used any other guys at that position so when we played Tulsa we struggled a bit from the point guard position. This was mainly because our guard had not had many reps while JamesOn was here. That is a tough part of this league, the guys that come down take a lot of minutes and when they leave again there can be a void left. But we have had a great week of practice and are ready for the LA d-fenders tomorrow night (12/20). I get to exact a little revenge against LA which was the team I played for at the end of the season last year. (sorry I am not there again d&s you were loyal fans for sure or maybe you were just using me for my Lakers tix)
I am also glad to report that Iowa is turning out to be a pretty cool place. There has been snow on the ground for about 2 weeks but the weather has been nice. Sunny pretty much everyday, but I can say it is a trip since I havent lived with snow for a long time. The thing that sucks is every now and then we get a crazy ice storm which can be a little scary. Roads get shut down and the cities sleeps for a day or so.
Well my best wishes go out to everyone out there reading this. I hope evryone travels safe and has a great Christmas and everyone enjoys friends and family. We have a game Xmas day so you all better be checking the internet for details while you open your presents and enjoy a good cup of hot chocolate. Love to all!!!

3-3 whoops

Well we got off to a tremendous start but recently have run into some dark waters. We have dropped 3 in a row after starting off 3-0. The worst part is we lost at home which should never happen!!!! Our home town crowds have been really good I think we are averaging around 6,000 a night which is a whole hell of a lot better then the 4 fans that would watch us at Staples Center. It's nice to have a little noise in the arena. We set an attendance record on opening night with almost 10,000 people coming out to see what was up. But losing at home is a sure fire way to lose a little support but I hope our fans return to see us get right back on track and start putting foot to ass again.
Of the court life has been good. I have seen more snow in the last few weeks then I have in probably 10 years. For right now it is a great change of pace but who knows how long that will last. I dont know how much of -20 I can handle and people tell me that it is coming so....shit. What does a person do when it's that cold? But I guess that's why I play indoors where the temp is always around 70 (kind of like SD all the time indoors and out). I am currently working on transportation. I did not bring my car out here so I have been walking, way too cold for that, and bumming rides from teammates which is getting a little old. Coach Nurse as hopefully locked something down for me so I can get to the gym whenever. Well I am currently staying warm thanks to some help from Momma H and Jessica (she learned to knit in a weekend) well do I expect anything less from her...Love to everyone
Oh and there is a Costco near me...Jackpot or maybe a bad thing and also steve send me your email when you get a chance, I have found a reasonable store with good meat and fruit so thanks bro