5 days till season opener!

Wow here we are again...it's been almost 2 weeks since my last blog and things have really been flying!

I left off with a "scratch match" AKA scrimmage game against the Mandurah Magic on my last post. Well the game ended up going very well, it was a full 48 minute match (which is a SUPER long game BTW lol), and we didn't have our full squad in action for the day but we came out on the losing end after a great effort by 9 points. So that was a real positive outcome for us to be that competetive against a team that finished in the #9 spot last season without our full team suited up. I personally had around 30pts and 11rebs and it was a good opening impression for me in front of some of our board committee that came to watch. It was a lot of fun to play against Casey too, he played well and has a good team this season. It's gonna be a blast to play almost every game against a good friend, always makes for some good ol' trash talking :)

Last weekend was the "Blitz" tournament in Perth. All the teams from the SBL were there in action and playing 2 games each day. This was going to be our time to showcase that this season was going to be nothing like the last one (1-25 record...ouch). The gym facility we played at is a newly built arena that the Perry Lake Hawks play in for their home games. It was absolutely HUGE! On one side of the building there were 6 full bball courts, 2 X 2 X 2 and on the other side of the building were the 2 main courts (with A/C thank GOD! haha). The game formats for the weekend were 2 twenty minute halves with a running clock, so they went pretty quick and the scores were quite low (like in the 40's or 50's).

We started off our first match against the Geraldton Bucaneers (a final four team last season). The game started off great as we jumped to a 21-10 lead and I personally had 8 quick points. At halftime we were down 2pts. We ended up losing by 20pts. We only scored 6 points as a team in the 2nd half!! Talk about a brainfart haha. BUT we definitely showed that we have the potential to hang with a top team in the league. I finished that game with 12pts and 5rebs.

We then took on the Stirling Senators (usually a middle to bottom of the ladder team). This was a tight game from start to finish but we pulled out a victory by 1 point!!! I was SO happy to just get the "W" hahaha. This was literally only the 2nd "W" the Slammers had seen in quite some time, so I was happy about that. The team went well and our young boys made some nice plays and showed their potential, but there's still a lot of work to be done. I finished that game with 14pts and 6rebs.

The whole team stayed together that night in a hotel and decided to go out for dinner as a group at a restaurant right next door. It was fun to get all the fellas in one spot and get to eat and chill and spend some "team time" together. Our next game was Sunday morning at 9:30AM so I headed back to my room, got ready for bed, chilled and watched some movies on TV. Some of the boys on the other hand wanted to "get on the piss" (drink), even though we had disscussed as a team prior to leaving Bunbury that there would be NO DRINKING (or maybe 2 beers at dinner but that's it) for that weekend. I tell you what, these guys out here LOVE to drink no matter what the situation hahaha. That's going to be one of my missions with these guys while I'm here playing, to get them more serious about preparing for games and saving the partying for afterwards(hopefully after a win!). Thankfully everyone was good and the whole team showed up on time for the early AM game.

Our first game was against the powerhouse Lakeside Lightning. I was excited because my good buddy Ben Beran and also another AIA guy Luke Payne (who i hadn't met yet) play for Lakeside. This is a really good team that always finishes in the top 3 year in and year out. Last season they lost in the championship game by 8pts and the year before that they won the "Ship". So we knew it would be a tough game for us. To my surprise their coach decided to give some of his players a "rest" for their afternoon game so he sat both imports (ben and luke) and also 2 of their really good local guys. Even without their full team they still had a very solid squad and we ended up losing by 2 points. They are going to be a tough one during the season. I finished that game with 12pts and 5rebs.

Our last game of the day and tournament was against the U20 Metro State team (under 20yrs old). Every SBL team had to play at least one game against the U20 squad. I don't think any SBL team had lost to them and you can bet I wasn't gonna let us be the first!! I had watched them play earlier against the East Perth Eagles and my good buddy Colin Matteson(from Seattle and also played in Darwin with me). They were a talented team of young kids and played hard, so I knew it wasn't going to be an "easy win". SBL teams were only winning by 15-20pts at most. This game wasn't easy by any means as we were only up 2 points at half time. I had a good first half and scored 15pts to keep us ahead. We finally took ahold of the game and ended up winning by about 16pts. I had to play the whole 40 minutes due to a few of our guys being "hurt" from previous games, but that's ok as I want to be in premium condition for the long season. I finished that game with 22pts and 8rebs.

Overall it was a really good weekend for us and we finished up with a 2-2 record. I think the coaches and board committee liked what they saw and can see the potential this team has to have a successful season. We now just have to continue to build as the time goes on.

Only 5 days until our season opener against the Rockingham Flame, and a very winnable game might I add as they didn't look to strong at the Blitz tourney. We will see how things go but I'm overly excited to get back on the court and get this club back to winning some games!!


Article from the Bunbury Herald after the weekend games...

I decided to stay that Sunday night up in Perth since I had nothing on Monday to do. So I asked Ben Beran if I could stay with him at his host families house (to just happened to be my old host family from the AIA tour in Perth in 09'). The Weir family is an awesome family to be around and they LOVE the game of basketball. They actually came on Sunday morning to watch us play Lakeside because they are supporters for the Lakeside squad. It was an awesome night as we went over to Jane's (host mum) daughters home to celebrate her husbands Bday. There was a big barbeque and a night filled with Settlers of Catan Seafair Edition (which is a ton of fun as well as the original version). After a late night Ben and I headed back to his house to just lounge for a little while and catch some ESPN (which is now on out here at certain times! It's pretty sweet to get that taste of home.) then we zonked out! Monday consisted of some more settlers and an awesome lunch cookout then it was back to Bunbo aka Bunbury for me :) . The weekend was awesome and I can't wait to have many more with some good bball and fun with the fellas. This really is the perfect situation to have SOOOO many friends in one spot playing the game we all love.

It's pretty cool being the only team in Bunbury because then we get all the "media attention", where as in Perth there are like 10 teams that are all within about 30 minutes of eachother. So last week I did 2 TV interviews, one for GWN7 and the other for WIN TV. It was pretty sweet getting interviewed and the kids loved seeing it on TV. Then as I showed up for my usual bball session at their school they went nuts! Along with the TV we also have the newspaper and radio who all sponsor the Slammers in some fashion. I am currently trying to get a DVD copy of one of the TV interviews to put online so everyone can check it out!! Stay tuned for that!!

Last night we had our "singlet" presentation banquet for both the men's and women's team. It was basically a time for all the sponsors to get to come and mingle with all the players and coaches. It was a good time and I got to meet all the important people who are giving us the money to have a season. So its important now for us to WIN so that the crowds will fill the gym and bring some money in for the sponsors. That's the name of the game....WIN!!!

The new women's import player flew in about a week ago, her name is Lavesa and she's from Miami. She's also living here in the Donovan family house with me. She's a real cool chick and we get along great and have a lot in common. She's already brought some good laughs into the house and should make for more good times! Our other mens import player Nick is suppossed to be getting in on Wednesday, which is awesome! I don't know yet if he'll be able to play on Fridays game because of paperwork stuff yet but we're hoping he can! That will make for almost a full house for the next 5 months, but many good times I'm sure.

On days when we don't have practice I tend to make it down to the beach for a little while to read, relax, and soak in the sun :). BUT only once I've gotten my daily workout in of course! I've quickly found that that "beach time" tends to be my "quiet time", where I can think about life, love, God, basketball, family, etc. The beach here to me is so peaceful and amazing that I always end up lost in my own thoughts. I am so blessed to be here and have this opportunity to play ball and hopefully change some lives along the way with my attitude and influence.

A beautiful beach sunset...

Perfect place for a little R & R

The book I just currently finished is called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. My good friend and old England teammate John Olinger reccommended some books for me to read while out here for the season. If you want to read a good book about faith and where you stand in your current Christian walk then give Crazy Love a try. It is a real "ball buster" in so many ways. It really gets you to take a step back and look at your current life to see how exactly you are living your life for Christ and if not then how are you going to change that. It's challenging in so many good ways. There of course is plenty of encouragement throughout the book as well, as the author Francis admits to having his own "issues" just like anyone else does. It was a great read and I reccommend it to anyone, even those not of the Christian faith or religious at all. It is an eye opener and will help to change your life for the better.

It is the time of Lent now for the next 40 days, and my mom usually always makes us give up something. A sacrifice to the Lord as he has sacrificed so much for us. As I was brainstorming for ideas of meaningful things to give up other than the usual pop, candy, tv, fast food, etc. I found myself coming to a blank... Not that I BY ANY MEANS don't have things that I could give up, its just that I couldn't think of many "meaningful" things that were really a "problem" or major issue for me. I then started to think "why not just make this a time to START some positive habits???" Like reading more (both the Bible and just in general). Giving more of my time to help others around the team and house. Giving more of my money to those who need it more. Giving more verbal encouragement when sometimes I bite my tongue. In the end I think I came up with some good ideas and it'll be a good Lent this year. I am also giving up listening to Rap/Hip Hop music that is particularly crude with language and lyrics (this will be a tough one). You are what you surround yourself by...

As far as updates from back home goes... The house in Lynnwood that my parents were set on buying didn't get the "GO" because of a bad inspection. SOOO now its back to the "house search" drawing board, which I can imagine is a long and stressful process, but we're hoping that sometime pops up soon that will work out as time is closing in for them to move out of our current home! Other than that I don't think that there is too many "new" things going on back home except for the usual day-to-day activities.

I think that about wraps it all up for now! I'm having a blast out here and it's only getting better. I hope everyone is doing well and life is rolling right along. Send prayers out to those in Japan and anyone effected by the tragic earthquake and tsunami. I miss and love you all! Here's some pics and also a video I made of my Bunbury home...

Here is a link of a video that I made of my crib here in Bunbury! Enjoy it haha!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg029o7bJRU



Here's a pic of my new car for the season. I'm calling her "Great White" lol! It only seemed right...


This is where the Donovan family posts pictures of all the exchange students and others who have stayed in their home over the past 2 years.


This is the Donovan fam. Back row left to right- Laticia, Sophie, Bianca. Middle row- Russell and Karen. Front row- Alex and James.

Until tomorrow...
"make it happen"

3 more weeks till season tips off...

Since my last post a lot of things have been happening... My schedule has picked up a little bit and with that time has really been flying bye (which is a good thing when you're gone for 6-7 months). A big part of that is because of how comfortable I feel here so far and how easy its been to fit in. My host family is so easy going and fun to be around that I feel like I'm at home. My teammates are a really cool bunch of guys that are easy and fun to chill with off the court which helps for chemistry on the court. It's all things that you hope for when going to a new situation, and I have it all here, so I'm very thankful for that blessing.

Practices have been going well and with each session we have we get better. We have a scrimmage game tomorrow against the Mandurah Magic and my good buddy Casey Crevelone. I first met Casey on the AIA tour in Perth back in November of 2009. So it should be a fun game and a good measuring point to see where we need to improve as a team. The first weekend of March there is a pre-season tournament called "the blitz" that takes place in Perth every year. All the teams from the league will be there and playing twice a day both Saturday and Sunday. It's a time for scouting other teams as well as seeing where exactly your club is at compared to others in the league. It's also a nice little road trip to further bond as a team, so it should be a good time.

Last weekend I went up to Mandurah (which is just 1 hr north and only 40 mins south of Perth) to visit with Casey Crevelone and Ben Beran (he plays at Lakeside Lightning and also is an AIA guy). I went up Friday night and stayed until Monday morning. Ben came down from Perth Saturday morning and we all headed to the beach to do some boogie boarding. As we were enjoying the water and waves we all of a sudden noticed people from shore waiving at us to come in, so we hurringly scurried out of the water. As Casey and I were making our way in we both took a look back to see why exactly we were getting out. We both saw what WE believed to be a dolphin swimming through one of the waves, BUT supposedly there was an 8ft shark "chasing" the dolphin that we didn't see. SOOOO once everyone was out of the water we then learned that they were shutting down the beach for at least 1 hour to make sure that it would be safe to get back in the water or not. We then decided to play some good old American grid-iron in the sand, which turned out to be a lot of fun since we couldn't be in the water. We ended up leaving after about an hour anyways, but it was a nice beach and boogie boarding was fun while we had the chance to do it.

Ben was albe to stay Saturday night which was awesome because we were able to cook up a nice big meal and get some good "sharing time" in since I haven't really been able to catch up with those guys for a while. I learned quickly that all the AIA play the most ultimate game of 2011, Settlers of Catan!

So of course we started a few games and ended up having to play 4 because we each took a victory as the games progressed, leading right into an epic championship game that ended with Casey winning (but only because of home court advantage really! haha).

Sunday morning Ben had to leave back to Perth because he had practice with his team, but Casey and I didn't so we decided to head off to his church he attends while in Mandurah called Eastlake. It was a nice service with a pretty young feel to it, I enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to finding a good church here in Bunbury I can get plugged into while I'm here, there's plenty of options and I'll probably try a few out to see which best suits me.

As far as for the rest of Sunday, Casey invited me to go to Perth with him and a group of friends to a music festival called "good vibrations". There was going to be around 20-25 artists there performing on 4 different stages!! It sounded like a great time and since I love music so much I said "WHY NOT!?". It was a long day of walking/standing and music but man it was great. I got to see Erykah badu, Mike Posner, Nas, Damien Marley, Phoenix, Yolanda Be Cool, Ludacris, The ting tings and Kelis!! All the acts were great and live music is always fun to be around, so it was an awesome day!



It ended up finishing around 10:30pm and me and Casey were so poooped that we just grabbed about $30 worth of Mackers (Australian for McDonald's) and drove back home to Mandurah for the night. It was a great day to hang with Casey and also meet some new people and obviously get to see so many artists perform that I grew up on!

There are a total of 10 AIA guys in the leauge this season and we're all within about an hour of eachother, so it should be pretty easy to get together to hang out and also keep eachother accountable for our actions over the course of the long season. I know I'm looking forward to having some good solid Christian blokes around to be able to meet up with and grow in my faith. It's really the ulitmate experience as a professional basketball player away from home, family and friends...

There's been some exciting news going on back home in Seattle Washington of course. My family has recently sold our house of 16 years!!! ANDDDDD already found a new one in Lynnwood to move into, which is perfect timing! So that's exciting to hear, I'm just bummed that I'll miss the whole moving process and what not. It'll be pretty cool to come home to a new house though, that will be a first for me. ALSO my cousin Robby and his beautiful wife Katie had their twin girls just about a week or two ago and that was amazing news for the family! I want to give a big shout out to them! Every time I leave I feel like soooooo much happens, its crazy.

I think that's about it for right now. Not tooooooooo much else is going on really. We'll just continue with practices and what not until the official season begins March 18th!! I'm enjoying my time so far and think it will be a great season. Hopefully a few of my friends and family will be able to make the journey out here to visit at some point! That would really be awesome! There's so much to do here on the Westcoast of Australia and some absolutely beautiful beaches. We'll see as time goes on. Much Love to everyone and many blessings.

Remember life is good, but God is great!

Until tomorrow...
"Make it Happen"

Made it in safely!!

Well I've been here for almost a full week now and time is already flying by. I arrived last Tuesday after 29hrs a flights and layovers!! Coach Carl picked me up from the airport and brought me back to my new home for the season. I am staying with a host family for my time in Bunbury. They are the Donovan family, made up of Karen (mom), Russell (dad), James (5yr old son) and Alex (3yr old daughter). That's all of the family who lives here in teh house as well. Russell also has 3 other girls from his first marriage, but they don't live in this house. The Donovan family also hosts students from a foreign exchange program school in town, so at the moment there are 2 Swedish girls staying here as well with the family. They've been hosting people/students over the past 2 years and love doing it. My other American teammate Nick will be staying here too, once he gets in from Germany where he's playing now.

I got to meet most all of my teammates over the first few days as I had my first practice with the team last Thursday. Everything went well and the team looks pretty good. We are definitely young, but we have some good athletes and a few shooters as well. We'll just have to wait and see how the season progresses. All the guys are really cool though and I don't see any problems happening on or off the court between any of the guys, so that's good.

I've gotten to see most all of Bunbury as its not a huge town, but it is quite spread out. The beach is absolutely beautiful and is only 5 minutes down the road from my house.






My schedule will start to pick up pretty quickly as I'm doing 2 schools a week where I will do some coaching, we'll be practicing about 2-3 times a week, and I'll shortly be getting a little side job somewhere probably working about 15 hrs a week. So with all that going on my time will start to fly by. The season will roughly go until August, but could go into September if we can make it to the late rounds of the playoffs. So it's going to be a longggggggggggg season, but it looks as though it's going to be a lot of fun and hopefully some friends will be able to make the trip out to visit me at some point!!

I've already asked around about a good church to go too and there seems to be a pretty good variety of choices. I didn't get to go on Sunday because it was Bianca's 18th Bday breakfast and the whole family was here for that, so I figured I should probably be here as well to meet everyone (plus the the food was awesome!). Bianca is Russell's oldest girl. I'll be sure to get out next Sunday and give one of the church's a try.

Our first official game is on March 18th but we have a few "scratch matches" as they call them before that official start game. We play on the 27th of Feb against another club from the league that's only 20 mins away, so that will be a good game to see where exactly we're at and what things we need to change before we get the season kicked off. There's also a tournament the first weekend of March in Perth that the league hosts where we will get to play a few games over that weekend against some other clubs. So that will be fun to see all the teams there, but also good for us to get some more practice games in before the season starts.

As for now I'm just practicing 2-3 times a week with the team and coaching at 2 schools twice a week. I'll eventually get a job, but that's no rush for right now. I'll just be enjoying my free time while I have it! The weather out here is beautiful and usually in the 80's-90's but with an awesome breeze that helps keep things cool. The sun out here is vicious though and I've already gotten a little bit burned just from being outside without sun tan lotion on. You really have to put it on ANY time you go outside hahaha, I'll learn eventually!

I hope everyone back home is doing well and loving life! I wish only the best for everyone for 2011!

Until tomorrow...
"make it happen"

3 days and counting till takeoff...

Well its that time again... I was only home for around 1 1/2 months since I had left Darwin and already its time to take off for the next season. I'll be gone from February 6th until roughly around the end up July or possibly end of August/early September. It all depends on how our season goes and if we can make the playoffs or not. I personally want the season to go really well, BUT my brother is getting married on August 20th and I HAVE to be there!!!! So we'll see what happens...

I ended up signing with a team called the SouthWest Slammers that play in the SBL (State Basketball League) for the 2011 season. I signed with them in December when I got back from Darwin. The other club (the Eagles) that I was 99% close to signing with before I left Darwin had some minor issues that we couldn't agree with on the contract so I decided to look else where and ended up with the Slammers (in the same league). I am very excited about being with them and think we will have a good season with the right effort and attitude. They really struggled last season and finished in dead last with a record of 1-25... So anything more than 1 win will be a success for this season hahaha. The team is located in a town called Bunbury which is about 2 hours south of Perth (the main big city) in Western Australia. I will be staying with a host family set up by the club just like in Darwin, which is going to be awesome. Plus I'll still be on my work visa until late June so I will most likely have another side job as I am playing. That really helps with keeping me busy and not thinking about missing home. It's also a great way to meet new people and get out into the community.








I'm really excited for this new opportunity to continue playing and further my pro bball career. I've been training extremely hard since I've been back and am ready to have a big season! It's gonna be a long 6-7 months but that's the job for ya hahaha. Originally I was suppossed to be leaving on the 19th of February, but the team wanted me there as soon as I could make it out SOOOOOOO we changed the ticket to an earlier date. The season is creeping up around the corner and I understand that the more time I have with the team to mesh and bond, the better.

Since I've been home it's just been 24/7 bball for me. With workouts 5 days a week with personal trainers and getting shots up everyday with my buddy Chuck, I feel like I'm more ready than ever to rip this season up! It's been a blessing to be home for as long as I have been, even though it wasn't that long at all!!! It's been great to catch up with friends and family and see how everyones life is going for them. There are sooooo many exciting things going on in my family with new babies being born and weddings around the corner, it's always crazy to come back and hear all the news I've missed out on (even though I stay pretty up to date from my family with things).

I've had a blast being home and I'm going to miss everyone very much, but I love playing basketball and the traveling isn't that bad either :) ... besides this is what I do best! The longer I can put off the 9-5 job the better, at least that's what EVERYONE tells me lol. So until I "have" to start a "real" life I guess I'll just keep on trucking with hoops thing :)

Feel free to hit me up whenever. I have my own skype number 206-855-6868 or just to chat, my screename- Matthew Robert Smith. Email- bigsmith52@hotmail.com . And of course I'm on Facebook with all my new pictures and game updates.

I wish everyone a blessed 2011 and thank you for following me on my adventures of being overseas and playing the game I love!

Until tomorrow...
"make it happen"

Last day of work, last weekend in D-Town, 4 days left!

Hey Hey Hey...

Today is the 3rd of December out here and it's also my final day of working at the Casuarina All Sports Club! I'm excited but also sad at the same time (if that makes sense..??) haha. I've been blessed with my bartending job there and being able to meet all my co-workers as well as the "regulars" who I've come to know pretty well through many a poured beers. At the same time I'm happy to get back to my schedule of being in the gym 24/7 and on the bball grind without having to worry about working at all! Overall it's been a great place to work and I'm thankful for them taking me on as an employee the past few months.

That leads me into my U.G.L.Y. fundraising efforts that ended a few days ago. We had a huge raffle night last Friday and raised around $1,400!!! It was a fun night and we raffled off meat trays, ham, electronics, a keg and much more... I wasn't behind the bar at all that night, I was working the floor selling raffle tickets and making jokes! It was a ton of fun and everyone was very generous for some prizes but ultimately the foudation. After that night that brought our final total to around $3,400 for the whole month!!! Not bad at all when our original goal was just $1,000. The winners and prizes are awarded on Monday so we'll see how I stacked up against the rest of the NT. I'm happy with how everything turned out and feel lucky to have had the opportunity to help make an impact in peoples lives here in Darwin outside of basketball.

Our Eagles basketball club end of the season banquet went very well and we had a good time spending it with everyone from the club. Bobby and myself were also there for the youth banquet to help support the kids and mess around with them on the dance floor :)
-The Eagles mens senior team-

-Here's a picture of Reidy our President for the club-


After my last night of work tonight there won't really be much that I "have" to do haha. Saturday is the grand finals day for the youth teams as well as the senior squads so I will most likely be at the gym allllll day supporting some of our youth teams that made it to the Finals as well as to watch the finals mens game at night. Saturday night should be a fun one too because all of the teams will be out on the town since the season will officially be done and over with! So i'm looking forward to getting out on the town with all the fellas one last time, I'll definitely miss some of these guys out here for sure. I've had a great time while here in Darwin and wouldn't of change it for the world. I've met some great people and played some good bball, everything I wanted and more. I can only hope that Perth has just as much to offer me as Darwin has.... we'll see!

I think this will be my last post until I start up again in February when I'm over in Perth for the 2011 season with the East Perth Eagles! The paperwork is coming through today for me to sign and then all will be finalized!

I want to give a big shout out to everyone who reads my blog, I appreciate it. It definitely helps keep me busy and also helps me look back on the good times I've had while traveling the world playing ball. I also want to thank friends and family for another bball season of support through Skype and emails! If it wasn't for them I know I wouldn't be where I am today. Finally I gotta give all the props to God for blessing me with the ability to play this game and stay healthy and in shape. Hard work always pays off, remember that!!!

This is Big Matt signing off for the last time from Darwin 2010.....PEACE!

Until tomorrow...
"make it happen"

Season is officially over....13 days till take off!!

Since my last post we've played two games, I'll start with last Tuesday against the 5th place Lightning. This was a team that was finally starting to play really well and had won the last two games they played before us, beating teams that they had never beaten before. They were already out of the playoff hunt but were finally clicking as a team and looking to hurt some records. We came into the game a little over confident and didn't come out to a great start. We were only up by about 2 at halftime. I had already scored 15pts and was feeling in a pretty good rhythm. It wasn't until about the end of the third quarter where we finally kicked into gear and took the game over. We ended up winning by 17pts I believe and that was our last regular season game. I finished with 27pts and a career high 32rebounds!!!

Now it was on to the playoffs and if you lost from this point on you were DONE! We ended the regular season in 3rd place so we were to play the 4th place team in a knockout game, winner moves on. That team would be the Warriors, a team that has added an import each time we've played them. During the course of the season we beat them 3 out of 4 games, losing the last game when they reached a total of 4 American imports to our 2. We knew this game was going to be very tough and hard fought as they are also a very scrappy team. We started off in a FUNK and ended up down by about 16pts at halftime. Once the 3rd quarter hit I knew we needed some energy and after a big dunk and backboard slap (by yours truly) down the middle of the key, it was ON! We quickly made a run back into the game and pulled the deficit to 2 points going into the fourth quarter. It was a grudge match from there on out, back and forth. We had 3 different occasions tie the game or take the lead within the last 2 minutes, but struggled to make free throws....It's a sad thing when it comes down to free throws and you lose a season ending game. It wasn't me though, it was one of our local players and he just couldn't pull through for us this time. We ended up losing by 3 pts in the closing seconds. I didn't get as many shots as usual because they played in a zone defense all game and we didn't move the ball very well. I only finished with 14pts and 7rebs.

Overall I had a really good season here in Darwin and averaged 23.4points, 14.8rebounds, 2.1assists and 1 block per game. All of these statistics are season highs for me and I look to build on them as I progress in my professional career. I am very happy with the way things turned out and feel like we grew as a team over the length of the season and I grew as a player and a leader as well. I wish the best to these guys out here for future seasons and you never know if maybe I'll make it back up north to play in the NT again..??? The Eagles club has been amazing to play for! I've felt like part of a family while here in Darwin and I've got to say that it's made me feel very comfortable and at ease in order to do my job on the court. I wouldn't of wanted it any other way! Much love to everyone here in Darwin, ESPECIALLY momma Donna!




Things at work have been rolling right along as usual. My U.G.L.Y. fundraiser has really started to take off! We're now at $1,300 after a few friendly donations and we still have another 6 days until all the money has to be turned in. I have a big raffle set up for Friday night where we are going to auction off a XXXX (brand of beer) keg that I got donated for free. That alone should bring in a few hundred dollars. I think we should be able hit around $1,500-1,700 dollars by the 1st of December, well above and beyond our original goal of a $1,000. I'm happy that I've been able to be a part of this project as I have some very close people in my life that suffer from cancer each and everyday. It's been a fun experience wearing my UGLY t-shirt at work everyday and getting to hear all of the funny remarks from the customers. I've also enjoyed the conversations with customers about what has happened in their lives that has lead them to donate to the cause. Overall it's been a humbling experience to raise money for the Leukemia Foundation. It truly feels good to give.

As far as my last 2 weeks go here in Australia, it should be pretty busy. I have worked scheduled until the 5th, but I may be heading to Perth for a little meet and greet with my new team and management (but nothing is for sure yet...). I still haven't signed any paperwork yet, but that should all be taken care of by the end of this week. There were some things that needed to be added to the original version once we (my agent and myself) received it last week. I am really excited to get home and take about a week off from bball then get right back on the GRIND and prepare myself for this next season in Perth!!!

Our team presentation and end of the year party is this Saturday night and should be a lot of fun. I think they will be handing out some awards and we'll just be able to eat, dance and hang out as a group. Should be a good time!

Other than work for this last 2 weeks I have still have my 3 schools that I've been going to for the last 6 weeks to finish up. I've had a good time with the kids and it's once again taught me a lot about what to be ready for one day when I have mine hahahaha. I've always thought about one day coaching and it still creeps into my head every now and then, especially after I get to spend a certain amount of time with a group of kids and they grow on me. I guess I'll always consider coaching as a career after I'm done playing since I'm sure I'll still want to be around the game of basketball as long as I'm still living. Who knows, but as for now I'm fine with just having to deal with the kids for an hour a week hahaha! MAN they can be a handful!

I think that's about for now and I'm not sure if I'll have another post or not for the time being, BUTTTTTTTTTTTTT I'll probably do one more before we take off outa here. So until then, best wishes to all my people back home and other friends in other countries balling. I can't wait to be back in the beautiful Northwest and some COLD weather!

By the way, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!! I'm definitely gonna miss eating all that goooooooooood food and taking several naps throughout the day.... I hope everyone gets to enjoy the day with some family!

Until tomorrow...
"make it happen"

Sunday Service...A new contract for the 2011 season...and 23 days until homebound!!

So it's been about 2 weeks since my last post and a TON has happened, i'm just hoping that I can remember it all as I write this hahah!

I guess I'll start of by saying that I was offered a contract last week by the East Perth Eagles of the SBL (state basketball league) in WA (western Australia) Perth!! I am suppossed to receive the paperwork early this week to sign and all will be set in stone!! I am SUPER excited as it was my goal to have a contract lined up before leaving Darwin to head home for Christmas, and sure enough I achieved it!! I can't be more thankful for yet another blessing in my bball career, it's a crazy business to be in but I love every moment of it! Nothing like a Christmas present to yourself :). All the hard work I've put in this past year is really paying off and deals are starting to fly in at me left and right! So needless to say I'll be returning to Australia February 19th for pre-season training with my new squad!!

I am also super pumped that about 3-6 AIA (athletes in action) guys will be in Perth playing ball as well for other teams!!! There was a good group of guys out there this past season and I know they had a blast all getting together for church and bible studies every so often. I'm really looking forward to that situation and being able to grow spiritually with some other ballers. The last situation I had like that was in England with Johny O. and I miss that a lot. It's been tough at times out here w/o anyone to push me to stay on track and further my walk with God, so I'm really excited about that!!

On to other news....

We played last Tuesday against the TV Jets and ended up winning by about 25pts. It was a game that sealed us in 3rd place for the playoffs! I had 24pts and 14rebs. So from that point on it doesn't matter how we do the last 2 games of the regular season, ALTHOUGH of course we want to win every game and get in a good rythm as a team going into the playoffs. So last night we had our final Saturday game of the regular season. We played against the Rebels who are currently tied for 1st place and are a tough team, although they are not deep off the bench at all. It was a battle and we made a great run in the 4th quarter to cut their lead to 6 but couldn't pull out the victory. We ended up losing by 9 points, but hopefully we will get another shot at them for the championship game... I finished with 21pts and 13rebs. Now we have our final game on Tuesday against the Lightning who we have already beaten 2 or 3 times. Then it's on to the first round of the playoffs the following Tuesday. I'm excited to see how things pan out, I think our guys will be ready to roll.

In our game last Tuesday I took an elbow to the face and got my lower lip busted open through my tooth!!! I ended up playing the rest of the game, but had to go get 3 stitches later that night at the ER hahaha. It actually didn't hurt as bad as you think it would... Anyway I've got them in for a week then I'll get them taken out. Might have a nice little scar for that one :)

Work has been pretty busy actually. I'm getting 4-5 days a week and it's keeping me busy passing the time. I've decided to work up until the 6th of December, right before I take off. My U.G.L.Y. fundraiser is still going very well and we're currently up to $640, almost to our $1000 goal! I still have until December 1st to get all my funds raised and turned in to be eligible to win the contest, so we're making good progress.

The schools I've been working at weekly have been going well and I'm having fun teaching them some new things. It's always a challenge to get 25-30 kids to focus for a whole hour but that's part of the fun of it all haha. Every time I'm around the kids it makes me think about when I have kids how crazy the whole journey is gonna be! Being a parent must be quite the experience... It's definitely a FULL time job hahaha. I'm looking forward to it, let's just say that (although I have no plans anytime soon to be a Dad so get that mixed up haha!).

I finally made it into a church for a service today!! It's been WAYYYYY to long and it felt nice to be back in it again (even though I do online services every week, it's just not the same). I went to a christian church just a few minutes from our house and it was a small but nice play to worship and get my Jesus time in. I'll definitely be there for my last few Sundays I have left!!

As you can tell from the title there's 23 days and counting until I touch down in SeaTown and I can't express to you how excited I am to be coming home!!! It's more than ever before when I've been out of the country... Although I must say that I am going to miss being here in Darwin. It really feels like home here and a big reason for that is Momma Donna. She has made this situation here feel just like home! I've been treated and loved like a son and can't express how much I appreciate that. I'm definitely planning up something nice for her before I leave! I've really been lucky to make some nice friends while I've spent my time on the road the past 5-6 months. I couldn't be any more happy for the past 2 contracts I've had. This is just the beginning of my career in Australia though!!

I often catch myself thinking while at work or on the way to the bus stop or while getting shots up at the gym. I really am truely blessed to be able to do what I do and travel and see the world. I know I am missing things back home, but honestly every time I come back not much has really "changed". People are usually still doing the "same old" things and still working at the same old jobs. So as much as I sometimes think about hanging up the shoes for the "real world" again I usually quickly correct myself and remember how lucky I am to be doing what I do . There's a bunch of guys who would love to be in my position and "trade" lives... I always end up talking to old teammates and all they ever say is "keep playing until you can't do it anymore!!" I think that's the right advice to give. As much as there are certain things and people back home that I want to be with 24/7 I believe in my heart that God has me doing what I'm doing for a reason. I'm on his path and it just happens to be as a professional bball player, what I always wanted to be...

Well it's going to be another super busy week with 5 days of work and a game on Tuesday night, but I'm sure it'll fly by like it has been. I hope all is going well for those back home and life is treating ya good! I'm thinking about everyone a ton and appreciate all the emails and skype calls that I get weekly, it makes me feel NOT so far from home :). Have a great and uplifting week, catch ya next time!

Until tomorrow...
"make it happen"