Shout out to Smooth Action

It goes without saying but the financial crisis has affected the whole world. All sectors of the economy have been hit and professional sports are not excluded. Many European professional sport franchises rely on sponsors and local businesses to fill the salaries for their players. That's why our jerseys are far from looking like NBA teams and closer resemble a billboard on a highway. When the crisis hit, the last thing that companies/businesses thought about doing was sponsoring the local basketball club. Because of this many successful basketball players have sat at home this year waiting for a call. Teams just have not had the budget to sign as many players as they had in previous seasons.

I was blessed to get a job quickly this year but unfortunately one of my best friends was not. Marcus Jackson and I developed a close relationship while at Marquette. We both played the same position and competed with each other for minutes but the battles that ensued on the court stayed there. Maybe it is because we were going through the exact same thing that bonded us together or maybe it is because Marcus is one of the nicest people I know but our friendship grew. Smooth Action (as far as I know this is a self appointed nick name, he claims otherwise) was a part of my wedding this summer and I had the pleasure of being in his as well.

Marcus was an excellent rebounder in college and he has continued that success in his professional career. He has dominated every league in rebounding. I remember looking up his stats last year and at one point he was averaging 15 rebounds per game in Holland while the guy in second only had 9.

That is why I was shocked to see Marcus at home for so long, but as my father always says, good things happen to good people. Marcus just signed a contract with Namika Lahti in Finland. One of his teammates is former Wisconsin Badger Ray Nixon but I'm not going to hold it against him. Only kidding.

I am really happy for Marcus and his family and wish him luck the rest of the way. He also has a blog that you can check out here. In his blog he writes about basketball and a new health beverage he is marketing. It is good stuff and is worth it to check it out.