How I Spent My Summer Vacation 2011

Summer has pretty much come and gone for me and it was a very busy one. Usually, I take some time off from working out and basketball at the beginning of the off season but because of my ankle surgery I had to rehab and work out even harder to come back to my normal form. My first 2 weeks back at home I was still on crutches but when I got off of them I hit the ground running.

I was busy with rehab every day this summer. When I left France in June, my doctors were vague with what I needed to do. The initial protocol was non weight bearing on my right ankle for 3 weeks and then weight bearing with crutches for another 3 weeks. They said one month after surgery I could start swimming and riding the bike and after 2 months I could start running and after 3 months I could play basketball again. This was great but they didn't tell me how to rehab or things I could do.

When I got back to Milwaukee, I searched my contacts for people who could help me out. I called up my old teammate and friend, Tony Gries, and he gave me some great exercises to do for my ankle to improve my mobility and strength. The training staff at Marquette was also really great. Head trainer, Ernest Eugene, worked with me during the basketball camps applying treatment and doing crazy mobility exercises to my ankle. Ernest also referred me to Athletico Milwaukee and Luis Rivera. I owe Luis a HUGE thank you. He worked with me the most and really attacked my ankle and my rehab. I probably wouldn't have been able to come back to where I am now without Luis.

On top of doing my rehab I was also lifting and doing cardio everyday to stay fit for my return to the court. My rehab was going so well that I started running 1 week before July and only 2.5 weeks off of crutches. I started shooting again when I started running. It was just like riding a bike and it felt great to be out on the court again.

My agent called me in the middle of July to tell me that a team in Japan wanted to sign me but couldn't do so until they saw that I was healthy. There was a simple solution to this because the coach was American and from LA and the General Manager was out in California at the time. Technically it was before I was supposed to start playing but I consulted with my training team and they said I was good to go. So, I flew out to LA for this team to see me.

I thought the workout went well but the team thought otherwise. I won't go into the reasons for this because I still think its BS and the point of this blog isn't to bash people. So, for my sanity, I'll just let it be. C'est la vie.

I started playing 5 on 5 again at the end of July and was able to participate in the Milwaukee Summer Pro Am Championship weekend. The team I was on finished in last place during the regular season but we ended up with the consolation championship with the addition of myself and Dan Fitzgerald. It really felt great to be running up and down the court again with people in the stands. I even dunked on someone! I hadn't done that in awhile.

Consolation Champs

One morning in early August I received a text from my old teammate Wes Matthews asking me if I wanted to play some pickup at Marquette. He had said that D Wade was coming back and there were going to be some other good players there. I am not one to turn down a good pickup game so I came down. It was really fun to play with some old teammates again and there was an incredible collection of talent in the gym. After those pickup games I knew that I had recovered from my surgery and I was good to go.

August started and I didn't have a job. My agent had some leads but nothing worked out. I kind of suspected that was going to happen with the injury and the NBA lockout going on. Not that I was competing for jobs with NBA players but there is/was a trickle down effect. There were also enough NBA players saying they were going to head overseas that it slowed the markets up. While it is frustrating to not have a job at this time I just worked harder to keep my mind off of not having a job.

I traveled to Michigan in the middle of August for my sisters wedding. The wedding was by far the craziest wedding I have ever been too and it was soooooo much fun. Liz and I stuck around Michigan for a week and half after the wedding to see family and friends.

My sister and me on her wedding day!

Every summer in college I would come home after the summer school session and before the fall semester started. I would take the time to spend with my family and also to workout. I have some really great memories running the stadium steps and working out in the gym. I had the opportunity to do the same thing this summer and I took advantage of it. I treated it like I was in my own training camp. In the morning I would head to the track and in the afternoon I would head into the gym to shoot and do more conditioning with my dad.

The old stomping grounds!

I had a great time this summer and made some great memories. Liz and I lived back downtown on Lake Michigan and had a great view of the lake from our living room and bedroom window. I spent the mornings reading and drinking coffee by the window looking at the lake. I will definitely miss that. The summer was great and we got to spend a lot of time with our friends but it was time for something to happen.

In my next post I'll let you know where in the world I am.

Until then............

Summer Time Story Time

I read an interesting blog about the least popular number in college basketball during my coffee this morning. It made me think of why I have worn the numbers I have during my career. Numbers have never been a big thing for me but there has always been a reason I have worn the numbers I have had. Lets take a little trip throughout my number career.

Maltby Middle School # 54 - This one is kind of funny. In middle school the bigger jerseys are the higher numbers. Well, I was always a big kid so I was destined for a higher number. I could have picked a few different numbers but I picked 54 because that was the channel number for MTV. Sounds like a good choice right?

Brighton High School JV #33 - I played JV basketball as a freshman in high school so I was low on the totem poll when it came to picking jersey numbers. I wanted #34 but someone had already taken that. My second choice was #32 but that was taken by another older player. My last choice was #33 because that was Grant Hill's number and I loved GH growing up (even though he was a Duke guy.) It was my last choice but a good one and one that would stick.

Brighton High School Varsity #25 - My sophomore year in high school I played on the Varsity team. For those unfamiliar with Brighton, there was a "superstar athlete" named Drew Henson that went to the school. He was drafted by the Yankees out of high school and was the starting quarterback at the University of Michigan before ultimately choosing baseball as his career path. Drew happened to play basketball too (big surprise) and he wore #25. Since I wanted to be successful like Drew, and #33 was taken, I decided that 25 would be a good choice to wear.

Brighton High School Varsity #33 - Since I was a sophomore playing varsity basketball I had a lot to learn. Jason Razavi and Eric Hutchins were 2 guys that kind of took me under their wing and helped me out when times were tough. I really looked up to both of them. They weren't the best basketball players but worked really hard and kept a great attitude. To honor Eric Hutchins I decided to wear his #33.

Marquette University #33 - I kept on wearing 33 after high school because I was successful in the number and I grew to really like it.

Lugano Tigers #11 - I had planned on wearing 33 after college but I found out that the numbers 4-15 are the only numbers that players can wear in Switzerland. It was kind of cool because I was starting a new chapter in my basketball life and I was able to start with a new number. I didn't really care what number I wore but when I saw the available numbers I knew I wanted 11. I thought it would be a good number because Isaiah Thomas wore it and I have no problem with Zeke.

Sion Herens #4 - I had to switch numbers again because 11 was already taken by another teammate. I decided to pick #4 because Chris Webber had worn it and I had wanted to take a low number since I had to pick a high number in middle school.

SAM Massagno #15 - I didn't get to pick my number this year because I came in as a replacement 2 games into the season. I really enjoyed my first year in Massagno and I played very well in the number so I had decided to keep the number for my second year with the club.

ADA Blois #15 - I enjoyed 2 successful seasons wearing 15 so I decided to stick with the number in France. It is not a very exciting or interesting story but that is what it is.

Numbers aren't very important in sports but they are kind of an interesting thing. I will try and stick with 15 the rest of my career but if it is not available then I will switch to something else and life will go on just fine.

Fun In Blois 2

We are just a week away from returning back to the good ol' US of A. Ideally I would still be playing basketball right now and be leaving for Bordeaux to be playing in the Final Four of our league but that was not the hand that we were dealt. At the end of every year I/we like to go on a little vacation to see another part of the world and kick back a little bit. Last year we went to Tuscany and the year before I went to Rome, Florence and Venice with my teammate Brody. Because of how difficult it is for me to get around right now we are unable to go on any cool trips. So, in the meantime we are just trying to enjoy Blois a little bit in the last few days we have left.

I did some research on Blois when I first signed with the club back in July 2010. One of the first things I found was the Chateau de Blois. It is a big beautiful chateau that is the centerpiece of the city and was once the residence of 7 kings and 10 queens of France. If you would like to visit the official website of the chateau, you can click here.

The outside of the chateau is my favorite of all of the beautiful chateaus in the Loire Valley. The architecture is beautiful and represents many different styles from throughout history.

Gothic

Classic

Renaissance

During the spring and summer months, the chateau offers a light and sound show to showcase it's history. I have wanted to do see this ever since I found out about it. Now, that I am officially on vacation, last Wednesday night was the perfect night to check it all out. It was about 45 minutes and really cool. Liz and I learned some interesting facts about the chateau like Saint Joan of Arc prayed there before departing for Orleans to liberate the city.

Liz took some great pictures of it all. Check them out.

Fun in Blois

Blois has a lot of fun and interesting things to do. The city has so much history and can be a little overwhelming sometimes. There is a big beautiful chateau that sits on the banks of the Loire River as well as ramparts that line the town. The Maison de la Magie is another interesting thing in Blois. Translated into English, it is the House of Magic and displays magic collections from all over the world.

My teammate Kai and I found the House of Magic way back in August of 2010 when we first arrived in France. We were out exploring our new home and wandered up into the square of the chateau. As we were taking it all in something strange started to happen to the building on the opposite end of the square. Windows started opening and dragons started coming out. It is a little hard to explain but it was surprisingly entertaining.

Check out the video below to see what it is all about.

My Life at the Moment

After my surgery the doctor told me that I had to be on crutches for 6 weeks with 3 weeks of non weight bearing. It didn't sound so bad when he told me because I have always seen people on crutches and they made it look so easy. I am an athlete and 6 weeks on crutches seemed like nothing. I wish i could take those thoughts back.

I realized how miserable it was going to be as I was being discharged from the hospital and I broke out in a full sweat going from my room to the lobby. I thought that I could still carry out my daily activities but after that I realized the next 6 weeks would be a little bit more difficult.

For those that haven't been to Europe, beds over here are very low to the ground and since I couldn't put my left foot on the ground it was very hard to get up. Our guest bedroom had 2 twin beds that were higher up off the ground so we moved out of our bedroom and into our guest bedroom. I spent the first 2 weeks after the surgery in the guest bedroom with ice on my foot and my it elevated. Thankfully I had my nook, my computer and my wonderful wife to help me pass the time. I think I read 5 books and watched all of Friday Night Lights in that time.

The first week felt like 1 month. I thought I would enjoy being catered too but I found out that I don't like it that much. After 2 weeks I became more comfortable with the crutches and we moved back into the bedroom.

I am now 3.5 weeks post op and feeling really good. I am currently walking with the assistance of my crutches. It is still really difficult to get around with them but thankfully I still don't have any real pain. I am also limiting how much I am out and about. The doctor told me to be very careful and to respect the pain and my ankle. Only 3 more weeks and I can throw the stupid crutches away.

Ankle Update

Alright guys. It has been awhile since I have updated but I actually have very good and valid reasons. I have been extremely upset with the internet lately and I had to take a break. I couldn't stand reading my friends political opinions on Facebook or reading what they were doing for dinner. It was too much for me to handle so I had to take a step back. I have actually written quite a few blog posts in the time but just didn't publish them because of my disdain for the internet. I will try and get them up soon though.

I do have note worthy news though on my health. I actually had surgery on my ankle on April 28th. Way back in February I went to see a doctor in Paris. After examining my ankle as well as my x rays, we decided to try a cortisone shot to see if that would cure the problems with my ankle. The cortisone shot was unsuccessful so I went back to Paris in the middle of April to see what the next step was.

The doctor proposed a simple ankle arthroscopy to clean the joint out and remove a bone spur that had formed on my tibia. I was not too excited at the idea of having surgery but it would make my ankle better again so I had to do it. I went in for surgery a week later and I am currently resting.

The operation went great and the doctor accomplished what he wanted to get done. I have not really had any pain at all. Things went great and I am excited to start physical therapy and get back out on the court. The good thing is that I will be ready for the start of training camp next season so I am happy about that.

I actually have some stories about my hospital stay but those will have to wait for future blog posts.

St. Michel

Sports teams in Europe survive by sponsorships and partnerships. Every team I have been on has had main sponsors and smaller sponsors. The main sponsors are the ones that get on the jerseys and the smaller sponsors have signs around the gym.

Here in Blois we have many sponsors and they are very important to the success of the team as they provide the money to pay us. After every home game we go to a tent to have a drink with the VIP's and every few weeks there will be a dinner held afterwards. I actually like going to these events because our fans and sponsors are great. Blois is a small town so we see a lot of these people around town and it is an opportunity to interact with them. It is also a great chance for me to work on my French.

The other day we had an event held at St. Michel bakery. I had never heard of this company before so I was intrigued about it. I had no idea what to expect but I knew it was important because all of our main sponsors were going to be there. I thought it would be like the other events with some drinks and a buffet of food.

I was expecting a little bakery but we pulled up to a huge factory. This was an event unlike one I have ever gone too and it was actually very cool. When we entered we were given a lab coat, face mask, hair net and booties for our shoes because we were going to go on a tour of the factory.

I won't bore you with all of the details of the company but St. Michel is a family owned company founded in 1905. It has 5 factories throughout France and we toured the factory and distribution center in Contres, France. The factory was very impressive. People were there for quality control but robots and machines were used to make all of the biscuits. In this particular factory they produce 6,000,000 Madeleine biscuits a day.

When we left the factory we received an assorted gift bag of their Madeleine biscuits. I had never had these before but they are delicious. I was planning on waiting to open them until Liz got back from the South of France but I couldn't wait. I don't even know if they are going to last for her. My favorites are the ones coated with sugar.

Overall it was a very positive experience as most of these functions are. I had the opportunity to learn about French businesses, interact with some sponsors and got a bunch of free desserts. Now I have to figure out if we have these back at home or if I can have them exported to the United States.