Mexican National Team Tryout:
The first 24hrs of this journey has been unpredictable to say the least. My contact Rick Perez has been right on and pulled through every time regardless of timing. He also let me know that, that's how Mexico works. I could care less through because I am hoping to seize this opportunity in front of me. Rick was able to get me a tryout with the men's mexican national team. Right now it is comprised of potential candidates to play in the PAN America Games October 13-20th.I'm on my way to Monterrey, Mexico right now and from there I will be picked up by a federation official (at least that's what I was told). From there I will check in to my hotel and The next 3 days I will practice with the team before heading to Uruguay and Brazil for some games. I will have to obtain a visa in both countries before I can go which is why I had to fly out on such short notice. I'm a little nervous what will happen because I feel in the dark about everything. To some extent that is how it always is when going to a different team, coach, environment, etc... But this time it just seems there is a little more uncertainty. Who knows though, maybe that's a better thing. After all every experience is what you make of it. I guess I'll have to challenge Michael J Fox for the most optimistic person in the world award...
Once I arrived in Monterrey I was supposed to be picked up by an official of the federation but that ended up not working out. So i called my agent and he told me to get a cab and go to the team's hotel. Unfortunately I can't speak a lick of Spanish so the cab driver could not understand what I was saying. I was able to point out a courtyard Marriott by the airport and he drove me there. I was hoping the person at the front desk would be able to translate the name of the hotel I was trying to get to but it turned out neither of them knew what I was talking about. After many emails, skype phone calls, g-chat and turning the roaming on for a second to get a hold of Rick. I ended up staying here for the night.
The morning has been almost as crazy as the last 48hrs. Only now I have somewhat of an itinerary. Rick got me in contact with the President of the LNBP and organizer of the Mens Natl Team. He also put me in touch with the coach who helped a lot because he spoke English. The organizer of the team emailed me the flight info for the next week and it looked something like this:
Aug. 6
Monterrey, Mexico to Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico City to Buenos Aires, Argentina
Aug. 7
Buenos Aires to Montevideo, Uruguay
Aug. 10
Montevideo to San Paulo Guarulh, Brazil
Aug. 14
San Paulo Guarulh to Mexico City, Mexico
If all goes well I am hoping to get invited back for the PAN America Games. When I finish with this tryout I have to report for pre-season workouts with the Nuevo Laredo Toros.
I met up with the team in Mexico City. A public relations guy named Roberto, who used to cover street ball and his favorite NBA player was Jason Williams, met me outside baggage claim to take me to where a few of the other players were waiting for everyone to arrive. We had an 9 hour overnight flight to Buenos Aires. I slept most the time except to adjust my body because I had the middle seat and also for dinner and breakfast. Once we got our bags we hopped in a van and drove an hour in heavy traffic to another airport. We had a 4 hour layover there and chilled in the food court the whole time. There are 2 other Americans with Mexican passports who I've be-friended and the coach is American too. He coaches the team in Monterrey.
The 1 hr flight to Montevideo was quick and smooth even though I had another middle seat but this time it was an exit row. We grabbed our luggage and hopped on a bus to Trinidad, Uruguay a city 2 hours away. When we got to the hotel and stepped out of the bus i remembered we were in the southern hemisphere and it was winter here. Our hotel is a small quaint adobe style place. We checked in an headed straight to dinner. We had salad, bread, rice, sausage, steak, coke and ice cream for desert. The meat was cooked over a brick grill. The dinner area had a deer and wild boar head mounted on the wall next to a large open fireplace that filled the room with a small blanket of smoke and a burning scent. It actually wasn't that bad and added to whole vibe of the atmosphere. Each room had 2-3 beds. Probably as firm a bed as I have ever slept on. I tried to shower after breakfast this morning but no hot water. I guess they ran out over night lol.
Shoot around went quick and easy. Because this team was just thrown together we had to stretch, get some shots up, put in some plays and end with some more jumpers. My legs were a little stiff from our long travels but everything felt ok. Well the jumper started falling after we got rid of the women's balls they initially gave us to practice with lol. When we got back to our hotel Uruguay's national team arrived. A member of their team was american and shared a story about the last time Mexico and Uruguay played and they fought..... I'm already nervous and don't really know what to expect, add that to the picture and now I'm all over the place.
For lunch we had salad, bread, chicken, potatoes and orange juice. Because we don't have any hot water in our rooms I tried to shower in coaches room where there is supposed go be a direct line to the heater but for some odd reason it was still cold. I wouldn't even say it was lukewarm. It's all good though I took a fast shower and went back to the room to Skype Lele and email some photos.
Game 1 v. Uruguay:
Our first game we lost 79-59. We didn't shoot the ball that well and because we haven't had much time to prepare or play with each other we were very unorganized. I was Passive at first but got more aggressive in the second half. Coach said I needed to be more aggressive earlier. Not a lot of plays are ran it is quite similar to playing pick up with a few basic principles. Uruguay has been practicing and playing together for a while and it showed. Their offense was ran really well, their defense was decent (token pressure/ intensity) but that being said I've faced tougher competition then last night. I need to play a lot better than I did to get asked to come back. I need to find a way to be better and be more productive so I can't give them a choice other than to invite me back...
Our second game was in Salto, Uruguay. The reason we're playing in 2 different cities is because the Uruguay National Team wanted to reach out to it's country men/ fans.
We spent most our time traveling today and hanging out in the hotel before the game....
Game 2 v. Uruguay:
Didn't go quite as I pictured it. We lost - I didn't play that well still trying to figure out how to play this style. Not a lot of organization and it's tough for me right now to figure things out. I didn't shoot the ball very well. I need to take some pride and at least win my match up. Then the other things will fall into place. When it comes down to it, it's about who wants it more. I need to find the desire to just whoop some ass and I'm struggling with that...F&$*!!!!
After our game we got back from the gym around midnight. That was actually earlier than expected because we had a police escort to and from the gym. All we had time for was dinner (ate cow tongue for the first time) and a quick shower because we had to get back on the road to catch our flight to Brasil...
We left at 2am this morning Because we had to take care of some visa stuff that could have easily been taken care of before the trip or the day we got here. In fact it was mentioned to us but we didn't do anything. This trip has proven rumors true about Mexico's reputation lol. When we got to the Brazllian Consulate we had to request a tourist visa. This also mean't we had to pay a fee. Initially we were going to have to pay so i went to an ATM and pulled out money only to find out Uruguay took care of it.Obviously this process takes a while so we missed our original flight at 12:20pm and were going to be staying another night in Uruguay. It's crazy how last minute everything has been done. This is an absolute first for me....
It's crazy having 2 passports. Regardless of what has transpired today, I have a passport stamped in Argentina, Uruguay and now Brazil. Sometimes I get caught up in the desire to excel at my sport and loose sight of the experience I am having. I was pointing out all the negatives and not focusing on the positives. I'm writing it now, I am here to enjoy my journey!
I had a great viber app conversation with my nephew baboon and he is my inspiration right now. He help put things back into perspective for me and all the down time we had in our hotel for me to think about things....
Got up at 6:30am this morning to catch a flight at 10am. Grabbed a quick bite to eat at the continental breakfast and squeezed into the shuttle bus. I'm excited to go to Brazil but wish we were going to Rio rather than Sao Paulo. Although I've heard good things about both... The hotel we're staying at in Brazil is probably one star better than all 3 hotels we stayed at in Uruguay.
Game 1 v. Brazil:
Pre-game thoughts: as we approach game-time I think back did I pack everything, ask my dad to help me play better, wonder how Lele is doing, walking to the bus wondering if putting my jersey on the balcony to dry was a good idea because it looks like it might rain, thinking if I don't play well is this it for me, how much longer can I go and will my body hold up, is it worth being away Lele and the family, am I losing that edge, I haven't shown my true ability the last 2 games, shouldn't it bother me, forget about everything and just hoop, enjoy the journey....
Had about 15-18 minutes tonight but played the best of 3 games thus far. Had 11 pts and 2assts. Being out of shape and all the traveling I think finally caught up lol. I got pretty tired pretty fast tonight. One thing that got me going tonight was I got to match up with one of the top guards in the Euroleague (Marcelinho Huertas) he plays for Barcelona now. Before the game I talked to Splitter too. It's funny everyone just assumes I speak Spanish lol. I guess I better pick that up quick. I have yet to mention anything about fans but the fans in both Uruguay and Brazil have been great. They obviously root a little better for their own nation but in Uruguay they called me Chicharito (Best Mexican Futbol Player) and here in Sao Paulo all the young kids wanted photos and were calling me by my name. It was fun to feel the love...
Aug. 12:
Breakfast
Practice
Lunch
Walked around
Dinner
Skype
Laundry
Aug. 13
Game 2 v. Brasil
Isn't even worth talking about. We got spanked by 50.
After the game we walked around downtown checked out the mall. I noticed a yogurt spot called tutti Frutti reminded me of Lele and how much she loves Spoon Me a yogurt spot back home. After we went to the mall we stopped at a local spot to try a beer (Bramham & Skol) and people watched. I gotta be honest Sao Paulo wasn't that touristy. Maybe it was the location of our hotel and being more inland but I didn't find many attractions.
Aug. 14
Overall this trip was a good experience to prep me for Mexico. A ton of traveling, in some way or another i've been on on a bus or plane everyday since august 5th. Crazy huh? That can definitely have its effects on the body and i am feeling that first hand. There were a lot of ups and downs but in the end I got what I needed out of it and that is another memory. When I get back to Mexico City we're staying at a hotel for the night and heading to Nuevo Laredo at 6:10am probably just in time for the first of 2 practices lol... Time to grind and get back into shape. Our first game is against Monterey and the coach of the Natl team for this trip was Reggie Jordan, ex-NBAer. That's September 2nd I believe. Well I am hoping to have a lot to write about this year because I'm in a new place, new language, new culture, new team, etc... I hope all is well back home. I love and miss you. Until next time................ Love
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