After this past summer/offseason, I don’t know if there is any bigger believer in the saying that “everything happens for a reason” than myself. I typically believe that everything, in fact does happen for a reason, but there is no doubt in my mind that the Lord works in mysterious ways. Dating back to my sophomore year in high school, it always seemed as if something bad would happen to me that was basketball related, but then a bigger reward would follow. I have gone from a star player to a role player and to a bench warmer in the most critical times of my career. I have experienced enough in my life to not only understand that God has a plan for everyone and everything, but also to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” as stated in the the book of Proverbs 3 verse 5. With an NBA lockout in affect, it has been a hectic process searching for a job ever since leaving China.

I always invisioned myself playing professionally after college, and I had a few options, but nothing that would earn me respect on the international level. As seasons began in the top Euro leagues, I was set to go to Taiwan and sign with the Taiwan Mobile Leopards, after being turned down from a job in the Israeli second division, which was eventually taken by Curtis Kelly of Kansas State, but as we all know, God has a plan for everything. Within a week of being denied the job in the Israeli second division, a job opportunity opened up in the Israeli Premier League. With the help of my agent, Larry Fox and my Israeli agent, Daniel Ravitz, I was offered a deal with Bnei Hasharon, after Trevor Booker of the Washington Wizards was injured. Although my contract on guarantees only two months with options up to the follwing season, this is still an opportunity I would have never expected in my rookie season, especially in a league full of NBA calibur players.

I don’t really consider this whole process a reward for what I’ve done, something I deserve or even my personal story. It’s not about basketball, myself or success. What happens in ones life isn’t nearly as relevant as how they deal with or approach it, whether it is success or failure.

 

 

 

 

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October 6, 2011

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