Every year I make a special post for those who wish to play professional basketball overseas. This year I’m gonna do more predictions of what to expect and what to stay away from during your quest to play basketball abroad.

2009 Basketball Overseas Predictions

1. More teams folding in Europe due to the economy
2. Rise of basketball agent scams via internet and email
3. More players lowering salaries abroad
4. More teams and clubs scouting for out of college players for cheaper prices
5. More teams looking for European Players

Things to remember!!

• If you’re a senior focus on your teams results so that you’ll be noticed as a team player
• Never send money to an agent. At that point, it is a scam
• Never give out your passport information unless you’re in a contract with a legit agent
• Be cautious of offers that are super great (especially if you’re right out of college).
• Always go with your gut feeling, because it never fails to tell you whats right or wrong!

Good luck!

Another edition of Q & A!

I really want to play overseas, but I don’t know where to start? Is it a good idea to contact people on the internet?

You can start by contacting players who have played overseas and use their contacts to find agents and teams. Close recommendations are always 99% safer than with people from the internet. I’ve seen many basketball scams to rise the past couple of years. Some players have lost money by sending to scam artist who promise a basketball dream. Remember never pay for an agent. With most contracts the team pays the agent if they are legit.

well if i had an agent i would like to know if he or she can get me a scholarship and well i want a agent that can help me really

A agent can help you get overseas. I’m not sure of the NCAA rules if agents can help you get a scholarship. I recommend you reading or getting free reports of the Recruit Me website

What is the best way for me to get into playing overseas if I didn’t play basketball in high school or college, but have the skill and knowledge for the game?

The best way is to participate if you could in combines because with demonstration of your game you’re nobody. You have to travel and play in leagues so teams and agents can see you.

Does China allow americans to play for their team? if so, how do i make contact? i am moving to china from the united states, and i just graduated from fresno state, where i played division one basketball. Thanks!

Yes, China does allow American players. There are specific agents who work with top basketball players who want to play in China. Most teams in China are looking for names and big players so its not an easy task!

Hi,   I want to know about local tryouts in Texas  for either professional teams or semi-professional teams.  I have college experience, but due to injuries never completed my basketball career. I am healthy and working out to get back in shape.  Please let me know.  Thanks, Art

Yes, this is a team the Dallas Diesel which has helped many players get overseas with their contacts and leagues. They are serious in helping players and get your name out there. I can’t say enough more good things about them!

English, Scotish, Irish basketball league and Slovenian one. Can u compare them??

The English, Scotish and Irish basketball leagues are considerably the same and because the countries are mainly focused on European Football (Soccer) you can see it in the quality of basketball leagues. They aren’t the best leagues in Europe. In Slovenia, the league is well known in Europe and have 4 different divisions, which says a lot about the quality.

i’m still playing college basketball and i wanted to knew if it’s aginst ncaa rules to go to a an overseas basketball clinic

I don’t have a 100% answer but if you are working out its like any camp/clinic to improve your skills, I guess its ok. However, if teams and agents approach you to play in the league that would go against NCAA rules.

I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!! If you’re away from home, try to celebrate as much as you can with close friends! Enjoy!!

The last basketball workout post was really popular and many people seemed to have liked it. I know in the past I received emails from basketball players who wanted not only basketball workouts, but weight lifting and strengthening programs for basketball players. Travis Sawyer from StrongBaller has informed me of his free basketball workout.

Download the Free 4 week basketball program

I was able to download it and check out the workouts and they are good. It is a pdf with descriptions of basketball strength exercises with photos and he has Youtube channel with videos of workouts as well..

I recommend anyone interested in strengthening exercises for basketball players to visit the Strong Baller website. Name does offer a more detailed workout when you purchase the full workouts, but it is not required! However, I’m sure you’ll like the paid version as well!

Make comments if you’ve checked out the workouts!

You know something interesting? I have been flying since 1993 when I took my first flight to New Mexico. It was great but of course very nervous. Everything about flying was different including the chance to earn a free flight by being a frequent flier. When I went to college I really became a frequent flier with my college basketball team and I used my US Air mileage account which was fairly new. There were no rules at the time that governed the NCAA and earning free miles for flights. Now there is a penalty if collegiate players do use miles for personal flights. Earning mileage points and frequent flyer bonuses is easy only if you remember. Not only can you earn miles on flights that you’ve taken but as of today 2008, if you have a bank account or visa credit card that allows flyer bonuses on every dollar spent it could had up to great free flights worldwide. Not only that, car rental, hotel night stays, purchases at particular online shops.

Also, if you have a business or company it is best to get a credit card like American Express or Visa to accumulate miles on your large purchases. I have some friends that sell on Ebay.com and purchase equipment up to $15,000 and over. You can imagine the amount of points that they gain using this method. There is nothing illegal about it, just smart ways to earn free flights or award gifts. The best thing about earning gifts is that you can donate the miles if you feel fit or transfer miles to family and friends. However, the worst thing that you could do is go without using the miles and any miles unused, normally cannot be carried over. Some frequent flyer programs only allow miles for a year and some many more years.

Here are my top 5 frequent flier programs

1. Delta Airlines (SkyMiles)
2. Miles and More – Star Alliance Partners
3. Flying Blue
4. Discover Miles
5. One World (British Airways and partners)

To conclude, keep track of your airline miles and if you have some expiring without usage don’t think about only flights there are other awards like rental car (to escape the weekend) , gifts and donating to charities and of course family or friends.

Recently I created a basketball workout and yesterday I received a comment by Dee Sharma which included a workout that I will present below. If you want to contact Dee Sharma please leave a comment or send her an email.

try doing this workout:

Basketball Workout

0:00 – 0:05 stretching, 40 push-ups, lunges full-court back, jog
full-court back with and without ball

0:05 – 0:20 elephant , elephant dribble, behind the back, jump stop
behind the back, spin move, crossover, threw legs, spin move 2 dribbles back
then go, in and out, in and out cross, in and out behind the back, threw legs
cross, double threw legs, and in and out threw legs, do each 2-3 times up and back

0:20 – 0:25 water break

0:25 – 0:35 Steve Nash warm up jumpers, banks, floaters, lay-ups, step
backs, turnarounds, hook shots, and 3ptrs

0:35 – 0:40 slide dribble

0:40 – 0:55 ball slaps, Finger tip touches, Ball wraps, Corkscrew,
wraps around each leg(both ways), figure 8 wraps(both ways), one hand dribbles
around each leg(both hands),figure eight dribbles around both legs(both ways),
Ball drops(one hand front one hand back), Ball drops(both hands front and back)

0:55 – 1:00 water break

1:00 – 1:10 catch and shoot(spin ball out), shot fake one dribble
pull-ups left and right, and shot fake two dribble pull-ups left and right (5 times)

1:10 – 1:15 jump rope 3/30

1:15 – 1:20 dribble right hand crossover half court and left hand back (twice)

The elphant drill or crab walk is when you are going threw your legs but not dribbling going in a straight line up and down the court.

If u have any questions or need another workout contact Dee Sharma at teamplayaz06@yahoo.com

When you cross the ocean and play in different parts of the world you are normally introduced to different cultures, sports and other activities. If you are a person who likes to see new things living and playing basketball overseas is your cup of tea. Playing in Europe has allowed me to see many different sports and how they are played different in each country. Many sport competitions in the world that I didn’t pay attention to when I played college basketball are interesting to me now because I’ve been introduced it them.

For example, the ICC World Twenty20 is an international cricket tournament where 12 top teams in the world compete for the title. In countries like India, England, Australia, New Zealand cricket is huge and it can be compared to the fans and followers of American NFL football. But on a bigger level and internationally seen and known. Even trying to get ICC World Twenty20 Tickets is difficult and should be booked a year or several months in advance.

Speaking about NFL football another international sport which is big across the water is Rugby which is quite similiar to American football but I consider it a lot more brutal. These guys don’t wear much of equipment like American Football. Many have missing teeth..A big rugby competition in Europe called the Six Nations Championship consist of six teams that fight (literally writing) in a five week rugby championship. Again buying RBS Six Nation Tickets is just as hard as getting an NBA Finals Ticket!

One thing that I like playing basketball overseas is seeing new things and taking lots of pictures. Yes the memory is great but traveling and seeing sports that are uncommon from your homeland is interesting and educational. Some of my favorite sports that I’ve seen and purchased Tickets for in Europe are the following:

• Finnish Womens Baseball (Very different than any baseball I’ve seen)
• Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer (Battle of the Surfaces)
• Padal (similar to squash in Spain)
• Rugby
• Ski Jumping
• Formula 1 Car Racing
• European Soccer/Football
• Surfing Tournaments

I suggest that you take the time to see other sports and find something new. As we saw at the Olympics the NBA players support other Summer Olympic Sports with an appreciation of the work of athletes such as Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt take their relative sport. It is not easy being great but everyone has the chance!