G'day everyone, and welcome to the first installment of Big D Down Under, a semi-daily series chronicling a young boys journey across the globe on the road to basketball superstardom... or something like that.
I've been in Australia for just over a week now, and I'm finally starting to get settled in. Up until now I've been a prisoner in my own home, chained here by my ignorance of how to drive on the left side of the road. The first time I tried it I found myself in the right lane, staring down both the headlights and the finger of a fellow motorist. I've gotten the hang of it now though, and as long as I keep chanting "left, left, left" to myself, I do alright.
I'm living in a small community about 15 minutes from the coast called Caboolture, about half way between the bustling 'metropolis' of Brisbane and Caloundra, the city that we play out of. It's not a bad place to live, sort of between everything. It is about 30 degrees every day though, which isn't bad for winter. I still haven't figured out the local dialect, but it seems to be an aggressive mixture of pig latin and cockney slang. I'm sure with a little more practice I'll be conversing with the locals in now time. Ironically enough, after flying for more than 12,000 km, I find myself living with not only a fellow Canadian, but someone who I'd played against back at Guelph. His name is Martin Ajayi, former McMaster Marauders point guard and problem on the court. He's down here as the other professional import for the Caloundra Coastal Suns.
With regards to basketball, things are going pretty well so far. I'm playing under former Guelph All-star Mike Ayanbadejo. Coming from the same alma mater, and playing under the same coach, we have a lot of the same ideas about basketball, making the transition much easier than it could have been. Just don't let anyone tell you that professional basketball is easy work.
Here are some links to local papers and websites for game info and results and all that. We played our first game last Saturday against Maroochydore. I'll leave the retelling of this epic battle to the professionals, but with out giving away too much, we scored more points.
That's all for now, but be sure to check in for the next installment of Big D Down Under.
http://caboolture-shire-herald.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/suns-will-rise-again/
http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2009/apr/28/suns-import-suffers-injury-minutes-debut/
http://www.sportingpulse.com/comp_info.cgi?a=ROUND&compID=85844&c=1-4144-0-0-0
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
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