Before I headed to play basketball overseas in 1999, I had some college teammates and friends from outside the US playing at the same school. They were always faced with the same issue as most foreigners that come to live, work or study in the states for a temporary amount of time: Green Card & Visas. Well, it is an issue that each individual depending on their country’s relation to the USA;  if they were entitled or rewarded enough time to complete their time in the university.

Even after of some talk with players who actually expressed their excitement to possibly live permanently in the states, they also found it very difficult. This was in college, so you can imagine in the professional atmosphere such as the NBA or WNBA for that matter. There are so many foreign players in the NBA and WNBA that it cannot be unnoticed.  An American Visa is not easy to  obtain and those who do have one, either:  have good country ties with the USA; very good luck in the lottery; or use a very good immigration service system..

Foreigners basketball players from all over the world such as Australia, Europe, Asia, South America all have the same problems. Professional basketball players may at times have it easy if they are well paid, known and have a company to represent their circumstances to the USA government in hope of approval. If that does not work, most people do marry to bypass the waits of proper long process.

My friend Sean McCaw, a former professional basketball player and coach in Germany and now a professional basketball Scout for the Science City Jena Basketball Club in Germany wants to give away a BRAND NEW shiny pair of Hops sneakers. You’ve probably never heard of this brand yet, so here is a little background info.

Hops Sportswear Ltd is a family owned Business based in Melbourne Australia. 2 years in the making this original brand was dreamt up in New Zealand, developed in Australia, designed in Italy and built in China. Hops was launched in November 2007. They have their own patented ‘Medial Wing’ technology that provides optimum stability throughout the light weight HOPS product, without taking away from the strength and durability of Hops footwear. Hops is now available in all of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada in the USA.

“We are passionate about providing great product at the right price point. Whilst continuing to develop bigger and better lines of footwear tailored to the basketball marketplace. With ongoing original designs and functionality to our product we look forward with much anticipation the challenge ahead of  becoming an established maker of basketball specific footwear.”

View the Hops Collection below

I have not tried them yet, but they look so comfortable. I wish I could enter the contest! So do you want in?

March Madness Hops Sneaker Contest Rules

Contest Start: March 26th, 2009

Contest End: April 8th, 2009

The winner will be drawn on April 8th, 2009.

How to Enter:

1. You earn one entry by simply making a comment to this post/contest. (write a comment of which HOP shoe you like the most)

The winner will be selected on April 8th 2009. The winner will be announced on Basketball Overseas and in the newsletter. So please subscribe to our newsletter to enter the contest and find out if you’ve won!

The winner has 3 days to confirm by contacting me. Please have ready your address and shoe size.  If the first winner does not confirm or contact me, another contestant will be chosen.

This is a worldwide contest and the shoes can be sent to anywhere in the world!

Good luck!!

“Hey sneaker heads. Just want to tell you a little bit about Hops. I love my Hops and I had a few pairs before I started working with the company. They are VERY stable and I especially like how they look. I am not the tech wiz, as a player, its just important for me that they fit well and they look good haha. Hops fills all those criteria for me. If you have any questions please feel free to visit our homepage on www.hopsportswear.de or find us on Facebook and Myspace and write me. Thanks for taking interest in Hops and I know the lucky winner will be satisfied! - Sean“

Whoever said that if you wanted something in life then you have to go and get it was not far wrong. Nothing comes easily and we all have to work for everything we get, especially in this day and age when it is absolutely impossible to fight your way through the competition without putting yourself at the forefront of everything! Every aspect of life is like this today, and education is no different. Those who want to get ahead have to fight for it. There are most definitely subtle ways of doing this though, especially when it comes to attracting scholarships and sponsorships for college.

Every individual has a talent, whether they know it or not. It may be your basketball talent, and arts talent, or a practical talent. Some people know of those talents and can use them in the degree of their choice when they get to college. However, it is usually a question of whether or not they can afford to go rather than if they want to. Funding is a problem because education is so expensive, and so the majority of people are seeking an answer to their prayer through scholarships or sponsorship from a large company. Logically thinking, though, if you apply for one of the above amongst thousands of other, what are the chances of your voice being heard? If you do not want to take the risk of it being silenced, you can make things happen on your own!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a little self-promotion. You do not have to be arrogant and conceited, nor outgoing and confident either for that matter. You just need a little ingenuity and careful thought to help get yourself noticed. Here are just a few of the things that you can do to get scoutings reaching out to you.

On trans-atlantic flights to anywhere in Europe you are allowed on average:

2 Bags Check-In (Max weight each: 50 pounds (23 kilos)
1 Handband (Purses, briefcases and backpacks count as one)

At first that might seem sufficient to you but once you begin packing — some things might change

When you’re going away for the first time it is important to take things which you will most likely NOT find in the country. Basic things like cosmetics, linen, toiletry items and food aren’t necessary to carry from home. You can buy it when you get there.

There are some special things that I always like to carry.. My favorite candy and good books. My list of favorite things have slowly diminished! But my point is to everyone its not important to take deodorant, tons of socks, food because it can all be bought.
One thing that i know Europe doesn’t have and that most Americans like is Macaroni and Cheese boxes! Yes, its a classic and it doesn’t weight a lot, so I do recommend if you’re a picky eater go ahead and buy some Mac and Cheese!

My List of Recommendations For Luggage

I usually like a rolling duffle bag type of luggage cases. Right now I’m using a High Sierra duffle bag that is converted into a backpack..It was expensive ($149) for a duffle bag but it is high quality. I’d rather spend money on a bag that I can use for several years than a cheap one. Airport baggage handlers could care less about how they toss your bags..

A.T. Gear Access 36″ Drop-Bottom Wheeled Duffel

The last thing I would like to see is another player suffer the same. More people should speak up. Which brings me to this post, over at Eurobasket someone has posted a few teams that don’t pay. Of course things could change a year later, but it is best to find out first if personnel has changed before you head off to the same team.

Here is the list:

KC Dombovar (Hungary) – my friend can’t get over 6000$ and there are many cases in the courts there.

Unia Tarnow (Poland) – no money at all

Polonia Warszawa (Poland) – this season is beter but in the past it was terrible

Stal Ostrow Wielkopolski (Poland) – they’re not paying last paychecks

Please add to the list, it will be anonymous!

Most Parents Rarely Know…
how to get their son or daughter an athletic basketball scholarship to help pay for college. In fact, very few high school coaches even know enough to help a great college-bound athlete get recruited – beyond pointing them out to a few college coaches they personally know. Athletes who should have been recruited graduate … unrecruited.

You Can Be An Exception.
Find out how basketball athletic recruiting really works. You can learn the secrets to getting recruited from Jon Fugler & Ron Johnston, co-Authors of The Recruit-Me Athletic Scholarship System. They’ll show you how to run your own campaign using their step-by-step recruiting system – for a fraction of the cost of a recruiting service or consultant. There are a lot of companies out there that promise you will get recruited by using their services, but as I always recommend you can do so much better by doing it yourself. Only you know how to “market” yourself!

We’ve partnered with Recruit-Me to bring this information to you.

There are many great stories of basketball players and their lives, their success, their motivation and greatness. A new website A Players Life, gives the inside depth of basketball players around the world and what makes them very special.

These basketball photos and basketball stories are very inspirational to read. Take a look at APlayersLife.com and you can even submit your own story!

(my original design )
Join the Red Campaign and purchase on behalf of the cause!

They had an offer for 10 free cards but now that promotion is over. The neat thing about the service unlike most business card printing services is that you can design each card individually. I will order a batch of 100 and post it later. In the meantime check out the Moo photo gallery.

1. Basketball in Spain – News about basketball in spain and leagues
2. Baller or Not – Basketball Photo Rating

Enjoy! I have to catch up on more news!

The Basketball Leagues in Europe are now beginning!