It’s been over a year since my last post and I have to apologize for the lack of urgency. I have been busy and completely lost track of my goals for this blog. I am now refocused and revamped my blog site to gear up for timely posts. This is actually a coincidence because I was just asked to blog for eurobasket.com. Below is my first post so if you want another intro to this blog check it out below;
The world of European professional basketball is not at all what is seems. From the outside it is only the glamour of seeing the world, making tax free money and playing the sport that we all love for a living. While every bit of that is true, the constant grind and sheer turmoil that takes place over here can be hard to deal with. Throw in a wife and two kids and you’ve made a very volatile situation. I have a daily fight to become better as a player and a person and I hope with this blog you can follow my journey.
A little about myself, I am Josh Wilson a Northern Arizona University graduate, where I am the school’s all-time assist leader. My dreams to play European basketball almost ended with an injury plagued senior season that was cut short by a broken foot. I rehabbed hard for three months to prepare for NBA workouts that my agent had lined up for me and I hoped would get my goals back on track. Fate had other plans though as weeks before my workouts I stepped on a foot and broke the same bone for the second time. Needless to say I was a little stressed about my chances to make it across the pond. I had surgery in July and wasn’t cleared until mid-August. I toyed with playing in Qatar and few other places but failed to have any solid interest. Then in early September I got a call from Erdgas Ehingen Ursingshule in Germany. I was only a few weeks out of a cast but they were willing to take a chance on me and I couldn’t have been more grateful. In my second game, with plastic cast like ankle braces, I managed to score 29 points after not playing a game for 7 months. I finished the year averaging 14.5 ppg and a third best in league 6 assists.
The next summer I had some big changes in my life. I married my beautiful wife in July and became a father to her amazing 2 year old daughter. Lucky for us we found a team in mid-July which made for a much needed stress free summer (basketball-wise). I suited up in the fall for my current team Kaposvari Kosarlobda Klub here in Hungary. We fought some tough battles as a team both in games and internally as a team. I personally put together one of the best season of my life. I finally had the green light that every hooper is looking for and put together 19.5 PPG to go along with 4 assists and 4 rebounds. In early October a posted a career high 43 points and a much needed win for our team. We fought hard to post what seems like an insignificant 10-16 record. Not making the playoffs was a first for me in my career and left a very sour taste in my mouth. Luckily the year was sweetened by the birth of my son on February 21, 2011 in Budapest, Hungary.
This summer was jam packed as I finish my Masters in Business Administration and opened the doors to my basketball academy Roots Basketball, LLC. I did my best to juggle providing for my family and preparing myself for the upcoming season. As almost all professional basketball players know the market this summer was ROUGH. The NBA lockout and current conditions of the financial markets around the world really did damage. With offers from Israel, Poland, Austria, Hungary and Macedonia I was one of the lucky ones. After a long drawn out process I decided to return to my club here in Hungary. No one matched their offer and we figured we’d enjoy the benefits of knowing the situation. So far this seems to be the right decision. After a rough start we managed to get on track and win 5 of our last 6 games. I am currently averaging 17 PPG to go a long with 6.2 assists (2nd in league). Hopefully my team can keep up and improve on our current pace. We have all the tools to be a great team and with hard work I know we’ll make some noise here in Hungary.
I have been fortunate enough in my time in Europe to see places like Venice, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Berlin and Bratislava. I have had the unique experience of having my son born in a foreign country. I am also deeply rooted in a battle to keep playing the sport I love for a living while maintaining what’s best for my family. Hopefully these unique experiences and the daily happiness/struggles of my life as a professional basketball will make for some quality reading for the good folks here at Eurobasket. All of us hoopers have fought hard to get to where we are and have our hoop dreams come true. I am proud to be able to share these experiences and thank Eurobasket for this opportunity. If you want to know more about me check out my website www.joshwilsonbasketball.com or follow me on twitter @jdubball21. Much more to come.
Josh Wilson Basketball 