First Time for Everything

I wanted to tell you all something that happened for the first time to me in my career. As I walked into the Sportica (our gym) after a film session I noticed that it was VERY VERY cold in the gym. I could almost see my breath (ok I am exaggerating.... a little), but it was extremely cold. So today for the first time in my career I had to wear a full out hooded sweatshirt under my jersey to stay warm hahahahaha! I thought it was pretty funny and something that I should share with you. I figured you might get a kick out of it. PS- I have a cold now!!

Below is a link of a couple highlights from our last game in Rouen. I hope everyone back home is staying warm and being careful in the weather your getting! God Bless (Joshua 1:9)

http://www.bcm.deltafm.fr/index.php?id=2245

12-6

Quick update on our game Saturday. We played in Rouen (which is about 2 1/2 hours away) on Saturday and we came away with a win. We were down the entire game until the 4th quarter where we started to make our comeback. We progressively came back by getting defensive stops. Our defense in the first 2 quarters wasn't that great, but we definitely picked it up in the last 2 quarters and that is what helped us come away with a win. Five guys were in double figures that night. JK Edwards had 19 points and 9 rebounds, Yannick Bokolo had 18 points and 7 rebounds, 15 points and 8 rebounds came from Cyril, I had 11 points (7-8 FT), 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, and Rob Lewin had 10 points (5-5 FG). As you can see it was a well balanced scoring effort on our part. We had to make free throws down the stretch but we sealed the game at the line and came away with a win 80-77. Rouen had a completely different team from when we played them at the beginning of the year and before playing us they had won 4 out of their last 5 games. So it was a good road win for us. Our next game is this Friday vs Le Harve. They have made some adjustments to their team and are doing better than what their record shows so it will be a tough game. Really looking forward to playing again on Friday.

A couple side notes besides basketball: the weather over isn't bad. Coming from Minnesota and Dakota regions it isn't bad at all over here. Depending on the time of day it ranges from 40-55 degrees (I'm not trying to rub it in either haha). I am very comfortable driving my car around which is now a stick. I will admit I stalled it a couple times right away but I haven't done that in awhile so I am definitely used to it now. Ummmm.... Thats about it, other than that things are going well over here and I am really enjoying the experience of living in a different country. Talk again soon... God Bless (Joshua 1:9).

French Cup Game

Good evening everyone! I wanted to let you know how our first French Cup game went. First I want to explain what the French Cup is. The French Cup is a big tournament in which all the teams in France compete in. Teams from ProA (the league that I play in), Pro B, and a couple other leagues in France all compete for the French Cup Championship. If you lose at any point in the tournament you are out. The French Cup has nothing do to with our ProA league standings. Sorry if it is a little confusing but that is the simplest way to explain it.

We played Paris last night and we won 94-82. We were up the entire game and we played really well as a team. We had four guys in double figures. JK Edwards and Demetris Nichols lead the way with 21 points a piece. I had 17 points and 12 assists and Cyril Akpo had 15 points to round out the four guys in double digits. We played really well on offensive but it was nice to see that our defense was back to what it was like before Christmas Break. We played two great quarters of defense that pushed the lead above 20 points. They hit a couple shots down the stretch to bring the lead back to 12, but overall we played well. Hopefully we can continue play like we did this weekend. We play Rouen in our next French League game (not French Cup haha) on Saturday. They have won 4 out of the last 5 games and are playing well. It will be a great game.

Well I wanted to give you a quick update on our game last night. Below is the highlights from our last home game vs Le Mans. We lost the game, but I wanted to give you a couple highlights to check out. Enjoy your night!!! God Bless (Joshua 1:9)

http://www.bcm.deltafm.fr/index.php?id=2244

Tough Loss

Good Afternoon!! I hope it is as nice back home as it is here now (kidding kidding), it is sunny and 55 degree's right now haha. I talked with my old high school coach Matt Addington today and I heard how cold the weather still is back home (BURRRRR)!! Congrats to Coach Addington as well, his team is tied for 1st place in their league (2 years ago that team was at the bottom their league). That guy can straight up coach, any college's looking for a new staff member, I suggest you look his way!!!! Not much else going on over here in France. Since it is so nice out teammate JK Edwards is grilling and I am about to head over there and be out in the sun and eat a nice grilled meal. Thanks again JK!!

We had a rough loss on Saturday. We played the number one team in our league and lost 87-71. We were down the whole game, but we ended up coming back in the 3rd quarter and found ourselves only down a couple points. However in the 4th quarter we had a number of turnovers that cost us and eventually lead to us losing. We are currently 11-6 right now and tied for 3rd place in the league. JK Edwards lead that way with 20 points (9-20 FG, 12 rebounds). I had 5 points (2-7 FG, 6 assists). We only had 12 assists as a team. We definitely didn't move the ball well at all. Our next game is tomorrow we play in the French Cup vs. Paris. The French Cup is a big tournament that includes all of the teams in France. If you lose at any time then you are out of the tournament. We also play on Saturday for our league game against Rouen. We played them once already this year and we got a win, however they have a completely different team right now and they have won 4 out of their last 5 games. It will be a tough game for sure.

Its about that time for me to head over and get some food at the Edwards residence. I hope you have a wonderful and blessed day. Take Care and as always God Bless (Joshua 1:9)- gotta love the man UP ABOVE!

1-1 After Road Trip

Hey there! After the 5 day road trip that we had last week we ended it with a record of 1-1. We lost our first road trip game at Vichy. We didn't play very well and we got beat by 21 points. I try not to remember that game too much. After that game our record stood at 10-5 and still in 3rd place. Last night we played Chalon and we got a much needed win. We won 82-75. We fell behind by 8 points at half, but the second half we battled back and it was a close ball game the entire 4th quarter. We needed some free throws at the end of the game to secure the road win. It was a win that we really needed since we had been on a bit of a losing streak. I ended with 23 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals in 40 minutes of play. JK Edwards had a solid double double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Demetris Nichols and Cyril Akpomedah each were in double figures with 13 and 15 points. Rob Lewin one of our big men returned to action last night from an injury. It was definitely a nice spark for us having him back in action. Again we had a number of guys in double figures which is always nice to see. Our next game is this Saturday vs the first place team in our league Le Mans. I am looking forward to a good game and hopefully a good turn out with our amazing fans!

Below is a link that you can see some highlights from our Strasburg game which was played a while ago. I wanted to grab some type of highlights even though it is from awhile ago so you can see something other than pictures. Enjoy the French and enjoy the highlights. I hope you all have a wonderful day and I ask that each person that reads this says a simple pray for the people in Haiti as we all know how tragic that situation is. Take Care and God Bless (Joshua 1:9)

http://www.bcm.deltafm.fr/index.php?saison=&cat=4&id=2237

Pictures from Nancy game

Hey there! I am sitting in a hotel room bored right now so I thought I would put up some pictures from our last home game vs Nancy. We have a make up game tomorrow night in Vichy, which will be an exciting game. I am looking forward to getting back on the court after a loss to Nancy. Well here are a couple pictures that you can take a look at. Waiting for some highlights so I can post them as well. As always take care and God Bless! (Joshua 1:9)

Quick Update

Hey!! I wanted to write you a quick update on how things are going over here before I head to practice. We had a French League game on Saturday vs Nancy. We ended up losing 90-74. It was a tie ball game at half 43-43, but the second half they continued to play well and we didn't play our best. We have a number of guys with injuries that doesn't help. Yannick Bokolo our starting 2 guard hurt his hamstring again in the first half of the game and also our other big man Rob Lewin is out with a groin injury still. It definitely is hurting us that those guys are out with injuries. I ended up having 15 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds on 4/13 shooting. I definitely started to get tired in the 2nd half and I could tell that it was taking a toll on the body. I ended up playing 40 minutes that game. Cyril had 17 points and 7 rebounds and JK Edwards had 13 points and 8 rebounds. We play a make up game on Wednesday vs. Vichy that was cancelled due to the H1N1 virus that a couple of the players from Vichy had. Hopefully we can get back on track and come out with a road win. After that game we head to Rouen for another away game, so we will be on a 5+ day road trip. I will definitely let you know how the games go when I get a chance. Below is a picture of my face after the game. Can't remember if they called a foul or not, but lets hope so.

Other than basketball I got a new car. My teammate Demetris Nichols needed an bigger automatic car for his family so they asked me if I could give him my car. I gave him the automatic car that I had and in return they gave me a different car. However, this car is a stick shift. I really enjoy driving it around and it allows me to practice up on my manuel driving skills. I will admit I have killed it a couple times haha but I have had it for 5 days now and I definitely have the hang of it now. Its a bigger car than what I had before and it has more horsepower than my previous car. I do enjoy driving it. Well I wanted to let you know what else was going on over here just besides basketball updates. Everything is going pretty well, lets just hope that we can get back on track and get a winning streak going again. Hope you have a wonderful and blessed day. God Bless you all!! (Joshua 1:9)