Sunday, February 28, 2010

Tough Loss in Lyon

Good Morning everyone!! I got back this morning around 8:30am from our away game in Lyon, took a little nap and now I am just relaxing thinking about all you back home. We had a tough loss last night vs Asvel. We played this team last week in the first round of the Week of Aces and lost. It was a very frustrating game for us. The game was back in forth for the first half, and we were up by 2 points going into half. The third quarter was a different story. I couldn't tell you how many points they got from the free throw line in this quarter. I know for a fact they were in the bonus with over 6 min to go in the quarter. It was a very one sided second half thats for sure. We couldn't get a call from the ref's and it seemed like they were always at the free throw line. You gotta give credit to Asvel they did hit some tough shots in the 2nd half and we didn't necessarily make all our shots, but we couldn't buy a call from the ref's. I really don't like talking about a game and complaining about the ref's, because the game of basketball shouldn't be about the ref's but WOW was it a frustrating game in those terms. Enough about them though, we had 3 guys in double figures last night. I had 16 points, Yannick had 15 points, and JK had 12 points. Our record stands at 13-7 tied with 2 other teams in the league. This last half of the season should be interesting to see how things play out. We gotta go back to practice and improve on our mistakes from our last game and correct them so we can play better coming up on Saturday.

Our next game is at home on Saturday vs Hyeres-Toulon. They have the leading scoring in the league and their record is 10-10. It will be a tough game for us and it should be a great game. I encourage all our fans to come out and support us. Lets pack the Sportica and get the place rockin!!

Not much else going on here in France. Today it is super windy and raining constantly. I am going to watch a few movies this afternoon and relax. Get ready for another week of training and playing the game I love. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday and check back in to the blog in a few days I will give you another update on how things are going. God Bless you all!! (Joshua 1:9)

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Week of Aces

Good Afternoon!! I am going to get right down to it and let you know how we did in the tournament that we played in this weekend. We played in a tournament called the Week of Aces, where the top 8 teams in the league play. We had to play the team that hosted the tourney which was Asvel and we lost the game. It was exactly like an away game for us. It was an ugly game from both teams. There wasn't any flow in the game and a lot of turnovers. The finally score was 52-55. I think we had 2 guys in double figures for the game. I believe I had 12 points, and 6 steals. But like I said before it was a really ugly game thats for sure, and we were disappointed that we lost in the first round. We actually play Asvel again this coming Saturday for one of our league games. I am definitely looking forward to that game. We got the weekend off which my body definitely needed and I of course went over to the Edwards house like always and hung out there most of the weekend. I went to Lille (city in France about 45 min away from Gravelines) with the Edwards family and walked around the city center. That is another place were I would like to take my family too. Other than that there really isn't much else going on. I am excited to get back in the gym this week and prepare for our upcoming game on Saturday. I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday. Take care and God Bless (Joshua 1:9).

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Game vs Le Harve

Good evening! HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! I just finished up eating some supper and now I am relaxing on the couch, so I thought I would let you know how our game went on Friday. We played Friday this week instead of our usual day of Saturday. We played Le Harve who we had played earlier in the year at their place. Friday was a home game for us and we came away with a win. We had 5 guys in double figures again (11 points, 12 points, 13 points, 14 points, and 15 points). I got called for a foul (terrible call) 2 minutes into the game so I sat almost all of the 1st quarter and some of the 2nd quarter. I did play all of the second half and I finished with 11 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. We controlled for most of the game, but Le Harve cut it to 9 points at the started of the 4th quarter. That would be the closest they came and we ended up winning 76-59. Our defense showed signs of improved from our previous games when we were on a bit of a losing streak. We are currently 13-6 still in 3rd place, but we are only 1 game out of 2nd place now. I want to say thanks to our fans. They really had that place rocking on Friday night and we thoroughly enjoyed playing in front of them. I urge our fans to keep coming out to the games and bring some noise!! We play in a tournament called "The Week of Aces" on Thursday in France. The Week of Aces is a tournament for the top 8 teams in our league. If you make it to the championship game you will be playing 3 games in 4 days. The tournament starts Thursday and goes through Sunday. It will be a great new experience for me and I am really looking forward to it. We play Asvel for our first game in the tournament on Thursday. Thats about all the basketball news going on over here in France. Below is a couple pictures of our fans dressing up for the game and being crazy. My teammate JK Edwards is in the back row, I have mentioned him a couple times in my blog so now you can put a face to the name.

Congratulations to the BISON with the big win over SDSU last night. I heard it was a great game and the Bison came away with a win in 2OT. Nice work!! Have a wonderful night and enjoy your Sunday! Praise be to God. Have a great day. God Bless (Joshua 1:9)








Tuesday, February 9, 2010

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)

Monday, February 8, 2010

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).

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

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)

Monday, February 1, 2010

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!