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Former UNCG star Kyle Hines is living a basketball adventure, playing for Prima Veroli of the Italian Lega 2. As Hines plays his first season abroad, he will provide regular updates on his experiences for the News & Record.

Welcome back for my fifth post for SportExtra at news-record.com. I want to again thank everyone for their continued support and comments on my previous blog posts.

In my last blog, my team just had a big home victory against one of the best offensive teams in the league. I was coming off my best game so far during the season (27 points and 11 rebounds) and holiday break was only two weeks away. So coming into the next week, I was feeling very confident but also really excited that I would have the opportunity to go back home in a couple of weeks.

For our next game, we traveled to face Aget Imola. During the game, I would be matched up against Joe Bunn, who is the leading scorer of the league averaging close to 24 points a game. Bunn is a unique player in that he plays primarily inside and he stands only at 6-feet-3. I’m listed at what some would say, a “generous” 6-6 and I’m considered undersized for my position. My coach appropriately titled the match up between Bunn and I, “The Battle of the Midgets.”

We started the game going back and forth trading baskets with Imola, finishing the quarter down 21-20. The next quarter, Imola continued to push their lead further and went into halftime up 43-37.

In the first half, I was defending Bunn really well. I figured because he get some many touches, that he was going to score some points, but my goal was to make him work for every basket he scored. He finished the half with eight points.

In the third quarter, after continuing to trade baskets with Imola, we made a run and ended up regaining the lead, 61- 60. In the final quarter, we continued our run and pushed the lead out to six points. Then, in the last two minutes of the game we went cold. We couldn't hit a shot and went the last minute-and-a-half without scoring a single basket. I guess with all the physical play and the energy I expended trying to limit Bunn’s touches throughout the game, I ran out of gas and allowed him to score 11 points in the final quarter.

We ended up losing the game, 85-79. I finished with a below-average 12 points and five rebounds. Bunn finished as the victor of “The Battle of Midgets,”with 25 points, nine rebounds and more importantly the win. My team shot horribly throughout the game, attempting 41 3-pointers and only making 13 of them. The loss continue our trend on the road, where we were 1-5 after the game with Imola.

Because of the week we a get off for holiday break, our next game was on a Thursday, which for me was perfect because it meant a shorter practice week and gave us an opportunity to quickly come back from our horrible play of the last game.

Our next game we hosted Enel Brindisi, which is primary lead by a pair of high-scoring Americans, Marcus Hatten who starred at St. John’s University, and Marco Killingsworth, who played at Indiana University a few years back. They where coming into the game averaging more than 40 points combined.

The game started out much like the others, with both teams trading baskets. We finished the quarter even, 15-15. The next quarter, we put together a few defensive stops and gained a 10 point lead with less than two minutes left in the half. Going into halftime, we were up 44-37. We started out ice cold from the field in the third quarter and went the first two minutes of the half with a single field goal. Meanwhiile, Brindisi was able to go on a 10-0 run to start the half. We would eventually recover to tie the score at 62. In the fourth quarter, our strong defense allowed us to take control of the game. We constantly forced Brindisi into bad shots and costly turnovers that allowed us to push the lead up to 14 points. We would end of winning the game by 10, 89-79. I finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

I was starting to get excited about the holiday break, which was only three days away. Our next game was moved from Sunday evening to late Saturday evening because it was going to be televised. The moved would allow me to have an extra day home.

We went on the road to face Seven 2007 Roseto, a team whose go-to player was former George Washington University star and L.A Lakers player J.R Pinnock. A win in this game would help improve our terrible road record and also allow us to go into the holiday break in good sprits.

We started the game slowly, allowing Roseto to hold an early lead. Before the end of the quarter we where able to cut into the lead and found ourselves down by 2, 21-19. In the second quarter, we continued to slowly gain momentum and went into the half with a three-point lead, 33-30. The next quarter the momentum shifted and Roseto regained the lead after we made a few costly mistakes. They went into the fourth quarter up 52-46. We staged a comeback, hitting four 3-pointers in a row and never looked back as we won, 72-65. I finished the game with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

The whole ride home from the game I was just thinking to myself, “I can’t believe I’m going back home tomorrow. My flight was scheduled for 11:20 the following morning. I got to the airport at 7:30 in the morning. My other teammates and I, (Afik, who was flying back to Israel, and Jerome, who was also headed back to Philadelphia) wanted to make sure we had no chance of missing our flights.

While I was in the airport waiting at the gate, my name was called to report to the front counter. I initially thought it was for the exit row that I had asked for, but when I walked up to the counter I knew I was wrong. The woman at the counter said, “Wait here for a moment,” got on her walkie talkie and said something to someone and the next thing I knew two airport security officers were asking me to follow them. From what the airport security officers told me, something in my bag had set off one of the security alarms. They wanted me to go through the bag, in front of them to make sure there was nothing out of the ordinary inside. They placed me in this van and the whole time I’m sitting in there nervous because I didn’t pack the bag and I had no idea what was inside it. The bag was filled with excess clothes and items that my girlfriend couldn’t bring back with her she flew back to New York. She had packed everything in the bag and I was thinking to myself, “I should have checked the bag after she packed it.”

The guards took me back to the area where the luggage is sorted and checked. They asked if me if this was the bagged I checked, and I said yes. Then they asked me to take the bag and follow them. They took me into this room that was size of most household walk-in closets and shut the door. The room was all white and the only piece of furniture was a small desk and chair. I was sitting in this small room thinking this wasn’t how I envisioned my trip back to America. They asked me to open the bag and show them the items inside. The guards didn’t find anything out of the ordinary except why a 6-6 male was traveling with only a suitcase filled with female clothing. After I explained the situation, they said everything was fine and allowed me to return to the gate. At 11:15, I finally boarded the plane and after three movies, two completed iPod playlists, three in-flight meals and a total of 10 hours in the air, I was back home in America.

While I was home, I wanted to try to take advantage of all the things that I couldn’t in Italy. The first thing I did when I got home was to get an authentic Philly cheesesteak. I promise myself that I wouldn’t even think about eating pasta or pizza my entire stay at home. For the most part during the week, I spent it with my family and friends. I especially got to spend a lot of time with my little brother and sister. I even got to see my brother, who is a freshman at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore play in a collegiate game. In all, I really enjoyed my time at home. It gave me an opportunity to relax and “recharge my batteries,” for the final five months of my Italian season.

When I got back to Veroli, I felt refreshed and excited to be back. It felt good to see my teammates and the coaching staff after spending our first week apart from each other in almost four months. Coming back, we had a confident feeling after our last two wins. We knew that we had two big tests coming up in the next two weeks, facing the top two teams in the league. Practice during the week had a new sense of urgency and spirit. Throughout every drill and segment of practice, you could just feel that we were preparing for a big matchup.

After one of our best practice weeks, we traveled to Jesi, to face the first-place team, Fileni Jesi. I would be matched up against the three-time MVP of the league, Michele Maggioli. He stood almost 7 feet tall and clearly was the biggest player I had faced so far this season. I knew it would be a difficult task, but I was eager to see how I would fare against the most celebrated player of the league.

The first quarter if the game started out like most of the others, with the teams trading baskets trying to get a feel for each other. We finished the first quarter with a one point lead, 17-16. The second quarter, we were able to extend our lead to eight points, but the allowed them to cut into the lead and we went into halftime up 37-34. In the third quarter, Jesi secored eight unanswered point to take the lead, 48-46. Early in the fourth quarter, we were able to regain the lead after we forced back-to-back turnovers that led to easy fast break layups. From there we took off and pushed the lead to 12 and ended up winning, 73-65.

The win was by far our biggest of the season, because it was against the first place team and also because we won on the road, where we have been struggling throughout the season. I finished the game with 15 points and nine rebounds, but more importantly I held Michele Maggioli in check for the entire game. He finished with only eight points, far below his 20-points-per-game average.

In our next game, we faced the second-place team, Cimberio Varese, at home. Varese’ star player is Randolph Childress, who is remembered by most for his incredible performance in the ACC tournament in 1995, when he led Wake Forest to the championship.

This game also had a couple of subplots that made the game really interesting and important. The first was the rivalry between Childress and my teammate Jerome Allen. They both were members of the 1995 NBA draft class ( Childress being drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers and Allen by the Minnesota Timberwolves), and over the years they have gone head-to-head many times. Coming into the game, Jerome was extra focused and made sure that we as a team were focused also. The second subplot was if we won this game, we would qualify for the midseason final four tournament, which would give our team more exposure and would earn every player on our team a salary bonus.

The game started off with both teams hitting their first seven shots. This high-percentage shooting led to a high- scoring first quarter, which ended with our team leading 25-21. In the second quarter, Varese was able to take lead and went to the locker room up 44-38. During the third quarter, just as it seemed that we were going to lose control of the game, with Varese up eight points with two minutes left, we made a run to tie the score at 52 as the quarter ended. In the fourth quarter, we continued the momentum and regained the lead and won the game by nine points, 77-68. I finished with another solid performance, scoring 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

The win concluded the first half of the season. After an inconsistent start, we finished very strong, winning our final four games. We also accomplished a majority of our team goals, qualifying for the final four tournament and positioning ourselves as one the top teams in the league. We battled through injuries and the addition of a new player to have a strong record of 9-6. I’m feeling very confident that if we continue on this path throughout the second half of the season we can be even more successful. As an individual, I feel I have finally adjusted and feel comfortable with my play on the court. I’m currently leading the team in scoring and leading the league in rebounding, blocks and field-goal percentage. I hope with hard work and continued determination we can have an even more successful second half of the season.

Until next time, ciao.

Kyle

Former UNCG star Kyle Hines is embarking on a basketball adventure, playing for Prima Veroli of the Italian Lega 2. As Hines plays his first season abroad, he will provide regular updates on his experiences for the News & Record.

Welcome back for my fourth post for the SportExtra blog at news-record.com. I want to again thank everyone for their continued support and comments on my previous blog posts.

It has been a while since I last wrote a post. My computer crashed and it hasn’t been easy to find a computer repair shop in Veroli. I’ve had to make due using my Blackberry as my primary Internet source, and even that was beginning to act funny.

When I left off in my previous post, my team had just lost a tough road game to Banco Di Sardegna Sassari where we had a 20-point lead at one point in the game. Our next game was at home against Regina Emila. Coming into the game, Regina Emila had a good all-around team and was considered at the beginning of the season to one of the favorites to win the championship.

Entering the game, our team was still unhealthy and we had yet to play a game with our full roster. Dawan Robinson, our other American, found out that he would be out for almost three months with a broken hand. This left us with only nine healthy players and we would need everyone’s best effort to win.

We started the game very slowly, finishing the first quarter down 26-23. In the second quarter we picked up our play slightly and led with less than three minutes left in the half. After an unforced turnover in the final seconds of the second quarter that led to an uncontested layup, Regina Emila took the lead into halftime, 36-35.

In the third quarter, we started off a lot better. Midway into the period we held a 10 point lead after going on an 11-3 run. We finished the quarter with a four-point lead, 55-51. We continued to play well in the fourth quarter and pushed the lead out even further and eventually won 69-58. I played my best game of the season finishing with 22 points and nine rebounds while going 9-for-9 from the field.

The next week was a very exciting time for me as a Philadelphia sports fan. My Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series for the first time in 28 years. (Told you it was a long time since I had blogged!) I was happy that I was able to watch the games here live. I have satellite television at my house and I’m able to watch the majority of the American television networks such as Fox, MTV, HBO and ESPN. I would wake up at 4 o’clock in the morning to watch the World Series games.

I was talking to my former UNCG teammate Kevin Oleksiak, who was playing in France at the time and is also a big Phillies fan. We were laughing that the one time the Phillies would win the World Series, we would both be outside the country. If you know the history of Philadelphia sports, then you know that championship don’t come that often. Before this championship, it was 23 years since the last time Philadelphia had a championship parade. I started to get a little bit homesick hearing the stories from friends and family about the parade and the exciting atmosphere that the championship brought to the city. I told KO (Kevin Oleksiak) that, at this rate, by the time another championship occurs we will both be well into our 40s and should have no reason not to be at the next parade.

Later that week, I made my acting debut in a local commercial. The owner of my team is a stakeholder in a local bank, and the bank asked me and one of my teammates to take part in a commercial they were filming. My part in the commercial was small; I was filmed sitting in the bank in the midst of a bunch of other people and then someone throws a basketball in the air. I jump in front of the people and snatch the ball out of the air and then shoot it back toward the camera. I know it doesn’t exactly sound Oscar-worthy, but it was interesting to see how a commercial is filmed and put together.

Our next game we traveled to face Livorno Basket. We had yet to win a road game this season. We came into this game still down a player because of Dawan’s injury. We started the game slowly and finished the first quarter down 24-15. Things didn’t get any better the rest of the way and we lost, 84-75. We shot horribly, going 10-for-32 from 3-point range. I finished with 16 points and six rebounds.

During the next week, our team signed a new American player, Jerome Allen, to replace Dawan Robinson while he recovered from his injury. Jerome was 35 years old and basically came out of retirement to play for a few months. He is considered a legend in Italy because he had played here for almost seven years on some of Italy’s biggest teams. Jerome has had the prototypical career that an American player in Europe would want to have. He came to Europe in 1998 after playing three years in the NBA with Minnesota, Indiana and Milwaukee. After that he continued to play 13 years in Europe and chose to retire while still having offers on the table to play for big teams. With his talent and experience, he should be the missing piece that our team needs to succeed.

In our next game, we went back on the road to face Fastweb Casale Monferrato. I would be matched up against a fellow Sicklerville, N.J., native, Jamar Smith. This game also marked our first time this season playing with a full team with the addition of Jerome. The first quarter saw both teams go back and forth with Monferrato holding a two-point advantage, 17-15. The back-and-forth pace of the game continued in the second quarter with us up 26-23 at halftime. At the end of the third quarter it was 45-45. In the fourth quarter we had a six-point lead, then because of turnovers and missed shots, Monferrato rallied to win by two points. We dropped to 0-4 on the road. I finished the game with 17 points and eight rebounds.

The day after the game, I went to airport to pickup my girlfriend, who would be staying for the next five weeks. After being here for almost three months, it felt good to see a familiar a face, especially hers. Her visit didn't start as smoothly as I hoped. I got lost going to the airport and showed up to pick her up about an hour late. Let’s just say that when I got there she wasn't too happy because she had no way to get in contact with me to find out where I was.

After two straight away games, our next game was at home, where we were undefeated to that point in the season. We hosted Umana Venezia. We started the game ho, going up as much as 15 points in the opening half. We closed the half up nine, 40-31. They mounted a comeback in the third quarter and cut the lead to five. But we withstood their run and pushed the lead back to 12. We pulled away in the fourth quarter to win 70-54. I spent majority of the game in foul trouble and only played 20 minutes, but I finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

For our next game we traveled to face Basket Rimini Crabs. The first quarter we played fairly well and trailed 19-18. The next quarter we played horribly, probably our worst of the season, and went into halftime down nine. In the third quarter, something sparked inside our team and we began to make a run and went up 63-56. The fourth quarter we continued our excellent play and ended up winning 82-72. We finally got our first road victory! For the second straight game I battled foul trouble. I finished with eight points and even rebounds.

The day after the game I had to go to the airport again to pick up my former UNCG teammate Kevin Oleksiak. He had been playing professionally in France for the past few months and had decided to come visit before he left to go back home. After spending three months living alone, I now had a full house. It felt nice to have company and to be able to enjoy Italy with my girlfriend and Kevin. My coach allowed Kevin to work out with our team while he stayed in Italy. It felt good to have a familiar friend at practice and brought back memories of our four years together at UNCG.

Our next game was at home vs. Edimes Pavia. At the time, Edimes was in last place and had lost six straight games. I guess our coach could sense that our team was slacking a little bit, because during that week of practice he tried to make sure that we were extra focused. He kept telling us that this team was a lot better than its record showed. I guess we didn't believe it, because we played our worst game so far this season. We finished the first half tied at 32. When the third quarter ended, we were down by three points, 52-49. In the fourth quarter, Edimes Pavia outscored us 30-19. We end up losing 82-68. It was our first lost at home this season. I found myself again in foul trouble and finished with 12 points and five rebounds in just 21 minutes of play.

The next week was Thanksgiving. In the past four years, I haven't gotten the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with family because we have always have had practice or games. I have instead spent it with either my teammates’ or coaches’ families. Coming into this season, I didn't really have any expectations to do anything for Thanksgiving because I thought I would be alone and it is a holiday that isn't really celebrated in Italy. Because Kevin and my girlfriend were here, we decided to try to have our own Thanksgiving dinner.

We went to the store the day before Thanksgiving and tried to find some traditional foods. We were unsuccessful, so we decided to try to find some substitute items. Instead of turkey, we got two whole chickens, and instead of the traditional cranberry sauce and other thanksgiving food items, we settled for green beans, potatoes and corn. My girlfriend, who is actually a great cook, also made macaroni and cheese and also stuffing from scratch. Surprisingly, it turned out to be one the best Thanksgivings I’ve had in a long time.

Our next game was at home against Vanoli Soresina. They are one of the top offensive teams in the entire league and are led by two former ACC stars: Troy Bell, who went to Boston College; and Reyshawn Terry (Reynolds HS), who went to North Carolina.

We started the game really well, ending the first quarter leading 29-20. The second quarter we kept up a similar pace and finished the half up 47-40. Coming out of halftime we stumbled a little bit and Soresina took the lead for the first time. When the third quarter ended, we were down, 64-62. In the fourth quarter, we were able to regain the lead and made a late run to win 85-76. For the first time in four games, I was able to stay out of foul trouble. I had my best game yet, finishing with 27 points and 11 rebounds.

As I write this post, we are 6-5 and I am averaging a double-double. I think after all the injuries and changes within the team, we are finally coming into our own. We have four games in the three weeks until the holiday break where I will get to go home for a week, which I can't wait to do. If we win these next four games it will gives us great momentum into the holiday break and put us in a strong position for the league’s final four.

Well, that’s all have for you all for now. Until next time.

Ciao,
Kyle Hines

Former UNCG star Kyle Hines is embarking on a basketball adventure, playing for Prima Veroli of the Italian Lega 2. As Hines plays his first season abroad, he will provide regular updates on his experiences for the News & Record.

Welcome to my second post for the SportExtra blog at News-Record.com. I first want to thank everyone for the support and all the comments that were left after my first blog post.

Today is sort of a celebratory moment for me in my career, as today marks the end of my first professional preseason. After six weeks of learning an entirely new system, surviving grueling two-a-day practices and dealing with the physicality of European play, I have successfully made it through training camp. Six weeks ago, I could only image what this feeling would be like and, being that this is my rookie season, I had no idea what to expect. Now, as training camp is in the past, I want to use this post as a reflection on what I learned the past six weeks.

Meeting all of my teammates for the first time was a nervous feeling for me. I had so many questions in my head upon meeting them for the first time. I wanted to know who they were, how would they treat me and how they were going to be throughout the season. In Italy, there is different makeup of the teams than in most leagues around Europe. In the A2 Italian league, you are allowed two import (or American) players per team. I was very curious to find who that other American was going to be because, being that there are only two of us on the team, I figured I would be spending a lot of time around him. The team signed a guard by the name of Dawan Robinson. He went to Rhode Island a few years back. This is his third year overseas after spending time in France, Poland and a brief stint with the L.A Clippers.

I thought I wouldn’t meet him until after I arrived in Italy, but I was wrong. We actually met in the airport. We actually had a lot in common. We are both from the same area - he is from Philadelphia – and because of this we know a lot of the same people. It’s been cool having someone that I can hang out with who can also relate to the same things that I’m going through. Because we are the only the Americans on a European team, we are both linked together in everything we do. I think having someone from the same area as me has helped ease the transition of being in a foreign environment.

My other teammates have also helped to ease my adjustment to European life. All of them are veterans of European basketball, some more than others. I have three teammates who are 35 or older – Mickey Mian, Petro Bianchi and Marco Rossi. Mickey has been playing international basketball for 22 years, which to me is truly amazing. He has been playing professionally longer than I’ve been alive.

Petro is the elder statesman of the team and the captain of the team. He has played for Veroli for the past three seasons and is basically the figurehead of the team. Marco has played for Veroli for the past two seasons. He is probably the quietest person I’ve ever met. He is basically the quiet leader of the team; he doesn’t talk much, but when he does, everyone listens. We have another player who is the complete opposite of Marco. His name is Massimo Rezzano. I think he may be the goofiest person I’ve ever met. He is always full of energy and is always joking around. But he is fun because it helps the atmosphere in practice and keeps the team light-spirited. I have another teammate who, to me, seems to be the playboy of the team. He knows where all the clubs and popular spots are in Italy. His name is Franco Migliori and he is originally from Argentina.

My next teammate is Ivan Gotto, who we call “Dirk” after Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, because their playing styles are very similar. He played on the team that won the A2 championship last season. He is sort of the unofficial translator for Dawan and I. He spent his senior year of high school in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and attended college at Weber State University in Utah.

Another teammate we nicknamed “The Professor,” because he is one of the smartest guys I’ve ever meant. He name is Afik Nissim and he is from Israel, but has played the past five seasons in France. He taught himself how to speak Italian in only a month. I’ve been here for a month and half and I can barely speak more than a few sentences!

My last teammate, Sergio Plumari, is the same age as I am – 22. At first sight, you would think that he was goofy and a little awkward looking, but on the court he is very talented and plays harder than anybody on our team.

Throughout training camp, I have made a few of what my coach calls “rookie mistakes” off the basketball court. My first rookie mistake came on the day of our very first practice. The team gave me a Mercedes- Benz to drive while I was here. On the first day of practice I pulled into the parking lot and went to park the car. The parking lot in front of the gym has two areas to park in, a dirt parking area and a gravel parking area. I chose to park in the dirt parking area. I pulled up into the parking space and next thing I heard a loud crash and loud boom. I got out of the car and the front end of my car was stuck in the ditch and the back end of the car was in the air. The team had to call a tow truck to pull it out of the ditch. The bad part about it was, because I was one of the first people to arrive at practice, all my teammates saw my car stuck in the ditch. I was teased for at least two weeks about that.

The second rookie mistake was the first time I tried to use my washing machine. I flooded the whole first floor of my apartment. While I was trying to wash clothes, I didn’t really know how to start the washer. So instead of being smart and asking someone to help me, I took upon myself to attempt to turn on the washing machine. After practice, I came back home and I open my front door and the whole first floor was filled with water. It took me almost three hours to mop up all the water and finally dry out my apartment. My teammates have since suggested that I go down to the watering hole where the rest of the town does there laundry for now on.

During the six-week preseason, we played a total of 11 games. Our first game was an exhibition against Siena College from Loudonville, N.Y. They were on the same 10-day Italian tour that I went on with UNCG basketball team in the spring of 2007, traveling from Milan to Rome. The game was a sort of reunion for myself and the Siena coaching staff. The head coach of Siena, Fran McCaffery, was my head coach at UNCG during my freshman year and his two assistant coaches, Mitch Buonaguro and Adam Chaskin, were also assistants at UNCG that season. In fact, Coach McCaffery and Coach Buonaguro recruited me while I was in high school and played a big part in my decision to attend UNCG. I also got to see Mrs. McCaffery, Mrs. Chaskin and Mrs. Buonaguro who all played an important role throughout my first year at UNCG.

It felt good to see some familiar faces during my first weeks in Italy to help ease the tension and uncertainly of being in a new place. The game ended up being up and down throughout the first three quarters, but in the fourth we ended up pulling away and won by 19.

Next we played a series of “friendly” games against a group of teams from A1 or the first division of Italian professional basketball: Teramo, Virtus Roma and Montergraneo. We played Teramo in our first friendly game and played them evenly throughout only to lose in the fourth quarter. We then played Montergraneo and end up playing them even through the four quarters. Because it was a preseason game we didn’t play overtime.

Montergraneo had an interesting team because they signed former NBA All-Star Shawn Kemp to play for their team. He stayed in Italy for only three weeks, however. He went back to America to check on repairs on his house from Hurricane Ike and never returned to the team.

We then played Virtus Roma – one of the biggest teams in Italy – in another friendly game. We ended up losing by 16 points, but it was closer than the final score. Roma also has an interesting player on their team, Brandon Jennings. He was the top American high school player this past season at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. Because of the NBA minimum age rule (you must be 19 and one year out of High School to be eligible to play in the NBA.), he chose to forgo college and play a year overseas despite signing with Arizona. Next season, he could be a top-five pick in the NBA draft. He has ESPN reporters and other media outlets following him throughout this season.

My individual play throughout the series of games was very up-and-down. I had some really good moments and some really bad moments. But the important thing is with every game I improved. I still had solid performances in the games, I averaged somewhere around 14 points and 8 rebounds. Even though I would like to see those numbers improve, I feel it is a good start, especially against the strong competition that we played.

In our next series of games, we played in three tournaments. The first tournament was hosted by our team. The three other teams besides us that were in the tournament were Carife Ferrara, Eldo Caerta and Solsonica Rieti, all Serie A or first-division teams. The tournament was in honor and in memory of the president of our team’s father. He was very important to the community, and the tournament was very important to the people in the town. The tournament is also the only time that we actually play in Veroli. We play all our home games during the regular season in city about 15 miles from Veroli called Frosione. So it was important that we played well to honor the president’s father and also to give a good first impression to the Veroli community. We ended up winning the tournament, taking the first game pretty easily, although the second was a little more of a battle. We ended up winning by one in a very intense, up-and-down game. During the tournament, I played really well. I ended up being name the MVP, which is a big honor for me because the tournament was a really big deal to the team and the community.

In our next tournament, we traveled to the Island of Sassari, which is the No. 1 vacation place in Italy. This tournament was the first time all season that we played teams in our league. Our first game was against Reyer Venezia. We ended up winning by 16 and I ended up having my breakout game, scoring 38 points. We played the championship game against Sardenga Sassari. The game wound up going into triple overtime. We ended up winning by five and I scored 31 points. I ended up being named MVP of that tournament, too.

In our last tournament before the start of the season, we traveled to Rosetto, a town right on the beach. We again played two other teams from our league: Harem Scafati and Aget Imola. We ended up winning both games pretty easily and took home another tournament championship, giving us a final record of 9-2 during the preseason.

Even though preseason doesn’t really count, it gave our team confidence going into the regular season. Looking back on the preseason, I can say as a team it has been really successful. We have built really good chemistry as a team and that has brought us success on the court. Individually, I think the preseason has helped me to develop more as a player and gain a better understanding of the European system. Having a few big games has also helped me gain confidence.

I’m really excited for the start of the season. Our first game is on the road against Pistonia. It is supposed to be a really big game because both of us had excellent preseason records, so I’m expecting a really good game.

Well that is all I have for you. Before I finish the post, I want to congratulate my fellow UNCG teammate, Kevin Oleksiak for signing his first professional contract, with a team in France called Limoge. Hopefully, I can get him to make a guest appearance here and share his experiences in France.

Thanks again for all the support and all the great feedback.

Ciao,

Kyle

Former UNCG star Kyle Hines is embarking on a basketball adventure, playing for Prima Veroli of the Italian Lega 2. As Hines plays his first season abroad, he will provide regular updates on his experiences for the News & Record.

I would like to welcome everyone to the SportsExtra blog at News-Record.com. I guess you can kind of say I’m a blog veteran, having done one previously for the News & Record and one last year when I blogged the experiences of my senior season at NCAA.org. I had such a great experience and received really good feedback while writing the other blogs, so I wanted to start another where I could share my experiences from my first professional season in Italy.

For those who may not know me, I want to give you some background information. I’m originally from Sicklerville, N.J. I just graduated from UNCG this past year and was a member of the men’s basketball team for four years. I left the university after breaking many records and even got my number retired before the end of my senior season. Because I had a successful college career, I have the opportunity to pursue a professional basketball career. After I participated in numerous NBA camps and a summer league, I chose to sign with a team in Italy called Prima Veroli.

The team is located in Veroli, a very small town about 60 miles outside of Rome. The town’s population is less than 20,000. To put that in perspective, the Greensboro Coliseum holds about 23,000 people. If you were to put all of Veroli in the coliseum, you still wouldn’t be able to sell out the arena.

Veroli is one of those towns where literally everyone knows everything about everyone. It is an old Roman mountain town, and some of the residents still use what we would consider outdated methods for handling some of their daily chores. For example, there is a huge watering hole in the middle of the town that many of the residents use to wash their clothes by hand.

I couldn’t imagine having to wash clothes every day like that. God bless whoever invented the washing machine.

Everything in the organization is brand new this year. New management, new coach, new staff and only two players left from last season’s team. Last season was the team’s first in this division (the second highest level of professional basketball in Italy) and like many first-year teams they struggled. (Much like in U.S. professional baseball, there are five divisions in Italian professional basketball: A1, A2, B1, B2 and C2. Veroli is in its second season in A2 or Liga 2.)

The sponsors and management are hoping for a turnaround from last season, when the team went 11-19 and finished 12th out of 16 teams.

I’ve been here for almost five weeks and I have found the transition from life in the States to life in Italy not as hard as I thought it would be. The team personnel and the players have gone out of their way to make me feel as comfortable as possible.

The hardest part is the language barrier. Even though every day I’m learning more and more Italian, I still haven’t learned enough to carry a full conversation. I only know the basic fundaments of the language, like how to say “Hello” and “Thank you” and “What is your name?”

Hopefully, in a few months I will be able to learn enough to actually carry a full conversation and understand what the other person is saying. I’ve downloaded a couple of audio books onto my iPod that I hope will help me learn the language.

Before I came here, many of my friends who had played in Europe kept telling me how hard the preseason training camps were. They were telling me stories of how they did these crazy drills and ran miles and miles in the mountains. After hearing those stories, I was expecting the worst. But for the most part our training camp hasn’t been as hard as I expected.

Don’t get me wrong — it is not easy. We still do a lot of work. In the morning, we usually lift weights and do some type of conditioning. Then we have a light practice in the morning where we do drills working on our fundamentals or we run through the plays. In the evening at 5:30, we have a hard practice for about two hours. We have been following this schedule for about four weeks. Once the regular season starts, we will only have one practice a week.

The European style of basketball is a lot different than the American style. I found the transition between the two to be a difficult process for the first few weeks of practice.

For the past four months before coming to Europe, I was learning the NBA style of basketball. The European style is a complete 180 of everything I was taught for those four months. For example, the NBA game is based more on isolations for players to take their opponent one-on-one. The European game is based more on team-oriented concepts.

American players use more of the athletic nature of their games, and the NBA and other American leagues tailor their systems to this. The European players base their game more on fundamentals.

The court design is also different from American courts. The lane (or painted area) in Europe is shaped like a trapezoid, while in America it has more of a rectangular design. For a player like me who plays primarily in the post, this has been a really big transition. The trapezoid places the offensive post players about 3 feet farther from the basket than the American design. The trapezoid gives more of an advantage to the defender in the post. I know it may sound like a small thing, but in basketball, positioning and spacing can make a big difference.

I think this may be enough for my first entry. I just wanted to give you an introduction to my life so far in Italy. For my next post, I will include more insights and discuss my first professional games in Italy.

I hope you will continue to follow me as I make a transition to my new life on and off the court. Thank you for all the support.

Ciao,
Kyle