Updates from the Road, Europe 2006

March 5, 2006
The European tour was capped off with one more game in Spain. Last night, Burgos secured a spot in the playoffs with a win over Ferrol. Although Ashley Battle (N.Y. Liberty) and Jessica Moore (L.A. Sparks) did everything they could to help their team to a win, the local team seems to be peaking at just the right time. Despite only playing 24 minutes, Jenni Benningfield (Indiana Fever) finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds for Burgos in a 69-49 win over Ferrol.

One more meeting is scheduled for Monday with a local agent in Madrid before heading back to the U.S.

Every day of this tour has been exactly what was expected - a blessing and an adventure. Some great relationships were developed with a variety of new contacts from club presidents to national team coaches across Europe.

The next trip is just a few weeks away and there will be meetings at the Final Four in Boston. As March Madness approaches and the 2005-06 NCAA season comes to a close, watch for announcements on High Five's first signings in April.

Be sure to tune in as the 10th WNBA season is set to tip off Saturday May 20, 2006 with Diana Taurasi and her Phoenix Mercury taking on the 2005 WNBA Champion Sacramento Monarchs on ABC!

Thanks for your prayers and support while following the first High Five European tour!

February 28, 2006
I'm back in Burgos, Spain where I just watched another practice during this incredible month-long tour of European basketball. The past week involved traveling through France, Switzerland and back to Spain.

I spent one day in Paris before traveling south for a quarterfinal match up between French powerhouse Bourges and Gambrinus, a team from the Czech Republic. This game was, without a doubt, the most competitive game of the tour with Gambrinus boasting WNBA players DeLisha Milton-Jones (Washington Mystics) and Nykesha Sales (Connecticut Sun). Gambrinus has such a strong team, Sales doesn't even start. Gambrinus pulled out an upset win to take a 1-0 lead in the three game Euroleague series.

I had three days until my next game, and I really felt God was directing me to take a trip to Geneva, where FIBA Headquarters is based. (FIBA is the governing body for basketball worldwide). I caught the first train the next morning and headed for Switzerland. I had no previous contacts at FIBA Headquarters, so I simply made a phone call and was connected with Zoran Radovic, Manager for International Relations and Development. We met the next morning and for two hours we talked about everything from the new regulations for agents in Europe to Basketball Without Borders, a FIBA/NBA community initiative aimed at increasing youth participation and exposure for basketball all over the world. I left the office with the promise from Zoran that I now "have a friend at FIBA."

Next on the itinerary was a game with two of the top teams in Spain: Hondarribia-Irun with Muriel Page (Washington Mystics) and Kiesha Brown (Chicago Sky) and Perfumerias Avenida with Kelly Schumacher (New York Liberty) and Simone Edwards (Seattle Storm). After the game, Simone and I had a chance to catch up at the hotel and visit. Despite a long trip straight from a game against Spartak in Russia, Perfumerias won a close game 68-61. Simone was impressive in 22 minutes of play finishing with 12 points and 8 rebounds.

I'll see one more game next weekend and then it's back to the U.S. to prepare for the trip to the Final Four in Boston. See you all soon!

February 17-20, 2006
Hello from somewhere over Russia! I'm on the plane to Paris, France after an interesting and fun few days in Moscow. I arrived on Thursday at 5:30am on a red-eye from Rome to a snowy and cold morning in Russia. Sue had arranged for a driver to pick me up and Valerry was there right on time.

I had a meeting set for later that day with "Shabtai" the owner of Spartak, one of the teams in Moscow. I've heard many stories about this infamous, mysterious, and self-admitted "unusual man" - so I was anxious to see what our meeting held. As soon as I arrived, he proved to be many of the things I was told. Shabtai shared some great stories and I learned a lot about basketball in Russia. He insisted I stay an extra day so I could watch his team play on Sunday, which I did.

Friday I was provided with a private, guided tour to see the city of Moscow. It is rich with history and absolutely beautiful, even at 10 degrees below zero.

Saturday was game day and I was anxious to see Dynamo Moscow with Sue, Diana Taurasi, Kamila Vodichkova and Tammy Sutton-Brown take on Dynamo Novisbirsk with Asjha Jones and Chantelle Anderson. The atmosphere at the game was the closest I've seen to the "production" of a WNBA game, but still far off. Dynamo Moscow won easily and it was fun to watch Sue and Diana play together again.

Following the game we all went to dinner and saw some Russian-style entertainment. Apparently the performer was a woman known as the "Madonna of Macedonia" - although none of us were certain exactly what that meant.

At Sunday's game, I met with the Polish National Team head coach and watched Spartak defeat Moscow Region. Ticha Penicheiro was impressive as always with her no-look passes to teammates Linda Frohlich, Crystal Robinson and Gordana Grubin. Lisa Leslie was not with Spartak as she had appearances at the NBA All-Star Game. Despite arriving just one day earlier, (often typical for stints with overseas basketball), Katie Christianson played hard for Moscow Region and looked ready to return to the WNBA this summer.

Look for updates from games in Bourges, France and San Sebastian and Lugo, Spain next week.

February 16, 2006
Today I'm off to Moscow, Russia! I wanted to send a recap from Italy before heading to the fourth European country in two weeks!

I saw a great game on Sunday, February 12, La Spezia vs. Parma. The game was back and forth, but Parma pulled out a win on the road, 53-48. Michelle Snow had a string of baskets for Parma in the second half and finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds. Following the game in La Spezia, I drove to Parma and met up with Monica Bello, Michelle Snow and Chandi Jones for dinner and bowling. Due to technical difficulties, bowling score were unavailable at press time (ok, ok, I got blown out by Snow and Jones).

Last night, Francesca Zara's Phard Napoli took on Ribera. Fran is currently injured and its very apparent how difficult it is for her to sit out...such a competitor! It was fun to see how involved she was in the game with her "coaching" and encouragement from the sidelines.

Despite a slow first half, Napoli defeated Ribera 51-42. The high point of the game was watching Meri Andrade's incredible play. She is on another level, especially defensively, and constantly made her opponent look as though they've never played basketball. She finished the game with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 steals. Vicky Bullet was also impressive to watch after twelve years in the Italian league, she posted 15 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals.

Following the game I met with the head coaches from both teams and also visited with Napoli's club president. I met with Fran and her teammates for dinner, and enjoyed some delicacies from Naples!

The past 8 days in Italy have been incredible and High Five has made a lot of great contacts. I was embraced by many people and families in La Spezia and Naples and look forward to placing players in this wonderful country!

After a few days in Moscow, Russia, I will head straight to Paris. Look for another update from France next week!

February 10, 2006
Hello from La Spezia, Italy! I have been here since Wednesday February 8 but it actually seems like much longer. The itinerary has changed numerous times already, but its great to have the ability to be flexible and go with the path that God has marked out.

As I was on the train from Nice, France to La Spezia I had a conversation with a local woman. Once we arrived she took me to her friend's restaurant because he also owned a bed and breakfast, and I needed a place to sleep. I met her friend Fabrizio, and his best friend Luca, is a friend of Ruthie Bolton. Ruthie is a legend in the women's basketball world, and she just recently retired from the WNBA's, Sacramento Monarchs. Fabrizio actually has Ruthie's USA jersey and Monarchs jersey on the wall in his bar. Fabrizio called Luca and Luca introduced me to the La Spezia club president and head coach. We then went to an under 16 Italian national team game where we saw some young talent and also met the head coach of the Italian National team.

We watched La Spezia's practice and talked to Kedra Holland-Corn (Detroit Shock) and Christi Thomas (L.A. Sparks). It was great to have a conversation with an English speaking person! Just to be clear, we are not meeting with these players to have them sign with High Five, but rather to gather information and get to know them better. The plan is to sign players until after the European tour is completed.

Tomorrow I will see La Spezia vs. Parma where Michelle Snow (Houston Comets) and Chandi Jones (Minnesota Lynx) play. The next game will be on Wednesday in Naples. I will see Francesca Zara (Chicago Sky) and her team, Phard Napoli play Ribera where Ebony Hoffman (Indiana Fever) plays.

I've met a lot of incredible people in Europe already and feel blessed to be meeting so many solid basketball contacts. Things are similar from when I played overseas, it's not just about basketball when you are here, it has a lot to do with learning about the culture and adjusting to different customs...not to mention the language barrier and having more free time than you know what to do with. I am excited to be even more equipped to provide High Five's players with the relationships, opportunities and knowledge to prepare them for a career overseas...and that is the goal for High Five!

Thanks for all your prayers! Good luck to all my coaching friends as I know your conference tournaments are starting soon!

February 4, 2006

Hi everyone! I'm in Burgos, Spain visiting Jenni Benningfield (Indiana Fever). She plays for the local team, Arranz Jopisa (Burgos). Tonight they matched up against her former team from last season, Adecco Estudiantes (Madrid) and it was a great game! I watched the game with Arranz Jopisa President, Javier Ruiz. At halftime, it's customary to go to "el bar" (which is basically a cafeteria in the gym) for drinks and cigarettes. Although Javier speaks no English, we managed to communicate with my limited Spanish vocabulary and my semi-fluent French. He's already asked High Five to find him a "cinco jugadora" (five player) for next season. Arranz Jopisa won the game by a score of 67-61, and Jenni posted an impressive double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds.

Tomorrow morning I'm off to Madrid for the day. I will meet up with Marta Dydek, Michelle Hendry and other Estudiantes players to watch the Super Bowl. Go Seahawks!

On Monday I'll be visiting teams in Zaragoza and Barcelona. Later on during the week I will travel to Italy and get to watch three games in seven days!

It's great to be back in Europe where I can do two of my favorite things: watch basketball, international style and drink café con leche's, available at every corner! Check back next week for another update from overseas.

February 1, 2006
High Five is currently on a European tour meeting with players, coaches, agents and various teams in Spain, France, Italy and Russia. Check back every week for the latest news and updates.