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Writer's pictureisaiah wilkins

Blog #4: Transitioning

What's good my fellow athletes and future G.O.A.T.S! Welcome back to yet another blog giving you everything that you need to know about overseas basketball!

We are ROLLING now with back-to-back weeks of content, and I tell you I couldn't be more excited for what has already accomplished and for what's to come.


LAST WEEK: I discussed what Euro League basketball was and what it has to offer for athletes wanting to play at that next level. I even discussed some of the players that you may know from the past or present. *My Og's remember Shane Larkin* #bucket...


ICYMI: The two biggest things that I highlighted from the last section about the Euro League in my third blog was...

  • The exposure that playing in the Euro League potentially gives you

  • The money you could potentially make

These are the two major things that the Euro League has to offer for you. The exposure is a gimme and money... WHO doesn't want to get paid doing something that you love?...


Now, in this blog we are going to stay along the lines of players and talk about some of the guys who transitioned from the NBA to overseas. This varies for many reasons, and we will get to those reasons in this blog. Are you ready?...



As stated above, in this blog we will be staying along the lines of players, and I think this first player I will be discussing will bring back memories you didn't even know you had.


Jimmer Fredette

I'm sure we all know who Jimmer Fredette is, but if you don't of course I will give you a little background on this walking bucket.




Jimmer Fredette is a former BYU (Brigham Young University) men's basketball standout, and in just 4 years at BYU he became a national phenomenon breaking an absolutely insane number of records.


Just to name a few

  • Most points scored (game) (52 pts)

  • Most Points Scored (season) (1068)

  • Most Free Throws Made (game) (23)

  • Most Free Throws Made (season) (252)

  • Most Free Throws Made (career) (627)

  • Most Field Goals Made (game) (22)

  • Most Field Goals Made (season) (346)

  • Most Three-Point FGs Made (season) (124)

  • Most Three-Point FGs Made (career) (296)

  • Most 30-point games (career) (24)

  • Most 40-point games (career) (6)

And this is all just at BYU... INSANE.


The question arises, how could someone so accomplished at the college level not succeed at the highest level of basketball?



Well, your answer is simple, he wasn't able to adapt to the NBA culture as well as his teammates, and that set him back from being able to stay on a roster. According to an NBA Assistant coach who worked with Jimmer, he stated in an interview that...


“Jimmer thinks everybody is stupid,”. “He thinks everybody needs to come and just turn over their offense and let him shoot it anytime he wants. That’s not how the league works….”

“He won’t adjust his game for it,” he said. “He’ll tell you, ‘This is what I did at BYU.’ Well, BYU, that’s a long time ago.”


Having that attitude will get you nowhere guys. Coaches like guys who are able to adapt to their surroundings and adjust, when need be, to do whatever it takes to win games. Jimmer didn't have that mindset and that's why he bounced from team to team and eventually down to overseas basketball.


Now he currently is playing overseas in China with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association, making about $1.6 million a season. One of the highest paid players playing overseas right now but, I still believe that he could have been a stud in the NBA if he had a good attitude.


The Second and final player I want to highlight is Michael Beasley!


He has a household name in the world of basketball, and I am sure that almost everyone who will read this will know who Michael Beasley is. But in case you don't OF COURSE I will give you some background information.

Michael Beasley is a professional basketball player who was highly touted in college as well at Kansas State University where he only played one year of college basketball before declaring for the draft in 2008 and becoming the second pick in the draft.






He too had some attitude problems of his own and was bounced around from team to team due to violating the drug policy in the NBA multiple times. But for him it was much deeper, growing up he had failed relationships which caused him to have problems with his mind and his head was never in the right space. In this clip from TMZ, he is expressing himself in an interview stating how he has been "trying to find good people for so long", but it feels like people just want something from him. That is real. There are many athletes that deal with mental health issues but just never say anything about it.


Now Michael Beasley is signing a 7-figure contract with the same team as Jimmer Fredette, the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association.


Wow man, what a series of blogs it has been so far. I just want to thank you guys for taking the time out to read these entries and get the do's and don'ts and steps that you should take to help you reach your dream! Be sure to tune in next week where I will be discussing everything there is to know about the overseas German BBL (basketball league)! #overseasbasketball #besafe #D1athlete #hoops #salaries #fourthblog



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