Eutin Tigers

I took a side trip to Eutin, Germany to meet Bob Alexander, coach of the Eutin Tigers, a premier youth club basketball team.

I'd grown frustrated by the lack of basketball I've seen thus far on the trip. I saw a few kids bouncing balls on the streets of Berlin, but they couldn't even string multiple dribbles together. Occasionally I'd see a court from a distance and hear the sounds of competition, but when I got closer, I always found street soccer.

So, the Eutin stop was refreshing first because I got to get in a gym on the first day of preseason for Swarthmore basketball 2011-2012 (Watch out Centennial!). I got some shots up in my running shoes, which felt great but also made me miss the game more because I wanted to get some live action, but knew that my glass ankles in lowtop NewBalances was a bad combination.

It was great to talk to Bob about basketball and travel. Basketball has taken him all over Europe and he has gotten to coach great kids in Germany and Croatia. Basketball has taken me many places as well-as a player, coach and fan-and I can't really imagine my life without it. Get that labor deal done, the only thing between the Knicks and a 'chip is this lockout!