http://www.bballuniverse.com/index.htmlFollow the life of BUA trainers professional careers as well as former/current BUA participants collegiate careersenbasketballuniverse@gmail.comCopyright 2010 Basketball Universe Academy2011-04-13T17:48:32-07:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:58:52 -0700basketballuniverse@gmail.comKyle Shiloh, BUA Trainer Blog2011-04-13T17:48:32-07:00http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/60aa8f974571df648b9a32f22b57e33b-15.html#unique-entry-id-15http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/60aa8f974571df648b9a32f22b57e33b-15.html#unique-entry-id-15If you haven't noticed, in the Bakersfield area alone it's almost as if a new "AAU" travel team is created almost every other month. Sadly, I feel that most of these coaches, teams, and players have the wrong intentions/idea behind this. AAU travel basketball was created as an opportunity to display your talent and further your basketball career after HS by hopefully receiving a scholarship to college. For the kids/parents who do take it serious, there's a lack of preparation in the off season for that level of basketball. I feel that too many people these days are confused as what the main purpose of AAU basketball is. Let me throw out some numbers to better clarify a kids opportunities of receiving a college basketball athletic scholarship.

On average, there are only 13 available max basketball scholarships available at a Division 1 college, 10 scholarships max for a Division 2, 18 for a NAIA, and 15 for a Junior College. Between D1, D2, and NAIA there is a total of slightly over 1,000 schools available for kids to receive a scholarship and play basketball. That means for roughly over 1 million kids in all 50 states there is only slightly over 1,000 opportunities for all of those kids to receive a scholarship. Every single one of those millions of kids have the same dream and are fighting for the same scholarships.

My point behind the numbers is that with the odds your given, why not increase your chances by preparing yourself as much as possible? Recently, I've been concerned by a lot of the kids and parents I talk to on a daily basis. For any parents or current players involved in AAU who might be reading this, I want you to ask yourself a question... When are the open dates throughout the year that colleges can attend events to scout players? Then I want you to ask yourself, Does my AAU team go to any tournaments and/or events during these dates? If so, have I been training and working out accordingly to prepare me for this? Most kids/teams don't travel during the recruiting period, some kids/teams do but they've been so busy playing games that they have no idea as to how the game SHOULD be played, and then they end up being overlooked by the same people they are trying to impress... the coaches. I think most of us forget this or do not realize it and think of AAU as something that people just do these days. Trust me, the travel and fee's that come along with AAU basketball are not cheap. If that means taking some time off from AAU and devoting it specifically to developing your game, so be it. So if you want to take part in all of this, make sure you're ready! That means working on your game and training in the off season, recognizing the weak points in your game, and having an understanding of WHAT COLLEGE COACHES WANT TO SEE!



]]>basketballuniverse@gmail.comDemarcus HallBUA Trainer Blog2011-02-19T02:45:27-08:00http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/8c8d7eec8eb509f24b4005d80379e88a-14.html#unique-entry-id-14http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/8c8d7eec8eb509f24b4005d80379e88a-14.html#unique-entry-id-14To Each His Own..

Grateful to be blessed. To travel, to play basketball, its all fun and making for a great experience. An experience that I can draw from. It comes down to the classic argument over life versus lifestyle. Somehow I know that I am heading in the right direction. Just have to make sure to listen to the universe and adhere to the omens.

I remember hearing the question; What are u protecting? Wittingly I answered by stating "my stuff"(phone, bike, apartment or whatever material things I either paid for or was still working to make payments on). Material possessions are temporary and turn to dust with time. Searching for something more lasting with more substance. My answer should have been bonds, goals and ambitions. Bonds that I share with my family and the people I put on with. I have a goal and that is to position myself to help the position of my family. Now that I think about it I cannot wait to reunite with my family as I will have stories to tell and its been a while since I have been in their presence. It will be cool to be around them now that I’ve been around. I'm just trying to continue to advance and be more ambitious.

The goal I wanted to achieve this season was to lead a productive season. Now with the first half of the season recorded I can say that I did it. Before arriving I set a goal to lead a team in every category. Reason being is that I have never experienced that before. Just wanted to see what that experience would bring. Success, as a team, we have had it this season and I have learned how it take it in in spurts.

We have won 5 out of the last 8 games. Now in the second half of the season each team knows what to expect and are preparing accordingly. Teams are battling for playoff positioning and games are becoming more physical and competitive. There are 5 games remaining and each game seems to become bigger than the last. We are looking to continue our momentum and we have an opportunity to get a solid spot for the playoffs. Game time this Sunday!!

Please feel free to leave comments. If you have any question just post them  and I will answer them. Give me something to talk about and it would make for more blogs]]>basketballuniverse@gmail.comDwuan Rice, BUA Trainer Blog2011-02-12T07:30:34-08:00http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/3bc655a82531b28bf011d0d87c3ee349-12.html#unique-entry-id-12http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/3bc655a82531b28bf011d0d87c3ee349-12.html#unique-entry-id-12(February 11, 2011 Saint John, NB):  The Saint John Mill Rats were 'Pretty in Pink' tonight as they escaped with an 83-78 win over the #2 ranked Halifax Rainmen before a boisterous home crowd of 3,601.  The Mill Rats players, along with Head Coach Jaren Jackson, donned pink jerseys in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness, on Hoops for Hope night.

The Mill Rats grabbed an early 5 point lead before the Rainmen raced back and took a 28-26 lead at the end of the first quarter.  The Mill Rats used a swarming help defense to hold the Rainmen to a mere 10 points in the second quarter, to take a 48-38 halftime lead.

Halifax rallied to grab a 68-67 lead with 7:30 remaining on a three pointer by former '09 Mill Rat Julian Allen . The Rainmen later tied the game 76-76 on a tip in by Mike Mercer.  After two Marc Egerson free throws to give Saint John a 78-76 lead, the Mill Rats forced a huge stop.  With under a minute, Dwuan Rice took the foul plagued Taliek Brown off the dribble for a fallaway jumper in the lane, giving Saint John some breathing room at 80-76.  On the ensuing possession it was again the 'little big man', Dwuan Rice, coming up with a huge rebound to seal the win.

Former Vermont Frost Heave Dwuan Rice led the Mill Rats with 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists.  Marc Egerson added 15, Ross Demasi 14 and 10 rebounds, and Anthony Anderson 11.  Josh Dollard led the Rainmen with 14 points]]>basketballuniverse@gmail.comDwuan RiceBUA Trainer Blog2011-02-08T01:34:24-08:00http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/f07f5deeca761eefd41314eabdeccff8-11.html#unique-entry-id-11http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/f07f5deeca761eefd41314eabdeccff8-11.html#unique-entry-id-11

Here today....gone tomorrow

Coming off two 16 plus hours road trips and 2 tough loses, we got back to Vermont. Unfortunately, The bad luck didn't stop there. Coach sent a mass text to the whole team informing us we had a mandatory team meeting. As we enter the meeting, the vibe I sensed from everyone wasn't good. All the Members of the board had dejected looks and glossy eyes. They informed us that the team couldn't not financially support us and they were ceasing all basketball operations.

The following day there was a draft, 5 of us got picked up by other teams. I was draft by a team in Dayton, but later I was released. With no team, I wasnt sure what my next move would be. One thing that was certain, I  still had more things to be grateful, than to complain about.

I took a couple days to visit some loyal supporters, kids that I'd been mentoring, and reflect on what lesson god wanted me to learn from this situation. Sure enough, I got a call from our arch rivals, Saint John Millrats. They told me to sit tight and they'd bring me in the following week. And they did.

Me and Ross Demasi, former Frostheave and teammate arrived Saint John tuesday around midnight. We had one day of practice and a game two days later. We played against a team from Quebec, Canada the division leaders. In a winning effort, I mustered up 12 point and 6 assist. Ross had 14 and 6 rebounds.

Through this trial, I was reminded nothing is certain. It's here and the next minute it can all be gone. As I continue to pray and strengthen my faith in Christ, I know that he knows the desires of my heart and he will not allow me to be in a situation too big for me to handle.

God bless
-Wanni
]]>basketballuniverse@gmail.comKyle Shiloh, BUA Trainer Blog2010-11-03T01:27:09-07:00http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/7738605cab89445f7e2f43bfc15886dc-10.html#unique-entry-id-10http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/7738605cab89445f7e2f43bfc15886dc-10.html#unique-entry-id-10It's been a while since I was last able to put up a new blog because I haven't had internet access for the last month. The team gave me the option of moving to a new apartment downtown so they had to switch the service to the new address. In the states, if you put an order in for something such as the internet it will most likely be taken care of that same day or close to it. In France, everything takes two to three weeks to go through for some reason. No matter how nice of an area in Europe you're in, these type of little things are what can make you appreciate what you have back home. Also, the government in France had recently decided to raise the age in which people can start collecting retirement from work. The people have decided to go on strike to protest this which means that businesses have been closed all around France including most public transportation. I'm not sure how long the strike will go on but I'm sure that is one of the reasons why it took so long for everything to be turned on in my apartment.

A lot has happened since my last blog. We're now 4-1 in the season and we also won our cup game that we recently played in. The one loss that we have was against Rouen on the road. Rouen is a big city, about one hour from Paris. So I did get to see the Ifal Tower from a distance while we were traveling to the game. I plan on going to Paris in June some time before I leave to see everything up close. There are five different leagues in France; National 1, 2, 3, Pro B, and Pro A being the highest level. Whichever team wins the championship in its division will have the option of moving up a division and the bottom team in the league will move to the next league down. Rouen is a team that wants to make the jump up to Pro A which means that they must win a championship to do so. They have put a lot of money into their team and their players have a lot of pressure on them to perform because of this. I'm sure all of you know about how Lebron James is now with the Heat and they are calling them the "Big 3". Before the game, the team had an advertisement up with three of their Americans on the front calling them the "Big 3" and the coach was also in the newspaper talking about one of them as if he's close to being cut because he's not playing good. Going into the game, they were struggling at the time but we all knew they were due for a good game. We played well in the first half but they ended up beating us by double digits to give us our first loss.

After the Rouen game we headed back home to play a team called Clermont. A guy by the name of Dreike Bouldin, who played in the same conference as me in college at Fresno State, plays on this team. It was cool because me and him talked for a minute before the game about some of the days back in college. He's an older guy so he's been all around Europe in the past years and it's always good talking to guys like that every once in a while. This is a team that we played once in the pre season so we already knew what type of team they were. We ended up winning by double digits.

Our most recent game was at home against Antibes. They have an american pg, Justin Ingram, who I played against in college at the University of Toledo. He's played in France for about five years so he already has a certain amount of respect here. The talk in the papers was about how big of a game it was for both clubs and also about my matchup against him. The game was extremely close but we ended up pulling it out in the end. As for the matchup between me and the other pg, we both played very well. He finished with 25 points hitting some big threes towards the end and I finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assist. I suffered a hand injury towards the end of the game and my whole hand was swollen afterwards. The team was scared that something was broken so they had me take x-ray's the following day just to make sure. Everything came out fine, but it was swollen to the point that I couldn't move it so they put me in a cast for a few days and we'll just have to wait and see how it heals. Hopefully I'll be able to play in our game on the road this weekend.

]]>basketballuniverse@gmail.comKyle ShilohBUA Trainer Blog2010-10-11T14:10:29-07:00http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/31ca11b3fe00d4b99ab26382d8eb565a-9.html#unique-entry-id-9http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/31ca11b3fe00d4b99ab26382d8eb565a-9.html#unique-entry-id-9
Me and the rest of the BUA family will be updating our own blogs throughout the year to keep everyone up to date on what we’re doing. The BUA staff is currently having a very accomplished year so far with their professional and collegiate careers which means we are all learning even more while we continue to play the game on a high level[...]]]>basketballuniverse@gmail.comRichard "Zeek" AndrewsBUA Trainer Blog2010-10-11T10:27:19-07:00http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/4ab156c6f3e20dc336dc2162245102f7-8.html#unique-entry-id-8http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/4ab156c6f3e20dc336dc2162245102f7-8.html#unique-entry-id-8basketballuniverse@gmail.comSam MarcusBUA Collegiate Blog2010-11-13T10:14:58-08:00http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/b7ee9a7a937f0007013e473b22433e5a-7.html#unique-entry-id-7http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/b7ee9a7a937f0007013e473b22433e5a-7.html#unique-entry-id-7College life has been a whole new experience for me. I have never been on my own so far away from home before. I feel like college teaches me how to be more independent and self-reliant, you don't have your mom or your dad there all the time to look after to you so you just have to be responsible and accountable for your actions. College basketball was probably the biggest surprise, having to adjust from the intensity of high school to the next level was a big jump for me since im not a vocal person. I have definitely learned a lot since i've been here. One of the most important things i picked up here in college is that i have a lot more growing up to do to be the kind of person im striving to be.]]>basketballuniverse@gmail.comDemarcus HallBUA Trainer Blog2010-11-19T00:20:08-08:00http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/dabb0efe9624077a7e25c3c16f2b0b7f-5.html#unique-entry-id-5http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/dabb0efe9624077a7e25c3c16f2b0b7f-5.html#unique-entry-id-5LIFE IS GOOD..LIFE IS GREAT..LIFE IS WHATEVER U WANT IT TO BE!!!!
Grateful in being blessed with the opportunity to continue hooping. Being a million miles from home seeing new things and meeting new people is great. Expansion is something I longed for; now being provided an ample opportunity I am all for it. I am out of my comfort zone, in return I am forced to construct a new comfort zone to form new ideals perceptions and to build within myself. You have to lose anything to gain everything. Coming here I believe I did just that. When I arrived all I had was a BIBLE, my passport an identification card and hope. I had to make new relationships, build new friendships, establish resources and form support groups. You have to do these things in order to be successful while being abroad.
Basketball is one of three of the main sports here. Hockey and futbol(soccer) are the other two. Its easy to see that hockey would be popular here given that it snows for seven months out of the year and its extremely cold throughout the duration of the calendar year. Soccer is popular here just as it is extremely popular in all of Europe.

I am currently competing for a team in Jyvaskyla, Finland. So far the team has been great in many ways. The coaching staff has been positive and motivating with me and what I bring to the fold. The players have been open as they have welcomed me into their lives and team structure. League play takes its course over 32 weeks. The first half of league will demand teams to play one game a week. The midpoint of the season leaves 16 weeks and at this point teams will play two game per week. We have gotten off to a solid start as we have jumped out to a 2-0 record in the marathon and the season looks be one of promise. The great start just motivates me to do more and continue to improve.. Individually the start of the season has been great. For the first round of league play I received the player of the week award. For the second round of league play I ranked in the top three in individual performances.

The second round was a tough one to swallow. Even with the rave reviews my team lost a game to the top ranked team in our league with a final score of 77-80 in favor of the opposing team. The third round of league play proved to be a learning experience, even at his point, as my team let a 17 point first-half lead go to waste as we eventually lost that game by 11 points. Record wise my team  has “balanced out” as we now stand at 2-2. Like I previously stated this is a marathon and not a race. Well we have a week off from games but we do have practice throughout the week. In the meantime in between time I will stay on my grind. Continue to showcase who you are!!!!!!!]]>basketballuniverse@gmail.comJalei KinderBUA Collegiate Blog2010-10-06T00:19:44-07:00http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/b59d89f6cf265f89276cded55ad356b9-4.html#unique-entry-id-4http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/b59d89f6cf265f89276cded55ad356b9-4.html#unique-entry-id-4basketballuniverse@gmail.comAlex JohnsonBUA Collegiate Blog2010-11-17T00:19:27-08:00http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/45c7eeec91ec7a9e96ee8346249df413-3.html#unique-entry-id-3http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/45c7eeec91ec7a9e96ee8346249df413-3.html#unique-entry-id-3Hello World,

This is your boy Alex Johnson A.K.A AJ coming all the way from Cali. The college season tipped off last week and it was pretty exciting. For all who don't know me, I attend Cal-State Bakersfield and I am a redshirt Junior. I tore my ACL last year so I'm just getting back into it and trying to get my rhythm back. Last week we had our first road trip, we played Santa Clara our first game. It was good to see the poster of Steve Nash! GO CANADA! LOL Anyways it was a tough and grind game and we ended up losing by 5. It was tough loss to swallow but we had to prepare for Sac State. On sunday evening we look to get a win. The game started off pretty rough, in the first ten minutes we were down by 14, we manage to pull together and end the half all tied up.

The second half was another tight one as neither team was giving an inch. Now let me take you to the last minute of the game. A minute left and we were down by 2. I drive to the basket and I turn the ball over. Awww Man! 39 seconds left. I'm at the free throw line thinking about what I can do to make up for the turnover. They make two free throws and go up by four. The ball gets inbound and I come down and shoot a NBA 3 and hit it. We're down by 1. We let them cross half and end up fouling. They hit both free throws. We take the ball out and with 10 seconds left I cross half and make it to the 3 point line and manage to draw the foul. NOW I have 3 free throws and it's the scariest moment of my life! I manage to hit all 3 free throws and send it into OT. WHEW! In the extra period, We made some key plays and closed the game off by Donald Johnson making a huge lebron block which had us winning by 2. WHAT A GAME! So I'm feeling that the monkey is off my back and I'm glad that we were able to get our first win of the season but I am not satisfied. Today we play Southern Utah and hopefully we get some momentum to build on our win from Sunday. I'll keep you guys posted throughout the season though. Well until Next time. It's your boy AJ signing off. Stay Classy!]]>basketballuniverse@gmail.comJeff ChristensenBUA Trainer Blog2010-11-05T00:19:04-07:00http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/420f6d546f184bb3b3c3872eec6d8d56-2.html#unique-entry-id-2http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/420f6d546f184bb3b3c3872eec6d8d56-2.html#unique-entry-id-2I am currently playing for a team in Bergen, Norway, which is the second largest city in Norway.  Norway is an extremely wealthy country and the people are well taken care of, proven by the United Nations recently declaring Norway as having the best quality of life in the world.  Everybody here speaks english as well, so my transition from the states has been very smooth.  The other American out here was actually in the Bakersfield Jam Training Camp when I was on their staff, so already knowing somebody has made it even easier. 
 
Basketball isn't as popular here as it is in other parts of Europe; it takes a back seat to soccer and even handball, but still has a good following.Our team is 4-1 and playing very well.  Every game is important because there are so few.  We only play once a week, so there is more of a football mindset in the sense that one loss can have a drastic effect on the standings.  Everybody works hard and is only concerned with winning, which is a pleasure to be around.  I currently lead the league in assists and steals, with my best game being a win where I had 23 points and 12 assists.  Hopefully we can continue to play well and be atop the standings before the winter break.]]>basketballuniverse@gmail.comDwuan RiceBUA Trainer Blog2010-12-11T08:26:44-08:00http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/603da93bfd1ee211de95b63170307013-1.html#unique-entry-id-1http://www.bballuniverse.com/page10/files/603da93bfd1ee211de95b63170307013-1.html#unique-entry-id-1After a long summer of hard work,  I have finally arrived in Vermont.  As you can imagine, its colder than a polar bears toe nail here! No snow the first couple days but temperatures under 20 degrees, Cali boys aren't built for this type of weather lol. I got here a week before everyone else, just to get some extra work in. Coach had me go to a few community events in my first couple of days, but that's over now and it's time to focus on training camp. I am extremely excited to get this season underway.

So far we have some guys that I feel will make the game a little easier for me and some that make me feel like it could be a long season. Nevertheless, this is a big year for me, as I am planning on being overseas this time next year. With that as one of my primary goals, I have to perform regardless of my competition and/or supporting cast. we brought 18 guys into training camp and we can only keep 10, which means 8 guys are gonna be on the chopping block, ugh!

As of today, 2 guys have been released, 3 guys are hurt, and 12 traveled to Saint Johns, Canada for our first preseason game. This year is gonna be a grind, I can already sense it. We have some budget cuts, and team travel was hit the hardest. Instead of flying or team buses, we are doing a lot of traveling in vans. Not so good for these 7’ dudes but at 5‘9, I’m goodie lol. Any-who, Im anxious to get out there and play, but a little disappointed because I wont be playing much. Coach, said he wants to get a chance to evaluate the other players more,  so sadly I guess I have to take one for the team. We’ll see how tonight goes, either way it should be fun.


Until next time, Keep me in your prayers and god blesss.

It was written........

-Wanni]]>