Europe…
After getting the letter from the Trailblazers, I literally had no plan for my life. But, as mentioned earlier, I believe the Universe works for you if you want it to. What Coach McCloskey said about Europe really didn’t resonate with me, because I knew absolutely nothing about it. Outside of the Soviet Union, I didn’t have a clue of who even played basketball around the world. It just seemed like a totally American game and, except for the Olympic slip up by some college kids trying to beat some Russian pro’s, it was never a topic of conversation by anyone I hung around with. So for about a month, I was pretty worthless- staying at my parent's house, not working at anything, not focused on anything. Here’s where the Universe stepped in.
One day, I woke up and thought to myself that I really did love basketball. I was passionate about it, but had been devastated by what appeared to be the end of it. I decided on the spot to give the NBA another try. Since I was prohibited from trying out with another team for a year, I had to come up with a plan to spend that year getting ready to be a free agent, like Bernie Fryer did. The first part of my plan was to get back in shape and work on my skills. That night, I took my ball and went over to Perry Park, which is around 32nd Street and Thomas. It is still there and I drive by it everyday on my way to MCC, and never fail to look over at the basketball court that literally changed my life. Because that very first night, I went over to just shoot and dribble and get the feel back. Then, some guys showed up that I had never seen before, and eventually they talked me into playing. It was obvious to them and me that I was way above their talent level, even though I hadn’t played since that last scrimmage in Portland. It felt good to play and as I left the court, there was a guy in the parking lot who was leaning up against his car. He asked me who I was, and we spoke for a few minutes. Turns out he was a sponsor of a really good local men’s team that played all over the Southwest in tournaments. I didn’t know that kind of thing existed and he asked me if I wanted to join his team. It was amazing- that morning I had decided to get off my butt and start playing again, and by that evening I was joining the best men’s team in the valley. The Universe, I tell you.
Right after that, my sister-in-law called me and wanted to know if I wanted to work in the bookstore that she managed over at what used to be called Thomas Mall. It seemed like easy enough work, but it would be another life changer, because I had never really been much of reader until then. Over the next few months, I learned to love reading almost as much as I loved to play basketball. Where was this all leading me? I thought that it would be straight back to a shot at the NBA. The men’s team was really good and was all guys who had played college basketball, and some, like myself who even had a cup of coffee in the NBA. I remember one trip to Hermosillo, Mexico, where our manager said we were going to play a good local team in an exhibition game. That’s about all we knew going down. It was after dark when we pulled in to Hermosillo and were immediately lost. We saw some placards on a telephone pole that were written in Spanish, but basically said that some team from Mexico was going to play the USA team. We thought, that’s pretty cool, the USA team is here tonight also. Turns out, we were the USA team and when we finally found the local arena, it was already almost full. We dressed and were warming up, and noticed that the crowd had kind of a hostile attitude towards the “USA team”. When we got to the bench, one of players told me that if it got rough with the crowd, he would handle the situation. He opened his bag for me and showed me a pistol that he had brought. I said, “Harry, how many bullets you got?” There must have been 10,000 people in the stands, so I didn’t think a pistol would do much good. We lost the game on purpose after a team agreement that it would be best to do so, and so even today there are probably some old farts in Hermosillo remembering the time that the local all-star team beat the USA.
As I progressed through the fall, I thought I had a pretty good plan for getting another tryout with an NBA team- keep playing on the men's team, work on my skills, work at the bookstore. In November, however, I got a call from an agent in Chicago named Herb Rudoy. In my entire history of playing basketball up to that point, I had never spoken to an agent. It never entered my mind that I shoud enlist one to help me. Herb called because Jack McCloskey from the Trailblazers had called him and recommended me. McCloskey, as a side note, would not have much success in Portland, but would go on to be the GM in Detroit and become famous for putting together the famous "bad boys" who would become pretty good. Herb was young and was trying to break into the agency business by placing guys overseas. He would go on to big time success in the business and would become a high dollar player agent in the NBA down the road. He asked me if I wanted to go play ball overseas, and I said where? He said France. Instantly, the two things that I knew about France popped into my head- the Eiffel Tower, and everybody speaks French, which I didn’t. I asked him about the latter item, and he assured me that there would be people over there who understood and spoke American, which was a derivative of English. I asked Herb who the team was and what the deal was. He said the team was in Angouleme and the deal was if I was good enough to make the team, then his man over there, a guy named Jan Vandenbrouck would negotiate a salary for me. I said what if I don’t make the team? Herb said that he was purchasing a round trip ticket and that I could return home and continue my life in Phoenix if I didn’t make the team. I told him I would think it over.
I got a map of France at the bookstore and looked up Angouleme. It is in the Southwest of France, not far from Bordeaux, which was a name that sounded familiar. There was really no one that I could talk to about playing in Europe around Phoenix at that time. The only guy I ever heard of who had gone overseas was Gerhard Shreur, who I knew a little bit, because he had played at North High, had played some 3 on 3 at East High, and had played at ASU. He was in Holland, and there was no way to get in touch with him in those days to ask his advice. Everyone in my family said “go!” and “you’re an idiot if you don’t!” Some even said “there is someone who will pay you to play basketball?” So, after a few days, I called Herb Rudoy back and said Oui Oui, I will go to France. The Universe.
So there I went- didn’t know a soul, had to make two connections- Phoenix to Chicago, Chicago to Paris, then Paris to Bordeaux. When I got to Paris, the flight was running late and I actually missed the connection to Bordeaux. I had no cell phone, because they didn’t exist, and I didn’t even have a phone number to call my team’s representatives who would notice that I was not going to get off the plane in Bordeaux. I didn’t even know their names. The people at the airline, Air Inter, were helpful and got me on the next available flight to Bordeaux, but that wouldn’t get into Bordeaux until around midnight. I prepared myself for a night in the Bordeaux airport, but when I arrived, I saw a whole group of people waiting for me. As I de-planed, a tall lanky guy came towards and suddenly produced a basketball and threw it at me. I caught it and he just nodded. I guess they were checking my hands. Anyway, we travelled back to Angouleme in kind of a car caravan. It is a small city about 70 miles northeast of Bordeaux. My European career had begun.
Next….Games…
After getting the letter from the Trailblazers, I literally had no plan for my life. But, as mentioned earlier, I believe the Universe works for you if you want it to. What Coach McCloskey said about Europe really didn’t resonate with me, because I knew absolutely nothing about it. Outside of the Soviet Union, I didn’t have a clue of who even played basketball around the world. It just seemed like a totally American game and, except for the Olympic slip up by some college kids trying to beat some Russian pro’s, it was never a topic of conversation by anyone I hung around with. So for about a month, I was pretty worthless- staying at my parent's house, not working at anything, not focused on anything. Here’s where the Universe stepped in.
One day, I woke up and thought to myself that I really did love basketball. I was passionate about it, but had been devastated by what appeared to be the end of it. I decided on the spot to give the NBA another try. Since I was prohibited from trying out with another team for a year, I had to come up with a plan to spend that year getting ready to be a free agent, like Bernie Fryer did. The first part of my plan was to get back in shape and work on my skills. That night, I took my ball and went over to Perry Park, which is around 32nd Street and Thomas. It is still there and I drive by it everyday on my way to MCC, and never fail to look over at the basketball court that literally changed my life. Because that very first night, I went over to just shoot and dribble and get the feel back. Then, some guys showed up that I had never seen before, and eventually they talked me into playing. It was obvious to them and me that I was way above their talent level, even though I hadn’t played since that last scrimmage in Portland. It felt good to play and as I left the court, there was a guy in the parking lot who was leaning up against his car. He asked me who I was, and we spoke for a few minutes. Turns out he was a sponsor of a really good local men’s team that played all over the Southwest in tournaments. I didn’t know that kind of thing existed and he asked me if I wanted to join his team. It was amazing- that morning I had decided to get off my butt and start playing again, and by that evening I was joining the best men’s team in the valley. The Universe, I tell you.
Right after that, my sister-in-law called me and wanted to know if I wanted to work in the bookstore that she managed over at what used to be called Thomas Mall. It seemed like easy enough work, but it would be another life changer, because I had never really been much of reader until then. Over the next few months, I learned to love reading almost as much as I loved to play basketball. Where was this all leading me? I thought that it would be straight back to a shot at the NBA. The men’s team was really good and was all guys who had played college basketball, and some, like myself who even had a cup of coffee in the NBA. I remember one trip to Hermosillo, Mexico, where our manager said we were going to play a good local team in an exhibition game. That’s about all we knew going down. It was after dark when we pulled in to Hermosillo and were immediately lost. We saw some placards on a telephone pole that were written in Spanish, but basically said that some team from Mexico was going to play the USA team. We thought, that’s pretty cool, the USA team is here tonight also. Turns out, we were the USA team and when we finally found the local arena, it was already almost full. We dressed and were warming up, and noticed that the crowd had kind of a hostile attitude towards the “USA team”. When we got to the bench, one of players told me that if it got rough with the crowd, he would handle the situation. He opened his bag for me and showed me a pistol that he had brought. I said, “Harry, how many bullets you got?” There must have been 10,000 people in the stands, so I didn’t think a pistol would do much good. We lost the game on purpose after a team agreement that it would be best to do so, and so even today there are probably some old farts in Hermosillo remembering the time that the local all-star team beat the USA.
As I progressed through the fall, I thought I had a pretty good plan for getting another tryout with an NBA team- keep playing on the men's team, work on my skills, work at the bookstore. In November, however, I got a call from an agent in Chicago named Herb Rudoy. In my entire history of playing basketball up to that point, I had never spoken to an agent. It never entered my mind that I shoud enlist one to help me. Herb called because Jack McCloskey from the Trailblazers had called him and recommended me. McCloskey, as a side note, would not have much success in Portland, but would go on to be the GM in Detroit and become famous for putting together the famous "bad boys" who would become pretty good. Herb was young and was trying to break into the agency business by placing guys overseas. He would go on to big time success in the business and would become a high dollar player agent in the NBA down the road. He asked me if I wanted to go play ball overseas, and I said where? He said France. Instantly, the two things that I knew about France popped into my head- the Eiffel Tower, and everybody speaks French, which I didn’t. I asked him about the latter item, and he assured me that there would be people over there who understood and spoke American, which was a derivative of English. I asked Herb who the team was and what the deal was. He said the team was in Angouleme and the deal was if I was good enough to make the team, then his man over there, a guy named Jan Vandenbrouck would negotiate a salary for me. I said what if I don’t make the team? Herb said that he was purchasing a round trip ticket and that I could return home and continue my life in Phoenix if I didn’t make the team. I told him I would think it over.
I got a map of France at the bookstore and looked up Angouleme. It is in the Southwest of France, not far from Bordeaux, which was a name that sounded familiar. There was really no one that I could talk to about playing in Europe around Phoenix at that time. The only guy I ever heard of who had gone overseas was Gerhard Shreur, who I knew a little bit, because he had played at North High, had played some 3 on 3 at East High, and had played at ASU. He was in Holland, and there was no way to get in touch with him in those days to ask his advice. Everyone in my family said “go!” and “you’re an idiot if you don’t!” Some even said “there is someone who will pay you to play basketball?” So, after a few days, I called Herb Rudoy back and said Oui Oui, I will go to France. The Universe.
So there I went- didn’t know a soul, had to make two connections- Phoenix to Chicago, Chicago to Paris, then Paris to Bordeaux. When I got to Paris, the flight was running late and I actually missed the connection to Bordeaux. I had no cell phone, because they didn’t exist, and I didn’t even have a phone number to call my team’s representatives who would notice that I was not going to get off the plane in Bordeaux. I didn’t even know their names. The people at the airline, Air Inter, were helpful and got me on the next available flight to Bordeaux, but that wouldn’t get into Bordeaux until around midnight. I prepared myself for a night in the Bordeaux airport, but when I arrived, I saw a whole group of people waiting for me. As I de-planed, a tall lanky guy came towards and suddenly produced a basketball and threw it at me. I caught it and he just nodded. I guess they were checking my hands. Anyway, we travelled back to Angouleme in kind of a car caravan. It is a small city about 70 miles northeast of Bordeaux. My European career had begun.
Next….Games…
