How can i play basketball overseas

How to Play Basketball Overseas - Step by Step Guide

The goal of any athlete is to make a living playing the sport they love. In basketball, if you don’t make it to the NBA or the NBA G League, there are hundreds of other leagues around the world where you can live out your dreams of making good money playing basketball. This step-by-step guide will break down the steps on how to play basketball overseas.

Table of Contents

Step 1:

How to play basketball overseas for Americans image by EuroProBasket

You need experience playing at the highest level to get the most interest from teams overseas. So your goal should be to make it to the top level wherever you are currently living and playing.

American Players

Ncaa D1 – Teams overseas know that there is a ranking system in the USA that has Ncaa D1 at the top followed by Ncaa D2 and Ncaa D3. NAIA is still not completely clear to a lot of teams overseas but can still provide good experience.

Canadian USPORTS is becoming more known to teams across the pond. The Canadian NBL is a great option for quality experience.

Juco and high school experience is usually not enough to get serious interest from teams overseas. That is if you are not ranked in the nation such as LaMelo Ball or Brandon Jennings. Go for a 4 year University program at the highest level possible.

AAU and shoe sponsored club teams will help you get exposure to Universities but will rarely get you enough exposure to get overseas.

If your time has passed with University eligibility or it’s just not for you, the best option is getting on a semi-pro team. Make sure you read the last section of the article if you fall under this category.

International Players

Club Teams – For International players, this is the only way to play basketball competitively. Work to get on the best club team in your city or town.

Junior National Team – Your goal should be to play for your country’s national team. The senior team would be the ultimate goal but junior teams will get you exposure.

Get stats – How to play basketball overseas image via EuroProBasket

If you go Ncaa D1 and don’t get any minutes, struggle to get stats, then you will also struggle to get interest from teams overseas.

Go D2 and be an All-American. That will get you great playing experience, and quality stats, which could lead to a professional contract.

NCAA, NAIA, USPORTS, international club teams and leagues; got those numbers up while adding value to your team.

Make sure you know where to locate your stats. Keep track of them and add them to your resume at the end of every season.

Game film is your way to show your talent, athleticism and decision making skills to teams around the world. Video is the 2nd step in your search of how to play basketball overseas.

One Highlight Per Season – Sum up every season you play with a highlight. Teams, coaches, agents…like to get a quick glimpse of how you move and shoot. This will peak their interest and get them to consider watching some of your full games.

Two Full Games per Season – This is pretty self explanatory but you need two full games per season played. this is a minimum. Some teams may ask for more. Make sure they are the best games you have played, both on offense and defense.

You should be in control of your own film. Make a YouTube channel, vimeo or sign up for another streaming service. Membership is free and you can upload as many videos as you want.

Acceptable Video – YOU Need to Read This

The quality of the competition is absolutely critical to getting a team overseas to watch your video. Low level and disorganized competition will not gain any attention from clubs overseas.

Open gyms, open runs, YMCA, Juco or high school is not high enough quality to get the interest from contacts overseas. You need to get the highest competition possible. Playing against adults in an organized competitive environment.

NCAA, NAIA, USPORTS are the best options for players from America. International players can use their country’s local competitions. The higher the level of competition the better.

Semi-Pro Leagues in the USA can be good options as well. Not all teams overseas will consider it but many will. It is important your team is organized and the competition is high level. Good effort on defense. Running organized sets and plays on offense.

Overseas Basketball Combine , exposure camps, and showcases in the USA will not get you a team’s interest. Take our word for it, or read this article for reasons why teams do not consider it a viable option to scout players.

More information on why USA overseas basketball combine film will not help you get overseas below.

Overseas Tour game film can work well due to the fact that you are usually playing overseas teams. Be selective on which tour you go on. If you take a tour to Latin America, don’t expect to use the film to help you get on a team in Europe.

Workout videos or clips of yourself working out will rarely get you anywhere. If you have some solid game film and you have had a few months off, it is possible that a team will want to see some workout film to make sure you are in shape. This is usually not the case though.

Mixtapes and slow-mo video clips are cool but not beneficial for coaches and scouts. It will get you some props from your friends and IG followers but will do nothing to get you signed.

EuroProBasket game film – Players in the EuroProBasket program play weekly games against European teams. The leagues that EuroProBasket team plays teams in are recognized around Spain and the rest of Europe. If you are asking yourself How to Play Basketball Overseas, we have your answer here in Valencia, Spain: Register to be part of EuroProBasket’s Professional Placement Program here.

Bosman A, Bosman B, Cotonou passports image via EuroProBasket

You cannot leave your country without a passport, with a few exceptions, which are not worth mentioning for this article.

You will need that passport to travel and on many occasions to register for an international team or league. Take care of that before you start your plans to go abroad.

Dual Citizenship and its Benefits in Overseas Basketball

You may have heard of players being dual citizens or having dual passports. This is one of the first things we recommend our players at EuroProBasket to look into.

If your parents were born in another country or have their citizenship in another country, you are eligible to receive yours as well.

You could possibly be eligible for another citizenship if your grandparents were born in another country. Do some research on your family’s historical background as it will greatly benefit you.

If you have a European passport for example, you will be considered a European player instead of an import player. No visa is required to register you to a team and there are 3-5 times as many roster spots available for European Bosman A passport holders than there are for import players, or USA passport holders. 

If you have citizenship in a specific country, it doesn’t matter the country, and there is a professional basketball league in that country, you will most likely be considered a local player. This has many benefits and will prolong your professional playing and even coaching career indefinitely.

Bosman A – Bosman B – Cotonou – The Differences

These passports are for citizens of the European Union. There are 27 countries in the EU with a few exceptions that are added to the list of Bosman A players. This is arguably the most beneficial passport to have in overseas basketball. You can find some interesting information about the bosman ruling and how it changed European and Ncaa basketball here.

These passports are countries in Europe but excluded from the European Union. Most European leagues have roster spots reserved for players with these passports. Registration to the league is typically less expensive than an import players registration. Players will need a visa to play and work in the country in which the team is located.

Cotonou

These passports are from developing countries, or third world countries in Africa and many Island Nations. Many leagues in Europe (Spain, Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland,ect…) have roster spots specifically for these passport holders. Their registration fee to the league is cheaper for the team. They too need a visa to work and play in the country where the team is located. More about the cotonou agreement here.

Bosman A, Bosman B and Cotonou Countries Table

Bosman A	Bosman B	Cotonou	Cotonou cont…
Andorra (AND)	Albania (ALB)	Angola (ANG)	Liberia (LIB)
Austria (AUT)	Armenia (ARM)	Anguilla (ANL)	Macau (MAC)
Belgium (BEL)	Azerbaijan (AZE)	Antigua (ANT)	Madagascar (MAD)
Bulgaria (BUL)	Belarus (BLR)	Aruba (ARU)	Mali (MLI)
Croatia (CRO)	Bosnia-Herzegovina (BIH)	Bahamas (BAH)	Marshall Islands (MAI)
Cyprus (CYP)	Georgia (GEO)	Barbados (BAR)	Mauritania (MTN)
Czech Rep. (CZE)	Gibraltar (GIB)	Belize (BIZ)	Mauritius Island (MAU)
Denmark (DEN)	Israel (ISR)	Botswana (BOT)	Micronesia (MCR)
Estonia (EST)	Moldova (MDA)	Burkina Faso (BUR)	Mozambique (MOZ)
Finland (FIN)	Montenegro (MNT)	Burundi (BDI)	Namibia (NAM)
France (FRA)	North Macedonia (MKD)	Cameroon (CMR)	Nauru (NRU)
Germany (GER)	Russia (RUS)	Cape Verde (CPV)	Nigeria (NGR)
Greece (GRE)	San Marino (SMR)	Central Africa (CAF)	Palau (PLW)
Holland (NED)	Scotland (SCO)	Chad (CHA)	Papua New Guinea (PNG)
Hungary (HUN)	Serbia (SRB)	Cook Islands (COK)	Rwanda (RWA)
Iceland (ISL)	Switzerland (SUI)	Cuba (CUB)	Saint Kitts (SKN)
Ireland (IRL)	Turkey (TUR)	Dominica (DMA)	Saint Lucia (SLA)
Italy (ITA)	Ukraine (UKR)	Dominican Rep. (DOM)	St. Vincent & Grenadines (VIN)
Kosovo (KOS)	United Kingdom (ENG)	Eritrea (ERI)	Samoa (SAM)
Latvia (LAT)	Wales (WAL)	Ethiopia (ETH)	Senegal (SEN)
Lithuania (LTU)		Fiji (FIJ)	Seychelles (SEY)
Luxembourg (LUX)		Gabon (GAB)	Sierra Leone (SLE)
Malta (MLT)		Gambia (GAM)	Solomon Islands (SOL)
Norway (NOR)		Ghana (GHA)	South Africa (RSA)
Poland (POL)		Grenada (GRN)	Sudan (SUD)
Portugal (POR)		Guam (GUM)	Suriname (SUR)
Romania (ROM)		Guinea (GUI)	Tanzania (TAN)
Slovak Rep. (SVK)		Guinea Bissau (GBS)	Tonga (TGA)
Slovenia (SLO)		Guyana (GUY)	Trinidad and Tobago (TRI)
Spain (ESP)		Haiti (HAI)	Turks and Caicos (TKS)
Sweden (SWE)		Ivory Coast (IVO)	Uganda (UGA)
		Jamaica (JAM)	Vanuatu (VAN)
		Kenya (KEN)	Zambia (ZAM)
		Lesotho (LES)	Zimbabwe (ZIM)

Bosman A, Bosman B, Cotonou Countries List chart by EuroProBasket

Player Resume – How to play basketball overseas image via EuroProBasket

• Include Personal Information, picture playing or in a professional outfit
• Include stats for every season, as detailed as possible as to not have team searching (remember teams and agents go through hundreds every week)
• Add Highlight links and full game links so they are clickable
• Add whatever accolades and achievements
• Add references if you like
• Save it in a pdf and have it on file so you can update it
• Make it organized and professional looking
• It only needs to be one or two pages
• Leave out the self explanation, self scouting and NBA player comparison
• Remember, less text is better, English is the 2nd, 3rd or 4th language of the person looking over your bio
• Have it ready to send on your phone
• We made an article specifically on how to make a basketball resume which can be found below.

• Use current contacts with coaches, trainers and teammates
• Create and use social media accounts, most contacts abroad have facebook, linkedin and twitter. Some have instagram accounts.
• Create your own website with all of your stats and video links if you can.

A basketball agent will have the contacts to help you get your career started overseas. There is a lot you need to know about overseas agents though. We covered every detail in the article below.

Step 8: Best Opportunities to Play Overseas Basketball

Best opportunities to play overseas basketball image via EuroProBasket

You’ve attempted Steps 1 through 7 of how to play basketball overseas. You still don’t have a team. Here are your options.

If you want to play in Japan, go to Japan and present yourself to teams. It is a big risk and very expensive but If you can walk in a gym and tryout for a team it makes your chances much higher that the team will give you an opportunity to sign with them.

There are obvious downsides to this option. Many teams only allow a certain amount of import players. Higher level teams have specific needs and there is a chance that you are not that exact fit for the team.

Showcases in the USA are hit or miss. More miss than hit. Too many players, un-organized open run type of basketball. Most teams cannot afford to send a coach or GM to the US to scout a group of players. It is much easier and less expensive for them to contact an agent for players with professional experience.

Live streams mean a busy person needs to take time out to watch, taken into account the time difference. Don’t fall for the gimmick many camps and combines in the USA try to sell to players.

Agent showcases can be a good option. Usually only the top one or two players will be interesting for the agency.

Basketball Academies & Overseas Tours

These options take more of an investment but what is a career in basketball worth to you? Put yourself in the middle of a country or region that you are interested in living and playing basketball.

Downsides to a tour is that it can be difficult to get a good rhythm and perform in just a week or 10 days. You don’t have much time to practice and get accustomed to your tour team. You will be moving from one location to nother with many hours of travel. Tours are really difficult to time as teams sign players at different times of the year, so when is the best week for the tour? Your guess is as good as theirs…

Some are organized and done by professionals, most are disorganized and can be very uncomfortable and in some cases scary.

A basketball academy is your best all around option. If you want the most legit shot at going pro then why not select the best basketball academy, with the longest history of helping players sign with teams in Europe? Located in the largest basketball facilities in Europe in collaboration with one of the biggest clubs in Europe. EuroProBasket will help you get to the next level.

The best and most secure opportunity to start your professional basketball career overseas is with EuroProBasket International Academy. Here are 21 reasons why.

Sign up for the most successful professional placement program here:

Essentials to Play Basketball Overseas

Essentials to play basketball overseas image via EuroProBasket

For many players these essentials to play basketball overseas will just be reminders. but still crucial to your success playing basketball overseas.

Complete Your Collegiate Playing Career

• No one is going to deny that for an American player the most important and useful experience you can have is from a University basketball program.
• There is no better place to get high level coaching and competition then in the American University system.
• You cannot substitute the 4 years of basketball knowledge, coaching, experience, physical growth and mental maturity that a collegiate basketball career will give you.
• That’s not to mention the actual degree that you can receive, paid for have you, from the University you attend.
• Stay in school if you want a better chance at playing professional basketball.

• The worst thing that can happen is that you get a tryout and are not in game shape
• You should be lifting weights, conditioning (running, sprints, hills, stairs, bike, plyometrics) skill work, playing 1v1 and 5v5.
• Get with other overseas professional players and workout with them.
• If you are not sure how to prepare, hire a professional basketball trainer that can help prepare a plan for you.

Be Active Networking and Making Contacts

• Everyday is a new opportunity to meet someone that can help you in your pursuit to play basketball overseas.
• Use your current contacts with coaches, teammates and trainers to reach new contacts.
• When you meet people involved in basketball, exchange contact information with them. Reach out to them and develop a relationship.
• Use social media to make new contacts around the world.

These are the suggestions on how to play basketball overseas by International Scout and CEO of EuroProbasket International Academy in Spain, Brad Kanis.

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The NBA Academy now has a Russian basketball player.

Editor's Note: You are reading a user blog called "Interception", which talks to future Russian basketball stars. Subscribe to know them all.

Russian center Yaroslav Nyagu is playing in the NBA Global Academy this season. In the summer of 2021, he was invited by Spanish, German, French teams, Euroleague and Eurocup participants, American colleges from the NCAA were invited, but Nyagu chose an academy in Australia.

What are the conditions there, why is this place unique and what gives its players - in a new video on the YouTube channel "Interception".

If you chose the YouTube option, please don't forget to like the video and leave a comment. It helps in promotion.

If you prefer to read, then below is the full text with comments by the main characters.

Yaroslav Nyagu was born in September 2003 in Rostov-on-Don. His dad used to go in for swimming, and not only did it, but became a master of sports. In addition to swimming, Sergei Nyagu is also a master of sports in judo.

Attention, the question is: what sport did dad send his son to? There is no time to think - three, two one ... Yes, you are right - for swimming. And judo!

But everything changed when in the first grade Yaroslav went to basketball. Then the coach came to the class and asked who would like to come play for a trial workout. The boy came home, told his parents, and they said: "Well, try it." Or rather, grandparents insisted on trying, and that's how Yaroslav ended up in basketball.

Yaroslav: “I came to the first practice. At first, I just did it, I didn’t think that it would turn out that way. Then, in the third grade, I moved to Krasnodar, and I had to look for a coach there. It so happened that they contacted the coach from Lokomotiv, who was involved in youth, and so I got on the sheet to Lokomotiv. And then, when I grew up, I was 14 years old and I could go to a boarding school, then I, one might say, finally got into the system.

Sergey: “We have arrived in Krasnodar. He played basketball, he succeeded, he liked it. And swimming in parallel, until the seventh grade I was engaged in swimming. That is, we arrived, started looking for a coach, found several coaches, it was a long way to travel. The stadiums "Spartak" and "Trud" were next to us, there was one coach, Evgeny Vladimirovich, and now we got to him. And they studied with him, it turns out, until the seventh grade. He was later noticed by Lokomotiv coaches.

Since childhood, Yaroslav's schedule was scheduled literally by the hour: training in the morning, school after it, and evening training after school. Home, sleep, and all over again.

Sergey: “I, as a professional athlete, all my life seeing his size, height at that age, understood that I needed to go in for sports. He played swimming and basketball at the same time, and the moment came when I gave him a choice. Well, in principle, he himself said: “I will play basketball, I want to, I like it, I don’t want to do anything else.” It was just the 6th or 7th grade, around this time he decided that he would follow this path. Basically, I'm all for it."

Yaroslav was a stubborn child. He gradually came to the forefront in the youth team, and in 2021 he even participated with her in the youth Euroleague. He looked great there, was one of the leaders and… attracted the attention of European teams.

Just at that time Yaroslav was graduating from school and began to think in what direction to develop his career. In Russia, the rights to him belong to Lokomotiv, so here he is a restricted free agent. But you can leave Russia...

Nyagu had offers from Spanish, French, German teams, Euroleague and Eurocup participants. In addition, American colleges were called.

There were two problems with the latter: first, none of the colleges can compare with the top European training systems; second, Nyagu did not speak English very well. The universities said that this was not a question at all, that they would help with everything, but for admission you need to pass an English exam via video link, and no one can help with this. Therefore, proposals from the NCAA could not be seriously considered.

Yaroslav was looking at Europe until his representative called him and told him that there was interest from... Australia. From the NBA academy. It turned out that the scouts of the academy have been following him for a long time, they know his capabilities and invite him to Canberra.

Yaroslav: “It was like a lifeline for me. Because at first we chose between Spain, America and staying in Russia. It was clear to us that in America I would not be able to study at universities, because English was a zero level. Europe - in principle, the same thing, only there is also a contract for 5 years. And while we were thinking, there was an option with Australia. You can tell how you came to the camp here. There is no contract, you can leave whenever you want, and I will be able to improve my English so that in the future I will either go to Europe or America. It turned out to be the perfect option for me.”

Sergey: “I had mixed feelings — feelings, far away, coronavirus… Very far away! But today I do not regret anything, a great decision. This is a great experience - both for basketball development, and for the development of a person as a person, for the development of his psyche, language skills. First of all, of course, basketball skills, but everything else in the appendage. Great experience, nothing to regret, just glad that it all worked out.

There is a slightly different approach to training, everything is based on positive emotions, on support. Well, the other hemisphere, the atmosphere. I like training, everything is fine, it is developing. Very, according to him, good guys, with whom he sparred, with whom he could develop his playing skills. Qualified employees. In general, the level NBA Academy - the name speaks for itself.

Let's figure out what kind of beast this is - the NBA Global Academy.

The National Basketball Association started building its academies five years ago. Today there are six such centers: two in China, one each in Mexico, Senegal, India and Australia. The league provides coaches, scouts, fitness specialists to academies, shares programs and sends technical devices. In a word, it contains academies at the highest level.

It's not officially mentioned anywhere, but the Chinese and Indian academies are mostly involved in promoting the sport as such. The association invests millions of dollars in the maintenance of these academies, but the very presence of the organization in national markets brings even more. The real talent search is carried out in academies located in Latin America and Africa.

At the top of all these academies is the Australian NBA Global Academy. The most talented guys from all other academies get there, as well as the most promising Australians.

In theory, the most promising Europeans should also go there. But with them, everything is a little more complicated. The fact is that all more or less talented players from the Old World are quickly snapped up by clubs and their training systems. The choice is clear: in the clubs they are offered some money, and sometimes not even some, but a serious salary. Under such conditions, it makes no sense to go to Australia, because you can progress in Europe.

Therefore, the Global Academy has long focused on talent from Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and some other parts of the world. Before Nyagu there were not only Russians, but even Europeans. The more surprising this story.

Yaroslav: “When I arrived, I was in quarantine for 15 days, I guess. In general, they usually sit there for 7 days, but then they found out that when I flew to Australia, a man was sitting next to me, whose crown was found. They gave me another 7 days of quarantine, that is, at first I just sat in the same room for 15 days. They brought me food there. By the way, my suitcase was lost while I was flying. That is, I was still without things at all. But, in principle, they brought me all the things, the equipment of the academy on the second day, they brought me exercise equipment, elastic bands, dumbbells.

Then, when I got out of quarantine, all the guys went home, they had holidays. Someone went to America to play, to watch universities. Then, probably, the rest of December, 15 days, I just trained with one kid, he came from Qatar, and one coach. We had individual training. then two Chinese arrived, the Australians slowly began to pull themselves up, and we were taken on a short trip. We went to all sorts of beaches, we were shown the places where the Australian Aborigines lived. It was interesting. The house was rented very large, I did not even expect. I thought we would live in some kind of kennels. We went there for 10 days.

When we returned, half of the boys also returned. We slowly started training, similar to the main ones. Coaches began to pull themselves up slowly. Then, when everyone gathered, it was unexpected for me that there were 30 people at one training session. At first, I didn’t understand how the coaches had time to develop someone when there were 30 people, in fact it’s hard to play even five on five. But here everything is very fast, breaks are given to us for 30 seconds, to drink water - run-run, then back. Everyone runs, you can't walk at all. The game in this regard is also very different from Russian basketball, everything is very fast here. The first workouts, I generally stood: “How am I going to run like that now?” It was very unusual.”

Now you may be wondering how Yaroslav communicated with teammates if he did not speak English at all. Nukak ... Gestures, separate phrases and Google translator.

He knew some basketball terms. Plus, the coaches gave him a notebook so that he would write down in it some points that related to vocabulary in training - in order to explain something, there were no special problems.

Yaroslav: “Classes started at the end of December, I guess. I had 2-3 classes a week, 2 hours each session. At first, the classes were incomprehensible, I learned more from the fact that I talked with the boys, I tried. They say a word, I don't understand it, I translate it and memorize it. More from this. Then a teacher who knows Russian began to come to me. He himself is from Australia, but his wife is from Grozny. We began to study with him, and after that progress was visible. Of course, not as much as we would like, because training, fatigue, and studying English hard are also hard. But I already understand everything in training, I can convey what I need. Maybe not perfect English, but what I want, I can already convey.

Yaroslav now has 5 classes a week - 2 hours each. Rest - only on Saturday and Sunday. Given the training schedule, it's pretty hard, but Nyagu manages.

Yaroslav: “Here, you can say, it's always English. Sometimes, even when I was just starting to teach, I was so tired of thinking about every word, what does it mean, that I just walked around for several days, was silent, did not say anything, nodded. I already thought that we should start teaching them Russian.”

The Academy operates within the Center of Excellence. This is the Center of Excellence, which operates under the Australian Institute of Sports - the country's main sports institution. Its graduates over the years have included Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Joe Ingles, Patti Mills, David Andersen, Ryan Broekhoff, Joshua Giddy and just about any Australian top athlete.

Since the players can enjoy the same things that are available to Australian Olympians, most professional basketball clubs - not only in Russia, but in general - do not even dream of such conditions.

Yaroslav: “We have pools with ice water, hot water, there is a pool where you walk against the current. Treadmills, some other things, I don’t even know what they are, they look like some kind of space ones. And it's all in the public domain. The pool is normal, Olympic. The gym is constantly open, everything is as close as possible to the best conditions.

Accommodation - in separate cottages on the territory of the center, entrance - with chips, according to NBA protocols, taking into account COVID-security. The food is adapted for the players - for all kinds of allergies, intolerances, and so on. And, again, access to the refrigerator with food - 24/7.

The center focuses on the development of the body and skills. Players in training work with special heart rate sensors that track heart rate and other indicators. Then all this is summed up, entered into a special application and a personal training schedule is developed.

It turns out that there are team workouts, but there are individual ones - and these individual programs are developed based on the readiness of the athletes' bodies for certain loads. But if suddenly the load seems insufficient to someone, then access to the hall is 24/7.

Each player is assigned specialists who keep track of everything, and there is also a general curator who keeps track of everyone. They build programs to develop physical skills, athleticism, determine cardio loads, prescribe individual nutritional supplements and develop diets.

They teach running and jumping techniques. So that the players would not be retrained in the NBA later, like one big guy from New Orleans, but to immediately come to the league and be able to do everything. Cross-training to strengthen the body, and sand training to strengthen the ligaments and joints. In addition, the study of psychology and physiology in order to understand how to work with your own body.

The academy also monitors mental health. There is a psychologist at the base, and this is important, because Australia is a separate continent, therefore, the home of most players is across the ocean. To help them cope with the psychological burden, there are specially trained doctors. They talk with the players, help and let them go on vacation.

In addition, the academy has non-traditional things for basketball. Tell someone in Russia about it - they will laugh, but at the academy the guys do meditation, yoga, and before each workout they lie down on the mats and ... listen to music, listen to themselves, their body and tune in to work.

Yaroslav: “Probably the most important difference is that coaches don't need wins here. That is, we do not have such that someone plays less, someone more. If we go to a game, everyone plays strictly to the minute. Everyone gets the same time, there is no one who sits and does nothing. This is probably the most important thing. And they let you do almost anything you want. If you are big without a throw and throw a three, then you will not sit on the bench and you will not sit for the rest of the game. This is the biggest difference from Russian clubs, no one owes anyone.”

Members of the academy also have days off. At noon on Saturday, training ends, and until Monday they try not to touch them.

Yaroslav: “On Saturday morning, training ends, probably by 12 am, and the rest of Saturday and Sunday we have days off, we can do whatever we want. They don’t pay much attention to what we do on the weekends, the main thing is not to get killed. The people here are too kind, when I first arrived, I did not understand, they were making fun of me or something. People have a completely different behavior, attitude. They understood that I did not know English, everyone helped me, absolutely everyone. Everyone is constantly walking, smiling, joking, even suspicious somehow all kind.

As for the schedule of the academy players during the week, it is very busy. Monday - two workouts and school, Tuesday - the same, Wednesday - training, procedures and a match, Thursday - two workouts, school and a rocking chair, Friday - the same, Saturday - training with a rocking chair.

There is no limit on staying at the academy, that is, Yaroslav Nyagu did not sign any contract. He can leave the academy whenever he sees fit, both this year and later. And he will be able to choose: NCAA, NBA draft, Europe or even Russia again.

So far, the most logical option seems to be an American college, because many top programs invited Yaroslav. But, in any case, it's too early to talk about it.

If you like to learn more about Russian basketball and Russian basketball players, subscribe to the telegram channel "Interception".

More videos about Russians abroad:

• Is Samson Ruzhentsev the next Russian in the NBA? He didn't wait for CSKA, left for the USA and entered the top 50 schoolchildren

• Pavel Savkov is third in the 2002 European ranking. He moved to Spain at 16 and trains with the Basques

• There are 8 Russians in the NCAA this season. How are they?

• Yegor Demin moved to Real Madrid at the age of 15. Experts consider him the best player born in 2006

• Russian guy gets advice from LeBron and plays on the same team with Bronnie. Getting to know Timofey Rudovsky

Photo: Yaroslav Nyagu's personal archive; lokobasket.com

As a legionnaire. Evgeny Kolesnikov gives advice to players who want to play abroad - Ferris Wheel - Blogs

Lately, I have been asked several times to talk about how to go to play abroad. Unlike hockey players, basketball players from Russia do not leave to play in other championships as often. I will not go into the reasons for this fact, I will only say that the experience of playing abroad was useful and interesting for me.

Mostly young guys ask whether it is worth leaving, how to do it and what to pay attention to. Remembering my experience of playing in Latvia and Spain, this time I will try to give a couple of tips to those who are thinking about conquering overseas clubs.

Another championship, another country, and you are in the role of a foreigner, which means you have to play better than your peers from the country where you came. Sometimes stronger than those who are older than you for a year or two. It turns out that you have to make more efforts abroad than at home, even to play in a relatively weak championship. So, if you, for example, go to the championship of Poland or Estonia and play the same way as your peer from this country, then there is a high probability that he will be preferred to you. Moreover, if the coach is from the same country where you are going, he will develop his own player. So you need to go abroad only if you are ready to plow in full, to become better, otherwise - if you just want to try your hand - you should not go, in this case you can go to the sea and relax there. If you prove yourself, then you have a chance to gain a foothold in the team.

In general, I am inclined to think that the experience of playing abroad is necessary for a basketball player: you learn a lot of things that are difficult for you to understand playing at home. To understand, for example, how the legionnaires who play in your country feel. Yes, in each country they are treated differently - somewhere better, somewhere worse. But in any country, questions in case of a loss, first of all, are asked in the team by legionnaires. In Russia, the requirements for foreign players are also high: after all, the level of the teams is high, the clubs play in addition to the domestic championship in the Euroleague, the European Cup.

I went abroad to Latvia at the age of 20. This is the age when the player has not yet fully formed in men's basketball. You are no longer a young man, but not a man either, and you are not 100% ready for tough men's basketball, you have no experience in making decisions in key matches. Coaches and club leaders tend to sign those who have such experience, or who have already proven themselves. So it’s difficult to be in the cage at the age of 20, it doesn’t always work out. It is no secret that many young players find it difficult to find a team in which they could prove themselves. Now agents are very helpful in finding the right team. In my youth, there were not so many agents, and they did not help much in this matter: it was just that this profession was not yet so developed.

I then had a choice: either go and play in the League below the Superleague level (at that time) of the Russian Championship, or leave. And I understood that it was better to leave for a championship weaker than the Super League, but try to gain a foothold there. Nobody guaranteed me a place there: they just said that they would take me to see it for a few days. At the end of the week's viewing, I could have been contracted until the end of the season with options for extending it. I left Russia in the status of one of the best players in my position at my age, but at the same time I was clearly aware that a place in the new team was not at all guaranteed for me. The main thing is that I had a great desire to work, to improve my skills. So I came to Riga, to the VEF, and literally the next day the representatives of the club informed me that they wanted to sign a contract with me. The review consisted in the fact that they gave me a few exercises to perform, and the second coach looked at my execution technique. The chief appreciated my interactions with future teammates. The joy that the contract was signed lasted one day. Then came, as they say, harsh everyday life. I understood that it was good to get into the team, but now I needed to gain a foothold in it.

As a result, I spent a year and a half at VEF: having arrived in January, I played half of one season, and then I was extended to the next one. I liked the team in Latvia, I felt that I was improving in terms of developing my skills, that's why I stayed at the club after the first season. The fact that the Russian language is quite common in Latvia was also a plus when adapting - many people either speak it or understand it. Of course, it would be more difficult for me to adapt in a non-Russian-speaking country.

The second time I went to play in a foreign club as an already formed man, a player who has proven himself in Russia. Now it was already far abroad. And here I felt the difference between my stay in my youth in Latvia and in a more mature one - in Spain. On the one hand, in youth, many things are easier. The same language comes easier. In Spain, for example, it is necessary to learn the language. In almost every club, players are required to know Spanish, communication in another language, one might say, is not welcome. Of course, most of the players speak English, but still those legionnaires who come at the beginning of the season are required to study Spanish. The club provides teachers who train the players. I can’t say that this practice is established in every Spanish club, but I think that 80 percent of the legionnaires who played in Spain speak or at least understand the language and partially speak it, they can explain themselves. I came to Spain, to Obradoiro, in the middle of the season, so I didn’t study the language, but the players from Ukraine, Lithuania, Greece, who arrived before the start of the season, spoke Spanish. So, if a player wants to play in Spain, he must at least speak English, because Spanish is taught from English. Knowledge of English will generally make it easier if you want to build a career abroad. Everything here is like in any other profession. By speaking and understanding English, you will understand the coach and be able to communicate with teammates.

As for living conditions, it all depends on what kind of life the player is used to - whether he feels comfortable in a hostel, or he definitely needs a mansion for life. When I arrived in Riga, Max Sheleketo and I lived in a three-room apartment, and Roma Gumenyuk from Ukraine also lived with us. In the second season, I lived alone in the Old Town in an apartment provided by the club. He had to share an apartment with another legionnaire, but he agreed and paid extra from his salary for the opportunity to live alone. The salary was low, but I did not want to share housing with someone. Now I understand that then it would be better to live with a foreigner. But at the time, I was worried that my level of English would not allow me to communicate with an American or a Canadian. Of course, these were youthful complexes. There is no need to be afraid to speak, all legionnaires from far abroad are ready and willing to communicate. Over time, we began to communicate outside the site, but, naturally, living with one of them, I would have learned English faster. So my advice to young players is to communicate, practice the language. In the hostel, people get along with each other. Although not all and not with all. A player from overseas can constantly talk to his family, located in a different time zone, at 2-3 a.m., which can cause discomfort to a neighbor: it will be difficult to get enough sleep.

As for housing in Spain, the club I played for partly owns the house where the foreign players are accommodated. In this house there are apartments for every taste - with a different number of rooms. So the club selects accommodation just for you. If something is missing in the apartment, then within one or two days the club employees will deliver everything. Before I arrived, they asked me what I was eating, and they filled the refrigerator with exactly the products that I indicated: i.e. after arrival, I did not have to go, look for a store and buy groceries. In Spain, in general, the organization of life is at a very high level. I lived there alone, without a family, because. the children at that time were small, it was difficult to transport them to another country, and my wife and I decided not to do this. So I didn’t have any special requirements for the apartment.

In the VTB League, clubs usually allocate a certain amount to players for housing rent, and also give phone numbers of real estate agents who work with the club. You can find housing for this amount or pay extra from your own. In the NBA, players do everything themselves, but you need to understand that the salaries and, accordingly, the demands of players in the overseas league are often incomparable with the demands of those who play in Europe. So there is no point in making comparisons in this matter.

In general, friends, if you want to play abroad, the first thing I advise you to do is improve your English.

Then analyze your game, realistically, not in the clouds. Evaluate your level - you play in the U20 team or in the School or student league. Objectively assess what level at your age you can reach. Compare yourself to the best players in your category and see if you're at the top, in the middle, or just below that level. Dreams are great, but you have to think realistically. Everyone dreams of playing in the NBA, but is everyone ready to spend a lot of effort to get there? Look at Doncic, for example. He started out as the best of his age, got into the national team early, then almost immediately across the ocean. But there are few such players.

After evaluating your skill level, see what championships you can play in. In my opinion, the championships of the Baltic countries, Serbian, Spanish and Italian are preferable for young players. In the clubs of these countries, you can add, besides, they have specialists who can train young players. Serbia and Lithuania have long been famous for the training of personnel and the development of youth basketball. In these countries, the players in the transition from youth to adult level are given a lot of attention. But here you also need to understand that small Serbia has a sufficient number of its players, and the competition in the teams is high.

Now agents who have connections in several countries at once and can negotiate with clubs to view the young talent are working with might and main with young players. Often a basketball player goes to see at the expense of the club, sometimes at his own expense. So my other piece of advice is don't be shy about going to the screenings. Even if you don't make the team, find out what you need to work on, what to develop in your game, and go to the next review. Professional athletes are not born, they are made. Somewhere they will tell you that you can’t do anything, it’s not scary, wind it up, study, work and try your hand at another team.

An important prerequisite for further success is the desire of the coach to see a player in his team. It is important for every basketball player to find their mentor. If the coach is interested in you, then consider that with a probability of 40% you will be able to prove yourself. The remaining 60% of success depends on your performance.

When evaluating a future team and your chance to play in it, be sure to watch its matches, especially the game of those two or three, sometimes four people who act in your position. Perhaps the team needs reinforcement, but they take you not as the main, but as an auxiliary player. Are you ready for this arrangement? Still, sitting on the bench at a young age does not have the best effect on career development. So it is imperative to evaluate the players in your position, it is worth understanding whether you can play better than them, and due to what you can be better. For example, you see your competitor in position scoring from the pass, but he does not have a three-point shot. Then, in order to gain a foothold in the lineup, you must have a three-pointer, and a pass, and something else - for example, you must play defense. In general, you definitely need to be better in a number of components than those who play in the same position.

If you want to play in a team playing in Eurocups, to shine on the European arena, then keep in mind that young people rarely get a chance in such teams. Such clubs take on high-level legionnaires and do not give many chances to prove themselves to young people. In these clubs, you have to be prepared to work very, very hard and not always get the opportunity to play. It is better, in my opinion, to give preference to teams that do not play at a high level, but give experience to a young basketball player. Your task in this case, I repeat, is to develop new qualities for your future career. Also, don't worry, scouts can now track the games of any team. And when you start playing for the national team at your age, you are seen at various championships. Scouts of the VTB League teams are constantly watching those who play in Europe. By the way, playing in a European club increases a player's chances of being signed by a VTB League club. But you need to be ready at home to start all over again from scratch.

If you want to develop, don't be afraid to go to a weaker league than your home league. Play there, gain experience, prove yourself. As a rule, if a player proves himself, then he receives an offer from a stronger championship. Let me tell you about my experience: having played in Latvia, I received offers from Germany, Greece and Russia. In Russia, the formation of teams begins earlier than in these countries: it takes place at least as soon as the season ends. And it so happened that at the time when the Russian club came up with a formalized offer, foreign clubs were still forming an offer, and their desire to see me in their ranks was only in words. My agent and I made a joint decision to give preference to a club from our home country.

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