Playing For Presbyterian

I’d be lying to you if I said my time here had been all sunshine and rainbows. I rolled my ankle pretty bad coming in my freshman year and missed a lot of time because of it. All my teammates were on the court, learning together and building chemistry, while I just sat on the sideline and watched.

It was unbelievably hard in the beginning. I was 18, nursing an injury, missing my parents, and was halfway across the world in a new situation with almost nothing. All I wanted to do was to fit in. But even the style of play was so different than what I played in Portugal.

In the States, basketball is a lot more iso-play and 1-on-1 than in Portugal. I knew I had to adapt. But when you’re sitting on the sideline for so long, it isn’t easy.

I eventually came back and even earned a starting spot in January, right as conference play was about to begin.

By accepting that I had to adjust, I wound up being named to the All-Conference Freshman Team at the end of the year. This was something I thought was impossible just months before.

As I went back home for the summer to play for the national team again, my ankle began to cause me severe pain again.

I could not catch a break with this thing. This time, surgery was needed, so I spent summer workouts and the preseason on the sideline for the second time in two years.

Going into my sophomore year, Coach Sharp became our new coach. Just like my freshman year, all my teammates were learning our new system while I was left with a throbbing ankle, just watching and cheering them on.

Once I was back on my feet though, Coach Sharp’s new system worked perfectly with my game. We run much more of a “motion” offense now, meaning we use screens and cuts to move the ball. Having played a very similar style in European ball, I was far better suited for our new offense and embraced it.