In The Know w/ Finke & Hill

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote on here and I apologize for the inconsistency. Since the last time I wrote, big changes have happened in my life and I wanted to bring you all up to speed on what has been going on.

Last season I played in Porto, Portugal for a team called FC Porto. For you soccer (football) fans out there, it is a really big, respected club around the world that I was blessed to be apart of their organization. As a team, we didn’t win a championship unfortunately, but altogether we still had a great season. We won some huge games for the club throughout the year and made a name for Porto on the European stage by advancing to the Quarterfinals of Fiba Europe Cup for the first time in club history.

Living wise it was a great city. Probably our favorite place we have lived at so far in our years abroad. There were great people, amazing food, stunning downtown area, minutes away from the ocean, and so much more. We truly enjoyed ourselves to the full extent out there and were even blessed to have different parts of family visit us all throughout the year.

Once the season finished at the end of May, we didn’t know what was in store for us going forward. I only signed a one year contract with the club and although there had been talks of possibly coming back for another season, nothing was certain. So, we returned to the States unsigned for the next season, with a familiar feeling of waiting out the summer to see what interest I would get from different clubs around the world.

Then about a month later, I received a call from my agent saying I had an offer from a team in Japan. This was a huge discussion for us, because we had never really considered the option of leaving Europe. A couple years back I had an offer from another team in Japan, but the timing just wasn’t right for us. Things were different now. We had lived in Europe for four years, seen some amazing cities, met great people, been apart of great clubs and plenty more. We were ready for a new adventure. So after discussing it thoroughly with Lexi, we realized that it was too good of a situation to pass up.

All aboard for Japan. Next stop, Yamagata City.

So that is where I am writing from to you today. I have now been here over a month and a half by myself. Lexi has had a few things to do back home in the States and will be joining me in a couple of weeks thankfully. Some people can go whole seasons without their significant other, but i’m not one of them. Say what you want, but I miss my wife.

My first overall impressions have been really positive. For starters, everyone here is incredibly nice and helpful. There is a pretty big language barrier being that we aren’t in a huge city like Tokyo, so English isn’t as common. However, that doesn’t mean people aren’t nice. They will do everything they can to make you feel at home and comfortable. Also, I have always felt tall, but out here is a different level. Everywhere my American teammates and I go, people are always laughing and staring in awe of how tall we are. It is quite funny haha. To say we stick out would be an understatement.

Basketball has been going well too. It is a different type of system than I am used to in Europe, but it has been a good challenge to take on. I am getting more and more comfortable out here as time goes by. We are still in our pre season right now, but will play our first official games this coming weekend.

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Throughout my years overseas, I have had people constantly telling me to share more about my life and what I do on a daily basis, but I have never been really good at documenting it. However, this year I am making more of an effort to do that. If you don’t already follow me, I am starting to post more on my Instagram, along with other accounts and will be trying to give you all more of a glimpse into what my life truly is like out here.

There is no deep message in this post like others in the past. I just wanted to give you all a quick update on where basketball has taken me recently. It truly is crazy how a game I have played since I was 5 has given me more opportunities than I could dream. Everyday I thank God for giving me this gift and being able to do it for a profession.

I look forward to writing on here more consistently and connecting with you all more!

Thank you and God Bless.

Michael

P.S.

As always, leave any questions or comments that you might have for Malc and me. We appreciate all the support!