Over-the-border contract signings. Chain-smoking assistants. Jeremiah Boswell on the hoops life overseas

By Jeremiah Boswell

When people ask me what it’s like to play basketball overseas, my answer can go in several directions. Every season, my adventure is a unique and rewarding experience. In order to make this the best job ever, I learned to make the adventures fun and entertaining. For example, playing in front of rowdy crowds, foghorns and waving banners is pretty unique.

So is biting into something that you wouldn’t eat if you knew what it was.  

You must always be ready. I received an e-mail recently before leaving for my first season in Brazil that said:

“You can see your itinerary takes you to a different city in Brazil. When you land, catch a cab to Hotel Casa. Arides, the team assistant, will be there to meet you.”

Ok, sounded easy enough. I landed and immediately looked like a tourist, thanks to my large bags and the fact that I couldn’t stop sweating. Finding a taxi wasn’t a challenge, since I was surrounded by a billion Brazilian cab drivers, each screaming, “Taxi, taxi, taxi.”

After an hour drive to the hotel, during which I was almost certain we were either lost or I was living out the movie “Tourista,” we found the hotel.  

Shockingly, the one-person staff at the tiny, old hotel had never heard of me. So I waited, and waited. Finally, Arides showed up, which helped put me at ease. Of course, he didn’t speak a word of English. Why wouldn’t the team send somebody who could communicate with me? Wait – that would be easy.   

Early in the morning, we jumped into a taxi to get the documents I needed to play in Brazil. But after a short time, I noticed we crossed the border into Paraguay. What?! There were people everywhere.
After we finally arrived at some office, Arides appeared nervous. The 145 cigarettes he smoked in 15 minutes was a tip off.

Before too long, I settled into the season. About halfway through the season, our team was struggling as we headed for a very important road trip. During the trip, a major sponsor was on hand to decide if he would continue his investment in the team.  Sometimes, sponsorships get pulled if the team isn’t playing well.

The timing was perfect. One of our players had a verbal sparring match with the coach, so he was kicked out of the gym during the game. And another player, our enforcer, took his frustration out on two chairs, kicking them from our bench into the second row. And yet, as the game wound down, we were only down two points with 15 seconds remaining.

One of our best Brazilian players brought the ball up court, even though he was a forward. Every time he touched the ball, he had no intention of passing (some players at this level play for themselves to earn more money, especially in Brazil, where it helps keep them off the street).

As the clock ticked down to seven seconds, he jacked a horrible and overwhelmingly contested three-point shot. But by some miracle, it went in, and we went up by one point with five seconds left. Any bad things our “hanging-on-by-a-thread-of-his-shirt” sponsor was thinking must have changed after we silenced the crowd and took the lead.

After making the shot, my teammate decided to celebrate by high stepping his way down the court and telling the fans to, “Shhhhhh!” Meanwhile, the rest of us scrambled to guard his man. In spite of our efforts, the player he was supposed to be guarding received a long inbound pass and dribbled in for a game winning lay-up.

Game over.

I’ve never been so angry on a basketball court. After a couple of days (and lots of fretting), I realized that it was all part of the adventure.  OC

Editor’s note: Former Columbia University basketball standout Jeremiah Boswell will be reporting on his travels from abroad, where he has played the game professionally in countries such as Brazil, Bulgaria, China, France, Guadeloupe, Holland, India, Turkey, Mauritius and Nicaragua.

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