My Life Overseas

Oct 12

On my Jerry Maguire

There are those who have been with me throughout my entire journey from the beginning, starting in the US. There are those who I have picked up on the way as I have traveled through (in and out) of Norway, Uruguay, Germany, and the ABA in the US. Then there are those who will learn to know and follow me as I continue my mission to become successful, to conquer all that stand in my way, to be the best. What does it mean to be the best? Does it mean being the biggest or the strongest? Does it mean being better than the man sitting beside me? Does it mean leading my team to a victory? Maybe. Being the best to me is using the ability that God gave me to the fullest. The ability to motivate, to defend, to dominate, to challenge, to support and to love. My journey has brought me to Araraquara, Brazil, it is this place that I will continue to work on being the best, making my team Lupo Araraquara the best. The season has already started and we are (5-8) in 10th place, one game out of the playoffs with 11 games to go. My goal for this season is for us to make the playoffs and possibly become Champions. I hope that if you are reading this, that means you are with me on this new journey. Are you with me?
My apologizes on the delay! For those who would are following and have any comments, questions, or whatever. I can be reached on Twitter at LanoThaGreat or thru facebook Delano Thomas.

Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.- The Alchemist

Apr 12

Championship!!!

Game #4 vs. Tromso, started as if we didnt realize it was win or go home. It took us one half to finally wake up and realize it. Our defense kept us in the game and at the end the offense was right on time to force a final game 5 back in Tromso.
Game #5 and the final game for the championship is one game that will always play out in my mind. The last time I was in a position to win a real championship and Im not talking about the Hoop or New Covenant leagues either lol. Was back in '99 when I played in high school for Beechcroft and we lost in double ot to go to the championship game. My thoughts before the Tromso game was only on giving everything I had to win.
The first three quarters were close just like every game had been so far in the finals. But the start of the fourth quarter we saw ourselves down by 8 points. In the first 3 minutes of the quarter we went on a 9-0 run to go up by one. The next 6 minutes went back and fourth until Big shot Dav made a Robert Horry like jump shot with 10 seconds to go putting us up by one point. But this game had to be decided in ot, because like all season the refs made a bad call and they tied up the game to force ot.
In ot, is where all the practice and hard work to come together as a team really showed. As we pulled out a 82-79 win on Tromso home court that they hadnt lost on until the finals. To me game #5 was the best one we played all season as a team!
This season for me, was something that i had been waiting on since 2005 when I dislocated my hip weeks before my first game in Norway. To comeback this season and win it all is just a tribute to how good God really is! I want to thank all my teammates for sticking with me and making me better on and off the court. Thru all the bs and clowning this season we still found a way to make it happen. If there is a next time, we all can stand up when the question is asked who has BLNO Championship...

Apr 11

Mar 29

Like Day n Night...

The Tromso game at home was one of them games that went from feeling so right in one half to so wrong in the second half. We blew a 6 point lead at halftime, and let Tromso go on a 17-0 before we finally woke up again. Our defense kept us in range to comeback at the end. We were able to take 2 point lead with under 13 seconds to play, but all it took was one time at the free throw line not communicating to teammates to know who everybody is guarding that change the game in the end. Needless to say we missed the final free throw to go up 3 points and by not talking to each other one man was left open to hit a big trey for the win..
The only positive vibe thats been going thru my head, is its a series and not just one game. Now were down 2-1 with our backs against the odds. But I think thats when we have been at our best this season. Next game Mar.29...stay tuned!!

Mar 26

Jeg er Tilbake...

My apologizes first off to those who have been following my blog on the delayed reply. Last post was about a month or so ago, we were still in the regular season with 3 games to go at that time and I was just coming back from my Amare eye problem. We ended up winning 2 out of the 3 games and finished in 2nd place for the regular season at 16-5. Playoff format for Norway is 1-3-5, by finishing in second it gave us a bye for the first round which was good because anything can happen in a one game series.
Harstad Vikings was our semi-final match, and most importantly a team that has been to the finals 6 out of the last 7 years. The way playoff system worked for the semi-final here in Norway is the team with the home court advantage has to go on the road one and then the next two at home, how backwards is that lol?! With that being said we lost the first game on the road, and came back to win two at home to advance to the finals. The games against Harstad were decided by defense and rebounds. They had the biggest team in the league with 3 guys 6'8 & taller, with some good shooters to go along with that. It always good to win a defensive series!
Tromso Storm, the champs of the regular season and a team that won 2 out of the 3 meeting this season against us is our finals matchup. This series is best of 5 games. They have one of the best starting 5s in the league, but probably one of the worst benches also.
The first game on the finals we got blasted 88-71. That game to was all about energy and we couldnt find a way to match theres. The second game was a bit of the same in the first half with them controlling the game with there energy, but we found a way to hang around and get some stops at the right times to get a win on the road. And it was also the first win on the road for the whole playoffs.
Now that the series is tied 1-1, we have a chance to win the ship at home. But its one game at a time next game Mar. 27...

Feb 20

Feb 09

Ulriken 63 - Asker 59...

We won the game 63-59 against Asker. For me this game didnt go according to plan, because I was unable to play due to detached retina in my right eye that I suffered from an elbow in a game before Asker. I had to have surgery few weeks ago in my eye to repair the retina, but Im looking to start back practicing sometime this week!
As for the game, Asker is a real good shooting team that plays the old Phoenix Suns style offense before Shaq came. There a very capable team of putting up over 100 points on any given night. So it was good to see we were able to hold them to only 59 points on there home court. For us this wasnt a good performance at all either, but as coach been preaching lately, "we should win because were in better physical shape" lol. That was just something for my teammates, but real talk this game showed are will to win as a team despite turnovers and injuries.
Now were down to 3 games left until playoffs. Fjelhamar Feb 15 at home, Gimle Feb 17 away, and Gimle Feb 22 at home. Im really looking forward to getting back on the court this week. I really didnt realize how bad until this past weekend, when I was coaching my under 18 mens team and I started to take the ball from one of the other players when he dribbling to close to my bench lol. So God willing next game against Fjelhamar I can play in the game and get back on track.
Next Game Feb.15 vs. Fjelhamar...