J.J. Hickson’s overseas experiment didn’t work out so well and lasted only one game. What happened? We caught up with A.J. Mitnick, who is a scout for Rishon LeZion and runs his own basketball blog, Mindless Dribble, to find out. He’s also a contributor at Sheridan Hoops and he explained why Hickson’s Israeli move failed in a recent piece. Here’s an excerpt:
Bnei Herzliya plays in one of the nicest cities in Israel, in close proximity to the beach and to a great night life, with Tel-Aviv only a fifteen minute drive away. I’ve seen the apartments Bnei gives to its players, having worked for the team last season, and while they may not be the most luxurious pads in the whole city, they are apartments that would typically be reserved for those with upper-middle class salaries.
Hickson simply couldn’t handle the daunting prospect of living an upper-middle class lifestyle.
As with many players who were McDonalds All-Americans who went on to be first-round picks as teenagers, Hickson only knows a lifestyle of luxury. It is difficult for a player who has been praised and coddled his whole life to travel across the world to play in a gym that may be the size of a high school gym, for a team with less than ten men working on the basketball staff, and with a per diem that consists of a bottle of water and a chicken sandwich. There is no one to get your rebounds during a shoot around (unless you ask me nicely!), no one to carry your bags to the bus, and no state-of-the-art practice facility.
Follow A.J. on Twitter.
Listen after the jump…
[podcast]http://www.cowbellkingdom.com/podcasts/ck_podcast_ep21.mp3[/podcast]
Music Credit: Ronald Jenkees – Guitar Sound
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