Like the Titanic the Bullets are sinking

It’s no secret that the Bullets are in trouble our owner is a multi-million dollar business man who’s company grew too fast and hit a brick wall. As a player you hear rumors all the time of what is going on and you tend not to believe them til you see the writing on the wall but this time it was different. A few weeks out from playoffs I heard that our owner and his company weren’t doing that well and got slammed by the hedge fund managers driving ABC Learning Centre’s price from around $8 to $1 overnight. Basically that means that isn’t a good sign for us. Lets back up a few years to my last year with the Adelaide 36er’s and the financial crisis they were in. When negotiating with the 36er’s call it what you want either they were trying to screw me because they felt that I would never leave or trying to test me by offering a me less than what was promised to me in writing on my option year as well as only offering a 1 year deal. I sat and thought about my decision for weeks thinking of what is next since they did give me my opportunity to play. Since they could only offer a 1 year deal I decided to test the market and see if someone could offer me a 2+ year deal and Brisbane came to the table with an offer that allowed me some security. Not only was I happy with the decision of moving to Brisbane I looked at it as far more than a basketball move. I looked at it as Eddy Groves was the owner and ABC Learning Centre was an up and coming powerhouse of child care so naturally I thought that long time security was guaranteed. Fast forward to the present and here I sit in the same situation I was in 2 years ago but worse and without a job. A 1 year deal with Eddy behind us now would be good but he has officially had some personal and business troubles as we have read over the last month or so. Now let’s jump to the day that the rumors all came true and that was our first game vs. the Tigers in Melbourne. Naturally wake up calls are at 9am and breakfast is at 9:30am if you want or be there before it all closes or you are out of luck for some breakfast. I headed up around 9:35 am that morning as I walked over to the area that the guys were and all I could see were heads in newspapers, serious looks and dead silence. In big bold letters it said something about ABC and how it went from top of the world to rock bottom over night. Now isn’t that some news to take into the first game of a best of 3. Knowing that you will be out of a job in a few weeks isn’t the most pleasant experience to go through and even tougher to keep your mind on the game. That first game against the Tigers didn’t go that well as we took a 20 point ass kicking. It’s never a great feeling when you lose on the road and have to deal with a long flight home but now with the added stress of not having a owner or team soon was the nail in the coffin. Coming into that second game at home you could just feel that something wasn’t right. Everything went as normal but when warm-ups were done Joey was missing from the huddle which isn’t like him to do so. Just before we were going to walk out for the jump ball he came out but looked a little different to me as if he had been told some emotional news. I don’t want to say that he was crying but he did have a glazed look in his eyes. Then shortly after that Eddy came out and gave us all pats on the backs like he was saying that he was there backing us even through all the other shit that was going on with his life. That second game was a dog fight and we weren’t going to let down for anything but to give the Tigers credit they played a great game and deserved to be the 2008 NBL Champions!

There was a feeling of emptiness within after the game not only because we lost and the season was over but what was next? At that point we really didn’t know how bad Eddy’s situation was and there was still hope that he would still own the team. A few weeks later and some newspaper articles showing that there was some beef between Eddy, JVG and Joey arose. This was all shocking to me because I keep to myself and really don’t get involved but when I read the article about Joey saying that they tried to trick him and all had me worried. For a few weeks I just knew what was being said in the papers and media while not a good feeling there isn’t really much I could do. It’s not like have a spare billion dollars to throw around and have a toy like the Bullets to play with. Shortly after the Grand Final had started is finally when we all got briefed on the situation at hand and realized that Eddy was going to have to sell. It’s not fun not knowing your future especially when you get the rug pulled out from under you. Now a little over a month since the breaking news we still sit here and wait for possible owners to take over the reins and save us. I don’t know how many of you have ever had your job pulled away from you in a blink of an eye but it’s nothing that I wish on anyone. No matter how secure and for sure you think things are life always find a way to throw a curve ball in there to test your strength and that is why you should never take anything for granted.

Now to what I am doing with my time as I sit and wait for my destiny to take place. I was thinking of playing somewhere again this off-season but things changed when I had a groin injury in December, sore ankle, knee and back injuries throughout the season so resting was the smart option. Not knowing what’s next is scary and the worst thing about pro basketball. I wish I had a crystal ball to see my future but then life would be boring. I am looking forward to going back home but before I head back I am making a stop over in Hawaii to see a good family friend that has just moved there so that is going to be a much needed vacation. After Hawaii its back to MN to play the waiting game and hopefully I won’t have to wait that long to get a team. In saying that I would like to go to a team and finish out my career there because all this moving around from city to city was fun when I was younger but sooner or later you just want to settle down. Lets hope that the next time that I journal I will have some great news for you all.

 

 

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