A Guide to Playing Professional Basketball Overseas

By Levell Sanders

Levell Sanders has spent the past decade excelling in European Basketball. He has truly 'learned the ropes' of the European leagues and maximized his career and his life experience. This book is a 'must-read' for any player or family member who is considering a basketball career overseas."

Tommy Amaker Head Coach at Harvard University


A Guide to Playing Professional Basketball Overseas is a great read and should be considered by every basketball player, who is trying to play overseas or just started their professional career. Playing professionally always sounds like the best thing in the world, because we are able to do what we love and even make money with it, but Levell Sanders will tell you also about the negative sides of this job, and give you important advice that can help you in pursuing your professional career. Not everyone is made for this job, and if you want to know, if you are read this book!

Juliane Hhne Professional Basketball Player Overseas
2008-present
Played in Italy,Germany,Belgium and currently playing in France



A Guide to Playing Professional Basketball Overseas is an absolutely great book for players that aspire to play professional basketball overseas, players currently playing professionally overseas as well as basketball fans everywhere. Levell Sanders shares his wealth of experience about life and basketball overseas and gives you a first hand look at the pros and cons of what it takes to really make a career out of being a professional athlete. This book is a must read and it's long overdue!

Corey Muirhead Professional Basketball Player Overseas
2006-present
Played in France,Austria,Switzerland and currently playing in the Czech Republic

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 16, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465389213

Book preview

Copyright © 2011 by Levell Sanders.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2011960579

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4653-8920-6

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4653-8919-0

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4653-8921-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

101312

Contents

Author Bio

Warm-Up

Starting Lineup

First Quarter

Second Quarter

Halftime

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Overtime

Double Overtime

Post Game

Acknowledgments

Author Bio

Levell Sanders was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Jamaica High School in Queens, New York where he was one of the top players in New York. He accepted a schorlarship from Seton Hall University where he played four years and received second team Big East honors his senior year. At Seton Hall University he finished nineteenth in points scored with 1399 points, tenth in minutes played with 3375, fifth in three point field goals made with 205, sixth in three point field goals taken with 569, sixth all time in steals with 202 and holds the school record for steals in a game with eight. After graduating from Seton Hall University in 1998, Levell started his professional career overseas. His first stop was the Czech Republic where he played for two seasons. After that he played in Belgium and Poland before heading back to Czech in 2002. Levell has started his thirteenth season overseas and twelve of those seasons have been spent in the Czech Republic. He has been named MVP of the Czech league, voted to numerous all star games, been consider the best point guard for many years and has won a championship during his time in the Czech Republic. He has gained a wealth of knowledge and experience from his time spent overseas.

Warm-Up

It’s rough leaving college without a concrete plan to make money. As a student-athlete, you hear that many people don’t become professionals at the sport that they played in college. So when I was getting ready to graduate from Seton Hall University, after a pretty decent basketball career, and the NBA lockout was getting ready to go into effect, I was apprehensive. All the NBA camps and summer leagues were cancelled in June 1998. My options were shrinking. I thought about the FBI, since I did have a degree in Criminal Justice, but they needed three years of work experience. Options were getting even smaller.

Then one day my agent asked me if I had considered playing professional basketball overseas. Seriously? I heard rumors about not getting paid, but besides that I could count the countries that I knew had teams on one hand. So when my agent told me that a team in the Czech Republic had offered me a spot, I was excited but panicked. Then I checked the map. Although I didn’t make it to the NBA which was my dream, I still had the opportunity to live out my dream of playing professional basketball, just in a different country. So I took it.

And thirteen years later, I would still encourage anyone who has the opportunity to play basketball overseas to go. This may be a mental stretch, but it’s a good way to continue playing basketball, to earn a living, and to experience a different way of life. Playing professional basketball overseas has given me everything I have financially and was one of the best decisions I made in my life. Being overseas, has helped me to develop into the person that I am today. As I look back, if I didn’t go overseas, I wouldn’t have met my beautiful fiancée who is from the Czech Republic. If I didn’t go overseas, I wouldn’t have had the chance to visit some of the most amazing places in the world. Going overseas has given me the opportunity to meet some wonderful people that I’m sure I will remain friends with forever.

Going overseas doesn’t get as much attention