Stu Douglass to Play Pro Ball in Pamplona, Spain
Per the Michigan Basketball Facebook page, Stu Douglass is heading to Europe:
For all of you Wolverine fans wondering what Stu Douglass’ plans for the fall will be – he is headed to Pamplona, Spain for a little professional basketball and maybe a little running with the bulls!
He'll join a few other former Wolverines playing in Spain, including Josh Asselin and Jerod Ward.
he can go run with the bulls and participate in a city-wide tomato fight. What more could a guy ask for?
Good luck to him.
Wow! Great for Stu. I don't think playing professional bball in Spain is what Stu was pondering when he graduated from Carmel HS. 4 years ago.
Wow! Hopefully Stu can carve out a great career over there.
I wonder how Spaniards feel about belting out in a low, deep voice "Stuuuuuuuuuuu!" for critical run starting threes and funny looking but effective white-guy defense?
Serious question.......can just about every starting D1 basketball player from a major conference play pro ball somewhere overseas? It sure seems like every player that wants to play gets a contract someplace. I'm trying to remember if i' can remember somebody declaring they wanted to continue playing basketball and not being able to.
No not everyone.
I know you didn't come out and say it, but the insinuation is there: Stu was a very good college ball player. He'll thrive in the European style of basketball as well - he's a great shooter, great passer, has a solid handle, and is an exceptional off-the-ball defender. Those are all qualities that are slightly underrated over here (more one-on-one play) but are important overseas.
Lots of starting but not "star" quality D3 players have carved out pro careers in Europe or Asia, too. There's a lot of leagues out there paying people to play.
I played D3 basketball, and I know dozens of people playing professional in Europe. As a matter of fact, most major cities have try-outs every year after the season is over, with scouts from Europe at it. If you played DIII DII or DI, you are getting an invite to it. There's literally a place for everyone, if you have size and some skill coming out of a college program.
I would go on to say, Every single DII school has at least 3 kids on their roster good enough to to play pro ball in Europe.
I am confident every single DI starter could play in a professional league somewhere in Europe.
Some of the leagues in Europe are garbage, but considered "professional" others are pretty high level with competition just below the NBA.
How much do players make in most of these leagues? Can a guy in, say, Slovakia make six figures?
You could do a lot worse than playing basketball for a living and being in Spain.
I don't know man...I agree witht he basketball part but
I backpacked thru Europe in 2003 and stayed in Pamplona for 3 days to run with the bulls. The whole city smelled like piss and beer because they stay up all night and party for a week. I also was a victim of pickpocketers (attempting) to steal my stuff. It was an interesting place to say the least. Something tells me Stu will have better accomodations than a broke bum backpacker though.
Good luck to him.
Where Stuey might otherwise be hanging out while he waits to go to law school at Northwestern, or Loyola, or B-school at the U of C, or whatever else he might end up doing.
Someone could say the same about New York City if they visited just for New Year's, but that's not the day to day.
Actually, I can't I've been to Pamplona at other times of the year, but I'm guessing it's a lot like the rest of the country when the festival isn't happening.
The Sun Also Rises for Stu! Babes and Bulls -Beautiful!
I've always been a Stu fan. I wish him the best!
Up voted for Hemingway reference.
Good luck to Stu. If the wide-open style their golfers typically play is any indication, the crowds won't groan when he puts up a few "ill-advised" treys. I think the "shooter's mentality" will go over well there.
Ward had a mean corner three pointer. Too bad that was all he had at the time. He was the next....... um, well he was supposed to be badass.
Give em hell Stu!
Man. I wish I was an average college player (not a knock on Stu - I love him and he did alot of great things to help turn the program around) because I would love nothing more than to play ball in a few different countries throughout Europe and make a decent living while doing so.
Wow - I believe the Spanish league is one of the best in Europe. (Granted, I don't know if that applies to all the clubs in there, but at least some of them are pretty prestigious.) That's a nice gig.
It's arguably the second best league in the world.
Being a professional athlete in Spain is not a bad way to spend your 20s.
Spain is amazing. I know he has a serious girlfriend, but he should definitely head out to Barcelona and Ibiza for some 'sightseeing'.
the running of the Stus
...eurobasket.com page for Basket Club Navarra. It appears they play in Spain's 2nd division (LEB Gold) and finishhed 3rd in the regular season table and lost in the league playoff semifinals.
Former TCU C/F Kevin Langford appears to be the only American on the 2011-12 roster.
OK, the second division is not nearly as prestigious. Still, he gets to get paid to play basketball and spend a year in a new country - not bad.
I worked in Valencia, Spain for six months at a Ford Plant. What a great place! It's a wonderful place to live! There's a party going on all summer long. A kid in his twenties is going to love it there!
The Spanish people have a different celebration every week.
Good for him!
Go Azul