The rollercoaster ride of Candice White and why you shouldn't give up

PC: Eurobasket

Today we speak with Candice White, former Shooting Guard of BC Pharmaserv Marburg.
Hello Candice,
how are you and how do you keep busy during this difficult time?

Hi! I'm doing well. During this difficult time I have been spending a lot of quality time with my immediate family. I try to go out and exercise as much as I can with my sisters and brother-in-law, but it is hard to stay active when our city is in quarantine.

You are originally from Modesto California and played four years Basketball at Fresno State University, which is basically one a half hour away from home. Was that important to you, when you picked your university?

Yes, staying close to home was important to me once I went on my visit to Fresno State. Initially, I wanted to attend college in another state on the West Coast like Washington or Oregon. However, at the time my older sister was away attending and playing college basketball in Idaho and I remember how my mom was only able to make it to a handful of games over her 4 years there. So once I visited Fresno State, I knew it would be important to me to have my family in the stands cheering me on and being able to talk with them after games.

In your freshman year you didn't see that much playing time, but starting your sophomore year you had an immediate impact on your team and your playing time went up. Over the following years you put up impressive stats. Your junior and senior year you were leading the conference in scoring with averaging 18.9 and 18.4ppg (along with 4.8rpg and 2.8apg your senior year). You also rank 3rd all-time on the Fresno State scoring list. Can you tell us more about your college experience and maybe you have some advice for other college players how to step up their game.
It feels like I was just in college yesterday (haha). But I would say the student athlete college experience overall was a rollercoaster ride. And I say that not so much in a bad way, but more so in a way that you go through so much adversity, great moments, tough moments, and everything in between. Not only as a student athlete are you facing challenges on the court, but there are your academics that are challenging, on top of having a social life. I would say the main thing I remember most about college basketball in the States, was that so much of your day was already planned out for you by your coaches, academic advisors, classes and your practice schedule, weight lifting schedule, recovery time, etc. If you were on top of your studies and your basketball, it seemed as if there wasn't even time to get distracted.
In regards to the basketball side of college, it can be somewhat overwhelming at first. Mainly because as an individual you expect so much of yourself from the start and you want everything to go perfect your first year in college once coming out of a successful high school career. But looking back, not all successful careers or great things happen overnight, in a year, in 4 years, or even 8 years. Growth takes time and it's hard to see that when you are in the present moment of your career, but in the end if you continue having faith in your own abilities and talents, and continue to grind and work hard, great things will come.

It didn't take me until near the end of my Freshmen season to realize that my freshmen year didn't have to be a dud year, or a year of not getting better. One thing I told my myself after the last game my Freshmen year was that I would work hard to develop in every area of my game so that my coach could not afford to not play me. Basketball is such a beautiful sport because you can be as dynamic of a player as you want to be, but it's not going to be easy of course. What I say to other college players is you need to be in the gym putting in extra work more often than not, you need to work on parts of your game that people say are your weaknesses so that those become your strengths, on top of continuing to work on your strengths that helped get you to college. And lastly, try not to be so hard on yourself when you make a mistake in games. I am still working on that myself. But try and realize sooner than later that the game of basketball is about runs of ups and downs. Nothing is ever going to go perfectly, so the faster you can learn from and then forget about the mistake you just made, the better off you'll be in the end.

That's great advice and probably helps you in areas outside of Basketball as well. This past season you signed your first professional contract with BC Pharmaserv Marburg in Germany. Has it always been a dream for you to play professionally overseas? What expectations did you have before coming to Germany?
 No, it hasn't always been a dream for me to play overseas. I heard more about playing overseas towards the end of my senior year in college, but I still wasn't sold on going. I considered it more once one of my college coaches put in my ear, 'hey maybe you should consider trying to play overseas, if you are still passionate about basketball. Plus you have the stats to make it over there.' To be honest, I didn't have too many expectations before going to Germany to play. I think I worried more about the new food I would be trying, and more so excited to meet the coaches, the players, and see the gym I would be playing at.

What were your experiences once you arrived? How was it to adapt to the life off the court?
 Once I arrived to Germany I remember it being very green and everything seemed so small. I eventually met my teammates and all of them were very welcoming. Off the court the hardest thing to adapt to was the language barrier. I remember the first time I went to the grocery store by myself, wow I must have been in there for an hour just to get maybe 10 items. The first couple of months I was able to get around pretty easily with the help of my teammate/roommate Marie, and that was so helpful! But everything else was pretty easy to get used to: the food, the transportation, etc.

After playing a big amount of minutes in college and being the go-to-player, you arrived now in a team that mainly had been established from the past season, as you were the only new player this season. Also, your playing time was limited to 18.5mpg. How was it for you to adapt to the German style of Basketball and how does Basketball in Germany differ from college Basketball?

I think the main difference between basketball in Germany compared to college Basketball was the off-ball physicality in the guard position. In Germany, the refs seemed to allow more physicality defensively and offensively off the ball when running around screens trying to get open compared to in the states.

You guys suffered a lot of injuries and the management was forced to sign a new player on the inside position. Unfortunately, they chose another import, which meant due to German rules one import player had to sit out and the coach chose you. This isn't the first time a team has done this, but maybe you can tell us how you were told and how you coped with a situation like this?
I was told by my coach, Patti. The way he told us was before practice. The team was in the hall stretching about 30 minutes before practice. He individually called in each of the imports that it would effect and told us the situation. When he called me in, I honestly had no clue why he called me in. But once he did, he explained to me the situation and how one of us imports would have to sit out each game until the end of the season. I do remember though, from that conversation, Patti was so sorry he had to break that news to me because it was a simple mistake made from the top that he felt should have never happened. And I also will remember that he said whatever my decision was, whether to leave Marburg or finish out the season, he completely understood and he would support my decision 100%. And he did.
I would say after Patti told me, it took a few days for it to register. But, when it finally did I wasn't extremely mad or upset about it. I was fortunate to have my older sister (who was also in Germany) to talk to about the situation. There were also ladies from the team I was able to talk to and my agent to talk to. After several weeks of working hard during practice and not being nominated to play, I decided it would be best to continue to a different team because I wanted to play. At that point, I worked as hard as I could and knew that the situation was out of my control so it would have made no sense for me to put all my energy into being upset. So instead I put my energy into my decision of whether to stay in Marburg or not.

You decided to leave the team and signed with an Australian team for the summer. Due to COVID-19 all leagues were cancelled, also the Australian league. This was probably devastating news for you. What other effects did COVID-19 have on you, personally, financially and economically as a professional athlete, also, looking at the long-run?

Once leagues were cancelled due to COVID-19, things were moving so fast that I didn't even have time to really think about what was going on. As soon as I found out that the league I was in was not going to continue with imports (before they decided the league would be cancelled completely), about two days later I was on a flight back to America. The main reason for the flight being scheduled so soon was because there was uncertainty of whether or not our country would close its borders in order to prevent international travel during COVID-19. It was definitely hard saying bye to my Host Family who were nothing shy of wonderful to me, and saying bye to my teammates in Australia.

So how long were you in Australia and how was your experience there? At least you didn't have to overcome the language barrier there.

Once I decided to leave Marburg, I went back home for about a week and a half, then I headed to Australia. I got to Australia, and I was there for 3 weeks. During the 3 weeks, I surprising got close to my teammates rather quickly. I was also able to coach my under 14 Team I was given, for two practices and one weekend tournament. I went to the beach a couple of times and it was a lot of fun. The host family I stayed with had several friends and family, so even though I was only there for 3 weeks, they took me to so many places around the city and I met so many people, it seems as if I had been there for longer than 3 weeks.

After having a difficult start in your professional career, what is next for you? 
Next, I plan to continue my playing career in Germany for another season.

Thank you very much for taking your time to talk to us about it. As you proved once before one bad year doesn't determine your outcome, the same is true for your professional Basketball career. Best of luck for another season in Germany!I really appreciate you taking the time to interview me. Thank you!

American vs. European Sports

When I think of American Sports, I have to immediately think of Football or Baseball, just because they aren’t common over here in Europe. The same goes for Softball. Honestly, I didn’t even know how any of those sports were played before I lived in the US. I remember the first time I went to a Football game with my Belgian teammate. She was shocked how many players they had, and then noticed that they all were wearing the same jerseys until someone told us that this is the same team, just the defense and the offense team, and the opponent was standing on the other side of the field ;-) When you speak about Football in Europe everyone means Soccer. Soccer is the most popular sport over here. Another common sport in Europe that isn’t popular in the USA is Handball. It is a mixture out of Basketball and Soccer. You play with a smaller ball, you are allowed to dribble and catch, but you shoot at a goal with your hands that’s why it is called Handball. Besides different sports, there is another big difference between American and European Sports.

In Europe, everyone plays Sports in a club. That means, when your kid wants to start a sport, you have to choose a club, become a member of that club, which includes usually a monthly or yearly fee. You pay a small amount of money, but therefore your kid can play the sport, gets coached and is insured in case something happens. A club, depending how big it is, can offer many sports or also just one. Usually the name of the club gives you some information: Osnabrücker Sportclub is the name of a club that offers many sports in the city Osnabrück; Basketballclub Wildcats Wolfenbüttel is the name of a club that offers just Basketball in the city of Wolfenbüttel and the Wildcat is their mascot.

Usually clubs have youth teams and adult teams. In youth teams, the kids are put together after age. Of course kids that are better in their sport can also play in the higher age group. Depending on the sport those youth teams can go until different ages, but not older than 22.

In adult leagues, everything goes after performance. That means to move up to a higher league, you have to become the best in your league. In certain sports there are even up to 10 leagues, which is usually hard to understand for Americans. Sometimes there are also professional players in D4 or D5. Of course moving up has also something to do with the amount of money a club has, because the more money, the better players they can get or pay the fees in the higher league. However, just with money you can’t move up, you have to perform. The same goes the other way around, if you are after a season at the bottom of your league, you will have to move down to the lower league.

Since sports are played in clubs in Europe, all sports start off as hobby, and even as you get older, and the kids graduate from school and go to university or work a job, nobody cares that you play sports. You have to do that in your free time, and you won’t get off from school or get any support. You also don’t get anything paid for with sports; in general most times you pay to be able to travel, to get a jersey and all those things. This is a huge advantage in the US, where the school and the sports basically work hand in hand. You have to get good grades to be able to play, and you have to play well to be able to get a scholarship. In Europe, the parents have to control all that and decide, if their kid can practice or has to stay home and study. Therefore, practices are usually in the late afternoon and evening because everyone has their own schedule during the day. Also, practices are only once a day, and not even every day depending on the level of the team. An exception to that are sports schools, who offer morning practices, but also those work hand in hand with the club, and kids don’t play for their school. There is some kind of university championship, but usually the players of a club that study at the same university come together and play in those games. However, there is no league or even practices. Just in regular time, there are championships and a University can register their team.

But back to the clubs: Another thing to mention would be the age differences in the leagues. Since the league your team plays in depends on the performance, it happens often that teams out of different age groups play against each other. It is possible that an Under18 team also competes in D4, and plays against a team that has an average age of 35. Also, in one team can play players out of different ages, i.e. 17 and 36. It just means those players are all able to compete at that level.

Depending on the amount of teams, and the perspective, parents should choose the club for their child wisely. It should be a club that offers their child a good team in their age group, but also higher league teams that it has the chance to move up to a better team. For youth players it is even possible to play in two different adult leagues as well as their youth team. I.e. when I was a teenager, I played with 17 in the U18 youth team (my age group), a D3 team, where I got quiet some playing time and also a D2 or once even a D1 team, where I was happy when I got to play two minutes, and was able to learn from the professionals . This is also an important thing for the development of your kid as a player, because the kid learns to take on different roles, such as the go-to-player and the bench player that is glad to just come in, and doesn’t complain about not playing. In some cases it is even possible to play in two different clubs, if the one club offers only youth teams and the other club offers adult teams, your child can become a member of both clubs, and play for the youth team in one club and an adult team in the other club. However, it is not allowed to play in teams of both clubs that compete in the same league.

I hope I could help you understand the European Sports a little better, and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

How far would you go?

Last Weekend, the last games of the Elite8 in College Basketball were played, and one of the games was very tragic. In the game between Duke and Louisville, a player broke his leg. The way how he broke it was terrible. He jumped out to the three-point-line to contest a shot, and landed awkwardly. He didn’t just twist his ankle, but his shin landed on the ground and broke, so that a part of his bone was sticking out of the skin. All the players were shocked, and he was brought immediately to the hospital. I watched the video of him getting injured again because I just couldn’t explain myself how something like this could happen without any contact or ankle braise. Later on the doctors mentioned that he might had a small fracture, which nobody knew of and by the awkward landing the bone snapped.

One of my friends is in a similar situation, just not as tragic as the Louisville player, Kevin Ware. My friend had pain in his wrist for a while, but played threw it and had just landed a new contract for a few weeks in South America. Even though he wasn’t able to shoot normal, he still put up good numbers until he got injured again. Now he had to see doctors, and it turned out that he wasn’t insured by the team, which made him go home immediately. At home he found out that his wrist is fractured, and that it looked like it was an old injury, which just broke open again. He will be out for 6-8 weeks, which is nothing compared to the time it will take Kevin Ware to come back, if there even will be a comeback!

Things like this always make me think how lucky I have been throughout my career. Of course, I did have injuries such as ankle sprains, torn ligaments and muscles, and a broken nose, but so far nothing severe, which caused me to have a major surgery or sit out for a long time. I know a lot of players, who underwent surgeries and doctors told they couldn’t play sports anymore, and they did it anyways. Also, this season most teams had a lot of injuries and our opponent in the first play-off round is struggling as well. Their point guard broke their pinky and their post player has a knee injury. While the point guard hasn’t been playing, the post player did. How far would I go? Would I take the risk to play to reach something I never accomplished before? When is it time to take a break or even hang up the sneakers? Also, it made me think how healthy I really am. What if something in my body isn’t healthy and I don’t even know it? I do want to play Basketball also with my kids one day, and we all know professional athletes will struggle later in life with their bodies, so when is the right time to retire?

Honestly, I have thought a few times about retiring. The first time, I thought about it was the year I signed a contract with a Ukrainian team and it didn’t work out. I was wondering, what if I don’t get picked up by another team? Should I just retire? The answer was easy! I watched games of the women’s team in my hometown and noticed how much it bothered me to sit in the audience instead of being out there on the court! So I kept on playing, now I am almost turning 30, and I remember how I was as a young hungry player thinking why is this grandma still playing. Now I am the grandma, and before this season, I had thought about retiring at the end as well. I wanted to get my coaching license, and thought about being a coach afterwards. However, after playing this year, I saw I still got it. I have been playing a lot, even played the entire 40min, and put up decent stats, so I am thinking why not keep on playing? Last weekend, I watched the MBC game vs. Bonn, and Christ Ensminger was dominating inside the paint. He is almost 40 and can’t be guarded by players way younger than him. He is the perfect example that age isn’t a reason to retire. As long as you are doing your job on the court, you can play. So when is it time to retire?

I read the story about Johannes Herber retirement (http://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/basketball-nicht-das-ganze-leben-nachspielfeld-12055024.html), which was very inspirational. He was forced to retire due to injury as many players are. I hope for me this will not be the case (and yes, I am knocking the whole time on wood, while writing this). I don’t know yet, when I will retire and what the reason will be, but a big injury would definitely be a reason for me, especially at this age. If you are young, i.e. like Kevin Ware is, there is always the dream of playing ball professionally, but I already accomplished my dream and I am living my dream and hopefully for a couple more years ;-)

"10 Reason´s why the serious balla should not smoke Weed"

An important topic that concerns quite more hoopers than someone would think. That is why i share these thoughts from a very experienced Basketball legend, who once played professionally himself and is still educated young kids nowadays - Joe Asberry aka Coach JumpingJoe 

Take the following as advice or as Coach JumpingJoe said himself "I´m all comedy,thats me,but i hope i can help ball players with the mistakes i made,if not,those dumb asses will watch a career wash right down a DRAIN" 

"10 Reason´s why the serious balla should not smoke Weed" 

1. It destroys your long and short term memory! 

2. You won´t be able to remember the plays your coach wants you to run.

3. It will ruin your condition,you need your lungs to be able to run in that 4th quarter. 

4. It will ruin your ability to drive and lean on the autobahn in Germany when you´re in a big 5 series beemer racing at 130 mph(Yep thats what i was cooking at this morning) Or the car the club gives you to drive 

5. You will have to double check every thing before you leave your crib to go to work when you´re a ogee. Do i have my keys to the gym? Do i have the basketball´s? 

6. DRUG TESTS! The team´s here in Germany will give you a test to make sure you´re clean. You don´t want to throw away your paper or a chance to get a foot in the door because you were smoking blunts and drinking 40´s with your mans and dem who are not working at the moment.Not hating on your mans and dem at all,they probably have a job making more then i do,but they also gotta dodge the po po´s i can write a book about it! LMFAO 

7. Those BLOOD SHOT EYES! Every body is going to know you´re blunted. 

8. Danger! I blew my first J when i was 13 with the vato´s George Luna and Pauncho Luna. My big homey Mike found out and tryed to knock off my dome,i should have recieved danger pay for that J. 

9. You won´t be able to do DRUG PREVENTION! I get paid to play horse with kids and tell them don´t smoke weed and the paper is good! I gotta stay clean now,so i don´t knock my hustle. 

10. Last but not least, in some places its illegal and you can catch a case. So think about being locked up with a beast like TOOKIE AND YOU IN FOR A FAKE ASS WEED CASE! LMFAO!

Overseas Basketball Documentary

Anybody that wants to play professionally basketball overseas (to know what to expect), anybody that has played professionall overseas (cuz u can related), and anybody else interested should watch this documentary (WORTH IT!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZeJ3oB8pZE

I used to complain about not having shoes until i saw a man with no feet!

This blog is written for basketball players, who are currently in a bad situation. My own experience has shown me that you will have to fight some issues in most teams, and at the current moment they might seem big to you, but if you look at people in other situations you will notice they are nothing. Most often we forget one fact and it’s the most important fact: YOU ARE DOING WHAT YOU LOVE DOING!!!! So the following little phrases should remind you that it could always be worse. All of those examples are not made up, they either happened to me, to someone I know or to another client of a former agency, so this is the truth! Things like this really happen, so next time when you think about complaining about your current situation …. Think again ;-)

I used to complain about my apartment being too small until I had to share an apartment with 5 other players!

I used to complain about not having cable or internet until I didn’t have electricity!

I used to complain about not having warm water until I didn’t have water at all!

I used to complain about having my washer in the neighbor house until I had to take my laundry in the city to get it washed there!

I used to complain about not having an oven until I had to share a kitchen with all my teammates!

I used to complain about not having international TV channels until I didn’t have a TV!

I used to complain about living too far from the gym until I lived in another city 40min away!

I used to complain about having a small or old car until I didn’t have a car at all!

I used to complain about too cold weather until I lived in a country, where it’s dark at 3pm and snowing 24/7!

I used to complain about having to pay for my own pre-game meal until I had to pay for my Christmas dinner  and do the dishes afterwards!

I used to complain about not all of my teammates speaking my language until I had a coach, who didn’t speak my language either!

I used to complain about one selfish teammate until I was playing with 7 other pros, whose personal goal didn’t match the team goal!

I used to complain about one hater teammate until I didn’t get along with any of them!

I used to complain about being the only one to go workout in the mornings until I didn’t have a gym to work out by myself!

I used to complain about not being the key player until I wasn’t playing at all!

I used to complain about one lost game until I went 0-12 at the beginning of the season!

I used to complain about a messed up stat sheet until the league didn’t scout any of our games!

I used to complain about a sprained ankle until I was out for the season!

I used to complain about being out for the season until I wasn’t able to ever play ball again!

I used to complain about having a bad trainer until I had to tape my own ankle!

I used to complain about too long road trips until I had to take a plane even to my own home games!

I used to complain about not being able to go home for Christmas until I got a ticket to go home for Christmas with no return flight!

I used to complain about always getting my money late until I didn’t get my money at all!

I used to complain about something in my team until I didn’t have a team at all…

So remember, there is always, ALWAYS, A-L-W-A-Y-S something to be thankful for!

The Player Code

Hey everyone,

it's again the time of waiting for most of the players. Some have already been lucky to sign, and some are still looking for good deals. I am one of the lucky ones :)

However, I just heard not too long ago some ridiculous offers for players. Apparently there are agents out there, who "sale" their players for really low salaries to teams and that is the reason why i decided to write a blog on it. I want to emphasise that this is my own opinion and just an advice to all the players!

Every player has their own expectations and their own limits, and once you are in the overseas game, you made it. That is probably the reason why so many players sign for really low money the first year because they just "want to get their foot in the door". Okay, don't get me wrong, I am not a Dirk Nowitzki or Candice Parker, who makes millions every season, but I am also a single person, who is responsible to make their own money, pay their own bills, and survive a WHOLE YEAR, not just a season of 8-10months! Some of you even have a family, wife or husband and kids to take care of.

Normally, I don't talk about the money, but to me it is ridiculous that there are players out there playing for money as low as $500 (350€) a month!!!!!! If you are a youth player in your own country, living by mom and dad, still studying and not having to pay your bills, then this might be a good pocket-money and a nice solution until you graduate and are able to take your game to a new level, but a foreigner? I say NO WAY!!! Yes, the team pays for your apartment and most of the bills, sometimes you even get meals at a restaurant, but what do you have left over after the month? What if your teammates invite you to go somewhere and you have to turn it down because you have no money, but you are suppose to be the pro-player?

Then again you hear them say - "It will just be for the first season!" or "I just have to get my foot in the door!". I will tell you something, next year there is someone else, who just needs to get their foot in the door, and will play for lower money than you, be just as highly motivated, and the one year experience won't make a big difference. That's the reality! Why do you think there are so many teams, who sign players fresh out of college, they play a great season, and the next year they want more money, so their old team takes again a college graduate. That's how it most times goes, and why not too many people make it to the top because especially American Guards are more than enough available and each one of them will play for less money!

I was thinking how to prevent or stop that cycle. Of course, your agent has a huge part in it. I don't even think it is responsible as agent to send one of your players for such low money to a foreign country. Therefore, one of the steps could be - reconsider if you have a good agent, if your agent is one of those, who offers you a $500/300€ deal! Even if you do this, there are also a lot of clubs out there, who try to sign you without an agent, without the official contract, and pay you under the table. Therefore, all players should consider to have a minimum limit of monthly salary. I had also talks with agents about this before, agents, who care about their players, and what deals they let their players sign. If each one of us agrees on not signing anything below a monthly salary of $850/600€, we could solve the problem because then the teams will have to offer players more than before. However, this only works when everyone of the newbies agrees to the player code. I hope it works, and you guys spread the word! Feedback is always appreciated and good luck for all of you for the new season!

How to find YOUR agent

Often I get asked, if I know a good agent. Yea, I do know a few good agents, and there are plenty of good agents out there. The question is if they are the right one for you! Therefore, I decided to show you how to find a new agent and what aspects to consider while choosing your agent.
Most college players get contacted by agents right at the end of their senior year. Usually those agents contact your coach, who forwards everything than to you. This is one way to find an agent, another one is to go to www.fiba.com. This is the official FIBA-website, and if you look under the top menu under “experts”, you will find the “FIBA Agents’ corner”. Once you open it, you need to select “FIBA certified agents” on the menu on the left, which brings you to a page, where you can search for an Agent. You can either select the agent directly (in case one contacted you and you want to find out more about their agency), or search by country.
The results will show you the agent, the FIBA license number, the country he represents, the agency, contact information, and current players signed by his agency. Now it is on you to carefully consider, who might become your next agent. Following I provide a list with things that are important or can be, which will help you make a choice.

-       The gender of the players represented by the agency

If the agent only has female players, you don’t need to waste your or their time and contact them, if you are a male player and same vice versa. There are a lot more male agents than female agents, therefore it is easy for women because you can already eliminate a lot of agents right at the start.

-       The kind of sports represented by the agency

There are agencies with different agents that represent Basketball, Volleyball and Football at the same time. Do you care about being in a strictly Basketball oriented Agency?

-       The level of the players represented by the agency

Maybe if all players on the list are NBA players or WNBA players, while you have been playing in D4 or D5 in Europe, you ought to consider another agent, because chances of no response are high. The same goes the other way around, if you are a high level player, you don’t want to sign with an agent that has only low league players because they might not have the connections you need.

-       The number of players represented by the agency

First off, do you care how many players your agent represents? A too low number of players isn’t a good sign, but a real high number either. You want to make sure that your agent has time for you, and will try their best to find the best team for you. Take a look how many agents are working for the agency as well, because the more agents work for the agency, the more players can be presented. Also, find out, if you will have one agent to talk to all of the time or if you will be talking to whoever has time at the particular moment. More agents could mean more connections, but could also mean more confusion, if not one particular one is responsible for you at all times.

-       How long does the agency exist?

Don’t fall for somebody, who is promising you to get a contract in the NBA, but it is their first year working as an agent! Sure there are promising new agents out there, and everybody deserves a chance, but you don’t need empty promises!

-       The nationality of your agent

It is probably easier to sign with an European agent. First off, they are in a European country that means, if you have any trouble, they can come visit you. Also, they have probably very good connections to their home country. Furthermore, phone calls will be a lot cheaper. However, make sure you do speak the same language as your agent! To find this out, also talk to them over the phone, because sometimes they might be good in writing, but not in talking and you want to make sure that your agent understands you and you understand your agent!

-       The website of the agency

Take a look at the website, and see if you like it. Is it easy to find all the necessary information on there? If it is confusing to you, then it might also be confusing to managements of other clubs.

-       What countries does the agency work with?

Usually it should be written on the website, in what country the agency is working, but also take a look at the signed players, and where they are signed. If you have the goal of playing in Spain, and sign with an agency that represents only in France and the UK, you are most likely not to be able to reach your goal.

-       The number of signed players

The number of signed players of an agency is a pretty helpful detail. The more players are signed, the better. However, consider the time of the year, which you are looking at the website because during the summer not too many players will be signed.

-       Relationship between you and your agent

How does the agent act towards you? Are they willing to call you (even out of country)? Do they respond quickly to your emails/calls? Of course, agents are busy, especially during the summer. They will be traveling and have other players besides you, but if they are really interested in signing you, he will work things out or at least let you know what time he might not be reachable.

-       The length of the contract

Most agents offer two-year-contracts to their players. However, if you are skeptical, and would prefer a one-year-contract for the first time, there shouldn’t be any issue. Also, if you aren’t happy with your agent or they haven’t got you a deal and you want to cut the contract, a good agent will always let you go, instead of trying to hold you back.

-       The agents salary

The normal salary of an agent is 10% and will be paid by the team, not by you. If any agent is trying to tell you that you have to pay them or that he gets 20%, that’s a red flag and you should look for another agent!

-       Try-outs and Camps

Some agents offer open camps, which you can attend. In some cases, i.e. if you haven’t played for a long time or you don’t have any good stats from the previous season; it might be a good idea. However, if you are in the business already for a while, a good agent will tell you not to go to any tryouts or camps, which you will have to pay for. Especially tryouts and camps in a different country or continent, when you have to cover the flight and hotel expenses plus fees for the camp are non exactable!
Team organized personal try-outs are a different story. If a team is interested in you, but wants to test you first, either fly you in over the summer (rather European players since flights are cheaper) or fly you in earlier with a certain time of tryout period, this is completely understandable. However, in those cases the teams cover your flight, your hotel, your food, and any other expenses that might come along with the tryout. If you have a certain time a tryout period when you arrive (usually two weeks), then you can even get paid for that time.
However, good agents will get you on a team without attending any tryouts or camps, just with good stats and tapes.

After you considered all those things about the agents on the FIBA website, the list of agents should be way smaller and leave you just a few to contact. I would suggest you to write them an email, describing your situation, your goals, and attach your player profile with your career information, and possible video links. I tell you right now, some of them will never answer you, not even if they aren’t interested because I know from some agents that they receive every day about 15 of those emails from players, who are looking for a new agent, especially from Americans. Therefore, be professional, keep it short, add all the important information and then just wait for the responses and take it from there.

I hope this helped a lot of you out, if anything should be added or if you have any questions, feel free to post it on here. Thanks for reading and good luck with finding YOUR agent =)