November 5, 2021 • 49 mins
In the first of a two part interview, Doug and Yokahama BCorsair Head Coach Kyle Milling discuss his path from San Diego high school stardom, to transferring from UCSB to Oregon, how he adapted from DI pampering to less glamorous pro league reality in Belgium, France, Lebanon, and Japan during his 14-year overseas pro career. Make sure you download, rate and subscribe to get the latest All Ball Podcasts!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hey, welcome in. I'm Doug Gottlieb and you well you've
downloaded all ball. Uh the I think the best and
most fun basketball podcasts you can find. And there's plenty
of other ones and they're they're all really good and
different what I try and do on this pod. It's
your first time listen. Um. Is I have friends all
(00:28):
over in the sport that I made. Some people that
I don't know. I know through a friend and I
reach out to him and then we just talked. That's
about it. That's kind of the magic to it. Uh.
This week or this show, we already have one this week.
Um Um, we're gonna kind of keep a little bit
of a San Diego theme here, Okay. Brian Dutcher was
the last pot. This pod is Kyle Milling. Kyle grew
(00:50):
up Powi High School and then he went to UC
Santa Barbara into Oregon, and then he played in Belgium
for a minute, then France, stopping living on Japan, back
to France, been in France, became a coach and France
now coach in Japan and great dude gave me my
first beer when I was fifteen years old. Actually, don't
(01:11):
know if that's true. I think I had a couple
of SIPs of beer before that, but officially I'm gonna
go first beer. Kyle Milling, who was also my host
on my visit to the University of Oregon. They took
down Arizona this the year that Arizona ninety seven when
they won the national championship, so there's a history there.
Um he's currently coach in Japan. I just I find
it fascinating that guys that grew up here and what
(01:33):
they're doing now and how they got to what they're
doing now. But Kyle was a tremendous player. He's like
one of those classic blue collar workhorse, big guys that
you know now he would have been a center, but
you know, able to really you ferry athletic in terms
of the aaible building modist, moved steep rebound throughout his
area and then could score and again probably now even
though he wasn't a score he wasn't he just didn't
(01:55):
have great back to the best moves. But as a
drop off guy for dunks who's playing the five or
face up shooter. But he is a very high basketball
like you, and he also really good interpersonal relationships, understanding
different guys. And I think that's why he's become a
good coach, just because, um, he just kind of understands
people really really well, calm, willing coaches in Hiroshima. Right,
(02:16):
what do you think of Hiroshima? Pretty amazing? Um? And
I thought we check in with this is second year
there and he's joining us from his apartment in Japan.
And I think you enjoyed this conversation. Okay, So can
I tell you my memory of you playing you basketball? Maybe? Okay? Um,
(02:42):
So Matt Party was on the team too, right, I
believe so? Yes, Okay, So, and Matt Party was the
Santa Barbara guy too, right? Uh? Not my year, however, No,
he went to so he grew up in Santa Barbara.
He went to Northwestern And anyway, so I remember the
(03:03):
two of you, and I think you guys were roommates. Um.
I think you guys were roommates in Vegas. And I
was a gonna be a freshman, but I was a
whole back. So I was like fifteen, and I remember
we had a day off the next day. It is
a true story, okay. And my experience in Vegas was
really simple, Like I was still going to circus circus
(03:24):
trying to meet girls, and you were like, let me
hang out with you guys, And so I roll up
into your room and we opened up a drawer as
a bunch of beer in there, and I I mean that,
I don't know if I had had a beer. I
think that was my first beer, and all of a sudden,
we're like drinking beer. I felt like the coolest kid
on earth drinking beer with you in Matt Party. That
(03:46):
that's my memory of you guys in Vegas. So there's
a few people at Memories and you drinking beer. Um,
what was your high school experience like it was? I
grew up in San Diego to pit It was a
it was a great experience. And uh it was before
(04:07):
was going on and mostly in l A, of course.
And uh I remember, I don't know how I got
in contact with your dad, but your dad I oe
a lot to your day because he got me going
in the circuit Au stuff. And uh, you know, I
started playing the slam and jam in l A with
you guys for your dad, and that that really got
(04:28):
me going to to play at the higher level and
to see all different basketball compared to what I was
playing in Sandgo, so you're you're going up. Who are
the others in San Diego that year? There wasn't a lot.
I mean, POI had a lot of people going through
their job. Bushler was before me in Pawe. He's six
(04:51):
six years probably older than me, But I mean I
was one of the only guys coming out of there
as far as the Division one type stuff. But I
can't remember to any other names. Our last pod was
with Brian Dutcher, who's the head coach of State, and
trying to explain to somebody, a kid or anybody really
(05:13):
today over what Sanego State basketball was like then. It's
really hard because they played Peterson was like a high
school Jim right, and they sucked and the school was
like you only went there if you want a party.
That was it. My painting and acting a picture of
it pretty much. Yeah, like San Diego State when I
(05:34):
was getting high school, they were recruiting me and uh,
but I basically was not interested at all. Like you
said that Santego State was wasn't an option for basically
anybody coming out of San Diego or even in southern California.
And the amazing isn't it amazing, Like it's crazy they
really built with Steve Fisher and then now they've really
(05:55):
done a great job and I don't know, incredible, and
I wonder, and again you mentioned how I'm part of
it to spread of a U basketball. But you know,
one of the things my brothers always told me, he's like, dude, sanity.
He was always an under recruited area. Uh, Tony Clark
was San Diego. That was that your year, a year
or two probably before me, right, and he went to
(06:15):
Arizona and then obviously became a pro baseball player. Um.
But but the volume of kids coming out of San
Diego now is really I do wonder how that changed, right,
because you've always had it's always been a lot more
diverse than like Orange County because you had so many
military kids. Uh yeah, people from all over. It's just
(06:36):
interesting on how now if you said you from sang
You're like, oh, there's lots of guys from San Diego.
But then there really wasn't. Yeah no, and I think,
like you said, so, you know, beach community. Uh, back
then it was probably a little bit smaller than what
is now. But but basketball has grown obviously a lot
in San Diego a little bit everywhere. So why did
(06:57):
you to Santa Barbara? Why I first committed to U
c l A with Herrick and uh, I don't know
if I was pressured to go there from my boy
because U s it was U c l A. So
they offered me a scholarship. But I remember going on
a recruiting ship there and Tis Edny ed O'Bannon took
(07:19):
me around. I had a good time, but at the
same time, I didn't feel quite comfortable. I just I
mean one in the line. I remember the first night
it wasn't my style. Basically, the first night it took
me to the I think it's called the African American
Beginning to your Dance and it was just like a
weird Uh yeah, it was okay. The night time we
(07:40):
went to some sweet downtown l A somewhere there was
like a party where but it is. It just didn't
fit me. But I still committed there because as U
c l A. And uh so that's interesting. So here
here's here's my kind of USA. So, uh, we had
season tickets when we moved out here like that was.
I used to go to U c l A games
all time. My brother and sister went to my sisters
a yearlier there, probably right when you when you visited there,
(08:03):
and um, I just remember, like again, I was a
couple of years removed, but the summer before my my
so I was gonna be a junior, they took Toby
Bailey like first day of summer, and Miles Simon was
my teammate and my best friend and back then, and
I don't know it was like for you because you
(08:23):
didn't play for my dad all growing up. But there
was like three big teams and Toby played for SLAM
and JAM and then there was a r C and
there was our team, like it was Orange County San Diego.
We had Jared Henderson and it was just like they
took one of somebody else's guy was like, I want
to play with those guys, Like I grew up not
liking them. Now I have to like them. That's so weird.
(08:44):
And then so I took an an official there. And
keep in mind, even with all the ties to U C.
L A. And how many times I said ball boy
during the Hazard era, um, they didn't offer me until,
like I remember, I went to a game my junior
year and I went with a bunch of my guys
and Jared Henderson who had signed there to go there,
(09:05):
and my tickets were way up high and everybody else's
was right next to the court. And then I they
like asked me, what, why haven't you come back for
a game. I haven't used our tickets. I was like, fuck,
you put me up so high that the concession man
would go out there. Oh that's a mistake. We're sorry,
We're sorry. So I go the next game I go to.
I'm sitting there and they come out and get everybody
for halftime, and they don't get me. Literally, let's go
(09:29):
and we go watch Herrick at halftime and I didn't
and I was like, I'm no chance. So then before
my senior year, I kind of blew up and they
offered me and uh um. I went on an unofficial
I went there'd you like just come up and hang
out and fall And I was getting ready to take
my trip to Notre Dame and I just remember it
was the same thing like I've been used to a
(09:51):
bunch of times, but I hadn't ever been around the
team and and this is the team that won it.
And Charles had played for my dad back when he
was little, and everybody like Ed and everybody liked Hi
Us and j R. Was there and he was my
roommate whenever we go on road trips or whatever, and
christ Tom Johnson was there. So there was no beef
(10:12):
with those guys. It just didn't it didn't feel like
they were like super excited for me to be there.
I was just just some white kid recruit, right. I
was like, I could just never get into it because
they weren't into me. I thought that was that was
that was my thing. So so did you did you like,
did it get to the they sent you a letter
of intent? You're like, no, what when did you decide to?
(10:33):
Had verbally committed and then I tore at my ankle
springtime going into the summer, and so I was out
months and you know, blue foot, blue calf, blewe everything,
and basically they were I committed and they could they
basically reneged on it. But I was kind of happy
with it. And so it's kind of our little hard
(10:56):
feelings in a way because I had committed, So they
pulled the offered me and then uh so I went
back getting recruited and I went up to Santa Barbara
and I went out on Pim's boat and Ben Holland
had recruited me forever and uh went out on Pen's
boat and that fit me, uh my style much much
more and uh basically hanging out and ills to the
(11:18):
beach and h and that got me. You went on
Pember's boat. Yeah, me out on the boat. He lived
on the boat, is that that? That's what everybody says.
He had a house or an a partner somewhere else,
but I think he was living with his I think
it's his wife, and now I don't think i't married. Yeah,
he had a place wherever, but no, we went on
on the boat. And growing up in San Diego and
(11:40):
living on the beach basically that was a fit my styles. Okay,
So who'd you have when you first got there? As
far as uh uh, Rob Raymaker was my roommate. J. J.
Polk Chris Ford from Fremont. We had played in the
sight quarterfinals maybe or some high school. So they had
(12:04):
one of the best recruiting classes that they had ever
had in the Yadris Jones was still there, Didres Jones? Yeah?
Ray Ray Kelly the point guard was there when I
was there, was there, so I know we have good teams.
So you stayed there two years? Right, Well, what is
it like for it? Because okay, so there's the campus
(12:26):
and I almost went there when I transferred. I had
my high school girlfriend went there, and then I'd kind
of be up there all the time on weekends. And finally,
like they would put the hard recruity pits, I was like, yeah,
I can't, I can't do it. You already have girlfriends
at all of the schools everywhere. No, no, no, no, no,
that's not this. This is not true. Um what was?
(12:46):
But if you haven't been to UCSBS campus, I would
make the case it's the greatest campus in all of America. Okay,
and and tell me if I'm painting the picture wrong. Okay, First,
you got the ulus lifted trees, which are amazing. You
have freshman sophomore dorms which are actually on the beach.
You have a town called is La Vista, which is
(13:07):
literally all students. Right. The gym is right there kind
of in the middle, and even though it hasn't really
been updated as much as it should. You know, and Redone,
we've all played in it, right, played Superstar Camp back
in the day or wherever, and Michael Jordan is camp there.
So it's kind of cool. But basically you're in a
student town on the beach, and while school's hard, it's
(13:30):
not like crazy crazy hard. And it's the U C
school where the good looking girls go. It sounds kind
of amazing. Oh, it's it's incredible. It's my second year
I lived. We live, had a house on the beach,
We had a couch on the cliff. We hit golf
balls out on the cliff. One of my roommates, Scuba
died and you know, I was illegal. They used to
(13:50):
go out there and h get some lobsters at Now
you can cook up lobsters. Uh from Yeah, I'm not
a player. One of my friends, what's the day we'll
give a little shout out to go down to the
pot is Chris, Chris Fleming Chris something he said about
they get lobsters every once a while. We hit golf
balls out on the cliff at night. It was incredible,
(14:13):
Like you said, beautiful girls to go to class, half
of them the bikini tops, and that was it's a
whole different world out there. Soon. Oh yeah, So what
was the decision like to leave? It was hard because
I kept most of it in quietly. You know, I
was like a lot of kids now is that. I
don't really know why I left. I was I wasn't
(14:34):
happy for some reason. Maybe in my life it was
basketball plus just a little bit of everything, and uh
I keep a lot of stuff to myself. My mom
always to stay growing up and because I took them
as a surprise, and uh so it was hard. I
thought about it a lot because I was freshman of
the year and my freshman year was playing and starting stuff.
But anyways, I decided to leave because I wanted more. Basically,
(14:56):
I wanted to I felt like I wanted more. I
don't know what, but it was a whole I don't
know why I wasn' happy, but it was very hard
to leave because I had my friends there and I
was there two years. But uh I decided to transfer.
And back then, you know it was there was no
transfer portal either, so you put your name in somehow,
but you know, I was calling. I was calling schools
(15:16):
and other people calling schools for me. Whe nowadays that
you put your name in the transfer portal and within
a couple of hours everyone's blowing up your phone whatever.
So so that was a little different too, show how
many schools do you visit? Uh? Basically, why NAU because
Ben Holland had done an AU. So I went up
(15:37):
there to visit Oregon. I was in contact with Stanford.
I really want to go to Stanford, but I couldn't
get in because of my grades. I was, I was eligible,
but Stanford was a whole another uh and Uh Oregon,
I fill in up with the Oregon one. One of
the manories Oregon five four or five big men. They're
all seniors. So there I had retchet of course, and
they're all gonna leave, and so I kind of that
(15:59):
just packed in back then, back ten pretty much. Fox
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
Catch all of our shows at Fox sports Radio dot
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s R to listen live. Okay, so here's here's here's
our we Reconnect story. So, UM ninety seven, right, So
(16:25):
it's a February or so of nine seven, and Darren
Kalish was an assistant and Darren used to be the
coach of team of Villa, right, and so that's how
I knew him. Um Tad Boyle was an assistant and
Mark Turshan was an assistant in Bobby Braswell, and obviously
(16:47):
anew Bobby bras Well. My dad knew all those guys,
but Darren was pursuing me the hardest. And I knew
of Tours. I didn't know Jerry Green at all, and so, um,
I was probably gonna go to Utah and and play
for m Jari's because they had Van Horne, they had Metal,
they had all those guys. The sticking point was Andre
(17:09):
Miller was a prop forty eight, and so the sale was, hey,
you'll come. You'll be a sophomore after you I sat
out of your junior college, would be a sophomore. You'll
play with Andre and then he's he runs out of
eligibility and you'll have junior and senior year. You'll start there.
So he said, well you'll start in the same backcourt
(17:31):
and then you'll be the guy, the only guy the
next two years. And I liked it, and they had players,
and I didn't give a shit about being yelled at.
I thought, you know, so I'll be fine, um. And
what happened was it was like it was January whatever.
I had seen them play UC Irvine and had dinner
with Rick and he actually, you know, like illegal n
(17:53):
c A rule, like closed the doors and worked me
out for two hours, like yo, you can play less
foolut some beep. So she know the n c A
past rule, if you graduate in four years, you get
that year back of El Jabila And so I would
have had to share the backcourt with Andre Miller for
two years. And I was like, yeah, so now I
reopened it, and um, all of a sudden Oklahoma State
(18:16):
bate factor and I was so into Oakland State and
I was coming to Oregon, and I was kind of
in on Oregan. But it is also you guys were
playing Arizona, and Arizona had Miles and Miles like my
best friend. So I was like, I get to go
see a cool game. And I knew what about Oregon
about Matt Court because my dad had been an Oregon
State back in the mid eighties and he was like,
it's the best atmosphere I've ever seen in basketball. So
(18:39):
the Oakland State trip kind of got screwed up. I
only was like a one and a half day trip.
So I fly to Eugene, Land and I'm at shoot
around and you know, you're going through stuff with the
starters whatever, and I was like, is that Kyle Billing, Like, yeah,
you didn't know com millions there too, was like I
played with him, he played my dad, Like I know, Kyle,
(19:00):
but he gave my first she gave my first beer.
Stay in my house and say all that ship anyway,
So it was then I was like, I kind of
like this play was super cool. The game was incredible,
But this is the story I always tell this is
there two reasons I didn't go to work. Okay, maybe three,
but to two reasons. So I'm sitting there and you
(19:21):
guys beat Arizona and they carried Jerry Green off the flour.
You played great, you played the place was insane, insane.
But if you remember that year, and I don't know
when they changed it, because eventually they put benches in,
they put chairs in, but they had me sit behind
you guys on bench because it was all bleachers, so
(19:42):
my knees were literally to your guy's backs. And Jerry
had a rule that, like especially the point are you
can sub yourself in and out of the game. So
you guys was a little point guard. He was a stud, right, Yeah,
So Kenny Wilkins is he's calling all the defenses and
he's doing all that ship, all that North Carolina stuff,
and like this is cool. But every time he would
(20:03):
sub guys that come out and they be like, he
has no fucking idea what he's doing, Like what is
he doing? Like everybody was motherfucking everybody was like one
like you usually have one guy grumbling, but everybody was like, dude,
what is he doing? Oh my god is he doing?
Don't sup again? Right, everybody. The second part is you
guys win, celebrate. Yeah, I remember you come out and
(20:27):
you were super cool about everything, Like I'm sure middle
of the year. Last thing you want to do is
show somebody around, right, Like I just want to go
to have a good fucking time. And you're like, all right,
you're with me, let's go. So we go. We go
to a party. We opened the door and I never
I had never I went to Notre Dame. Remember I
never saw a weed to Notre Dame and I've seen
weed a couple of times, but I was overwhelmed by
(20:49):
the amount of weed that I was like, oh my god,
I was like teaching. I was like whoa and you
weren't even smoking. But it was like we went into
a party, went to two parties and it was literally
I had its second secondhand high. I was setting you know,
contact time. He's crazy and the amount of partying and
you're like, this is how we do it. The amount
of party. I was like, I don't know if I
(21:09):
can handle myself. And then and then he came to
my house and it was like a week before he left,
and he was like, I got the greatest contract in
the world of never leaving love Oregon, and it just
seems such. It just like just you gotta give me
a little something like hey, man, like it's a business.
I might take it, it might not. Gotta see what
they do money wise, but it was just note. It
(21:30):
was so like, I'm not leaving. And then like a
week later I see him putting on the Tennessee hat.
It was like this, I've since tipped to coach Green.
I love him. It's a nice, very nice man. Um.
But that was my What do you remember about organ?
(21:50):
I loved it. I mean I can said it was definitely. Um,
there's a lot of teaching sewn. Uh could be a
film there, basically a lot of teaching chunks there's could
be filmed there, but but no, that matc Court, Matt Court,
as far as the basketball goes, like your dad I
told you and you you experience it was Arizona is
the last loss before the win the national championship, I think.
(22:13):
But the ambiance and the feeling in Mac Court was incredible.
It was like three levels the top level looking down
at you that place you see just rock and uh
so all his home games and experience was great, and
uh I wanted to get that higher level basketball. I
touched in the Pact twelve Pac Tandon back in the day,
(22:34):
but no had a great experience in Oregon. For me,
I wanted to change oregans. It's a beautiful place. It
reigns a lot. But having grown up in South in
California and then getting experience a little bit something different
without having to go to the East Coast, it was.
It was a good experience almost like you know, it's
once say it's a different culture up in Oregon, but
it's a it's a different way a life in a
(22:55):
different way people live. So it was it was a
good time. Is it what what's it like to see
what that athletic program has been become, like's not just football,
Like the whole thing is like state of the art,
completely different than when you were there. Yeah, when when
I got there, I mean, they've always had a Nike
money and when I got there, I think it was
it was and there and the football team and made
(23:18):
it to the Roles Bowl, I believe the first time
and forever. And uh so they were just getting role
and they had some new facilities gone, and uh so
it was building. When I in the basketball team the
year before the year I read shert was the first
time to made ns A tournament and I don't have
any years, so there was it was slowly building and
I was just exploded to a whole another level. But
(23:40):
I've always wondered this. I think I experienced this some
obviously played a time. Now you're coaching in Japan, you've
coached in France. I always thought that those places that
are special, that are packed, where you have incredible energy.
It's really hard to play in the minor leagues, especially
and to a lesser extent overseas, because sometimes you're playing
(24:02):
empty gyms, you know, or halfull gyms, and and there's
not the connection with your teammates, there's not the connection
with the fans, you know, and again not every situation
is like that. You've coached and played in a lot
of them. But I always thought that that's one of
those things where it's it's like, honestly, the reason that
Duke guys, I don't think most of them could ever
play overseas or could play minor leagues. Kentucky guys the
(24:24):
same thing, because they're so used to every gym they
walk into is full. And so what what was that
like for you later on in life to experience that
and that energy and then now you've got to kind
of generate your own energy. Yeah. No, Like, like I said,
that's why a lot of guys when they hit overseas
the first year or two, they struggle a lot. One
(24:47):
it's not just the atmospheres, but college athletes they get
spoiled a lot. You get treated very well, and you
go overseas and all of a sudden, you're you know,
we're in college of you're sleeping in the Hilton or
the Marriott with the queen size or king size bed,
and you head over season first year and you most
likely sleeping in a you know, a small little hotel room,
(25:09):
a single bed, sharing the room with someone else where
you almost a rubbing legs with the guy at night,
and uh, so you have little things the road trips,
the food, to the empty gyms too, to having to
watch your own practice jerseys, to all that stuff. And
so it is an adjustment. So if you're not ready
to to adjust and to adapt to your surroundings. And
(25:32):
many guys that struggled the first year or too expecting
to have their stuff a wash, expecting to travel nice.
And then you know, they a lot of times, a
lot of guys get cut their first year, even second year,
and they finally adjust and bring their stuff down a
little bit and uh and then then then then they adapt. Okay,
so you get done Blane College. Then one my head
(25:54):
over to an agent. He got me a job in Belgium.
My it's basically, first I got cut like many guys do,
like I said, and uh, played maybe six weeks there
and I was playing okay, But once we were in Belgium,
wear in Belgium, get where get what's that like? Gone
(26:15):
is gone gollar gold again and said it's a it's
a super nice sound, super nice one of the one
of the bigger cities in Belgium. But so I was
there maybe a month or two, and why do you
think you got cut? Uh? They said I was inconsistent
and they wanted more scoring, probably because the same type
of thing. I was in a massive score but they
(26:38):
want me street. There was a bottom team and they
wanted more scoring. And yeah, so in the same same
like many young players, maybe I wasn't taking it as
serious and they needed to because they're even the preseason
games in Europe there cut throat. You gotta win, you
gotta perform. So you had one game at scored twenty,
the next game score six. When games scored twenty one,
game score eight. So so they they packed me, but
(27:01):
in my agent found a job basically the next day
or two. So that's when I headed to France and
U packed at my bags and about four bags. Got
on a train there there's no cell phones. He told
me some guy was gonna pick me up and announced
my first team in France, and I had to change
trains and lil I remember, but lially got to change
(27:21):
train stations, but I didn't know that. So I got
little norm and I had to go to little Europe.
Some of that bad like four bags. I was waiting
in the train station that I arrived in. I was
some ten minutes to go, and I didn't see my
train coming up. And I was sitting there, you know,
young dumb American. Some lady luckily spoke a little bit English.
(27:41):
She came and helped me. I saw my take a said, oh,
it's so over there, over there, So she actually took
two of my bags and basically sprinted to the other
train station. Got on there about a minute before my
train left, and sweat and bullets because it was still
hot as hell in Europe. Got to not had no
idea who's picking me up or where? And I was
(28:03):
worried about missing the trains, like I don't know how
i'd contact anyone. And he's got off the train and
there's a little frenchman sitting there and picked me up
and took me to my apartment and h start a
new life and not so good? And uh, what was
what's what's life like? What what do you remember life like? Then? Um,
(28:23):
you're in your early twenties, you know, And okay, so
did you have do you have a car? Yeah? It
gave me a little uh the station wagon, the old
little station wagon thing. So I love it not And
that was a great city and Uh, I don't know.
I went there with an open mind, and I like
(28:44):
to visit a lot of stuff. And uh, you know,
obviously I didn't speak any French and there's no internet,
no FaceTime, nothing like that. So I used to watch
game shows when I was bored to try to learn
French because I can understand the numbers, and a lot
of the game shows they have words on the screens
and stuff. So and I took some had the cassette
(29:05):
tapes and try to learn French. But I'd be out
almost every day off. I'd go drive to Normandy, drive
to different cities to go visit the Chateau region and
go up to Paris. And so I'd like to visit
a lot and get out and see a lot of
things and stuff. So that kept me busy and and
and it forced me to go out and meet people
and try to learn the language as well, because now
(29:27):
you just kind of sit in your apartment and go crazy.
So how many years until you felt comfortable with the language, Uh,
probably two or three? You know. The guys, the guys
in my team, they first teach you all the the
bachelors how to pick up girls or you know, stuff
like that. And then uh, and then slowly uh, it
(29:48):
gets going. How to eat, how to order food, that
order drinks? And yeah, I can understand it more easier
before you start speaking it. And then I met a
French woman and my wife I got married a couple
of years later. And how did you how did you
meet her? I don't dance for her? Do you remember,
like in Paris in where there's a I think I
(30:12):
met her on the Halloween night something like that. So
you think about think about this for a second, right,
had you missed that train, yeah, they might have cut you.
They were like, yeah, we like can'dling for this guy? Right?
Like like get rid of him? You don't. Some lady
speaks English enough English get you to a train of
(30:34):
sweat and bullets. You get there? If not for that,
if you ain't been cut in Belgium, if you just
stopped messing around in Belgium, he's still little bit of Belgium,
dring in Belgium, beer married to a Belgian woman. Instead,
you're married to a frenchwoman. Yeah, exactly, so your dancing,
you danced with her, right, I mean you're the you're
you're you know back then you're a Greek god like,
(30:54):
you know, you're gigantic human being with flat flexing muscles.
She's and you're, well, what did you say to her?
Did you did you go there? What I got? Do
you speak English? Like you know, do you speak English?
And she said yes a little bit like they all say,
and uh, she actually did speak pretty good English. So
that's how we started and basically just talking because she
spoke English basically, and she was a pretty girl, pretty woman,
(31:18):
and uh, I don't matter that night, and then uh,
from there the rest is history. Over twenty years later,
a couple of sons and and the granddaughter now too
with Jesus year old granddaughter. That's that's that's that's old okay.
So um, but you didn't stay the only how many years?
(31:38):
Not only one? Right? One? You're not okay? And then
you went to I say, ruel. Well, in between, I
made a little pit stop in Lebanon for about a
month and that was an experience. What was that like?
But I thought I had a job, went out there
and there was about thirty guys on a tryout for
(31:59):
basically one or two I'm about thirty, but at least
ten to fifteen guys for like one spot we're all
in the hotel together too, so all of this will
showed up. But like, what are we doing here? It
was like, there's not ten jobs, there's one job or
two jobs or whatever. And the guy who picked me
up the airport, he was going through the streets and
(32:19):
and he was just basically running red lights and I
was like, you know, going fast as hell, and he
was like, Christmas lights, the traffic lights, Christmas lights right moment.
It's basically no traffic rules, no nothing. Were in a hotel,
like a bunch of guys, fight for a job, go
to practice. It's practicupposed to be a tan. They pick
us up, drop us off at the gym. Coach shows up,
(32:41):
practicles to be a tan coach. But like ten thirty,
it was basically I had to get out of there.
And then uh, I went back to France about a
few weeks later. And then when you go back home
in between, no, I was, uh, I stayed with my
wife or girlfriend at the time, and then I was
in France and then I went to Rue played there
(33:04):
and wait, so so I mean your friends had to
be much better then this is you know, you said
two or three years, but yeah, that was about my
second in Lebanon two is the French speaking country where
they speak a little bit everything there but eleven I
was nice. I mean those parts of its cities was
destroyed and then there's the other part where they had
to j Fridays and western part and it was ended
(33:27):
up in Rue in Paris and Proby again the second
division where that's what not was and uh spent a
year in Paris, which was a lot of fun too.
Did she she come with you or did she just visit? Uh?
She Well, that actually had gone to Japan. My second
year was in Japan. Thirty year was living on So
(33:49):
I forgot about I forgot about Japan. Yeah, what was that?
So how did you continue relationship when you're in Japan
and she's in France and there's no internet? Just call her?
Sheaed Japan for a few on section because when I
was flying back from Japan, some agent Japan's Asia, who
I think my brother got because someone got me kind
someone got in contact. I basically flew in from France,
(34:12):
went to l A. Basically the next day I didn't
workout in front of two Japanese the manager and some
coach did individual workout basically signed a contract in their
hotel room a couple of hours later. When I had
heard about Japan back then and come of them Rome.
You guys only played like once a week, right, and
there was like a limit, like you could only make
like most guys only made like a buck or buck
(34:34):
twenty five, Like it was like the max. But the
whole thing was like, yes, you only play once a week,
but you don't practice as much and they just don't
grind you as much. And is that is that your
recollection of it? Yeah, well we played sixteen games and
like eight months basically, and you have like six weeks off.
So I flew home that year for Christmas, which is
(34:54):
like in Europe, you know, you playing all the time
and that twelve month contracts, but there's a lot of
guys making you know, hundred hundred but there was a
lot of guys. Guys who stayed over there were making
big money or you know, three hundred, four hundred five
stuff like that, even back in the day. The company teams,
but you know, there's a lot less games, but sixteen,
but you're guaranteed your money. There's no problems. And I
(35:14):
was home for three months and they're wiring the money
home or in Europe at that time. Yeah, he never knew.
So what was it like to live in Japan where
everything seems pretty tight quarters and you're not exactly Japanese size? Yeah,
but I love the experience again because the culture was
so different from the European culture what I've been in
(35:37):
and American culture obviously, And I was with a great
group of guys. Uh. Uh, you know, Derrek Graham played
at Missouri c l A. So you we live in
the same basically apartment complex and who's right across from
me and Tim Mason He went to the s mbu's
the other America, but we had an American coach and uh,
we all live in the same apartment complex and play
(35:59):
a lot of cards, a let of tonk and let
it drink quite a bit of a society and supper
between the stuff. But no Osaka was you know, it's
a huge, incredible seating the first time you get down
town to see all the lights and everything. It was.
I loved it. Yeah, very clean to write, incredibly clean, respectful,
(36:20):
no one but track. There's no trash anywhere, uh either,
what's rude? Team and walking down the street eating basically
and uh everything but everyone was everything in the trash.
Oh it's ah as far as respecting the rules of
basic society and you can't you can't go any you
can't get any better. So what about France? What is
(36:41):
what is different about French culture that that you learned
and absorbed and liked. Uh, there's there's a lot of
people last me, what do you like better French or
France or America. I always say, uh, my mind is
almost franlis mixed mixed between the two, because uh, you know,
(37:02):
it's one better than the other. I can't say that,
but obviously you can can't have the best of both words.
The world's either. But there's many things in the French
culture that I styles alive and that I like. French
culture is a lot smower the lifestyle and the than
the obviously an American style. It was. Sunday basically is
a day off rest day. People are running around to
(37:25):
ten a U games. Uh, you know, having to stay busy.
There's a time to to uh take time for yourself,
you can almost say, and or your family and uh
and be at home and relax and uh. So there's
there's a lot of different things that that's what's the
(37:45):
best French boodied m I probably go with some duck
like the duck. Whether desserts, I'm a big dessert guys.
Mulio chocolate chocolate cake with what kind of oozes out
in the middle. The obviously fresh bread that's a little
(38:07):
classic thing, but but the some of the chocolate cake
stuff deserved. That's what I'll go with any times. And
now you've always been a beer guy, you a wine
guy in France, you still beer guy. I like wine,
but kind of stick to my beer, my beer, in
my beer. There is there a German beer that you
always get or what was when you're when you're in Frances.
(38:29):
There we got the old sixteen sixty four. I know
they so in the States and Heneyken in the in
France is obviously very popular. But in France and France
everything's about ten years behind States. There's a lot of
cultural stuff. So the beer markets gone crazy, all the
micro breweries and brass. Each city basically has a couple
(38:50):
of different places that make their own beer. Now with
the I p A. S. Bale Ales and the Belgian beer,
I like Belgian beers. Who okay, so you make your
way back to France, okay, And at what point out
when did you get married after Japan? The year? About
a year after Japan to two thousand? I better stay it,
(39:13):
right if my wife listens to so, so now you're married,
so you're kind of so. So was it like I
have to be in France or was it your it
just worked out for to stay in France as long
as you stay in France. But you actually I got
my French passport, so a team po Ortez played the
(39:34):
yearly I played the early one year. They they signed
me like a three year deal, and uh, because that
has we become French. So I was gonna play as
a Frenchman. So and that's one reason why I stayed
in France and time after and you want do you
want to play one year at po right? Then you
played with too Loan. After that I played Too Loan
seven or eight years, basically set up shop there so
(39:55):
I still that's basically home in the year and we
have a house there and stayed there seven eight years
and finished in Monaco lower divisions. What is it? What
is it like to buy a house in France? So
like like the house you own? Okay? Is it a
house is in the countryside, is it a like a
townhouse is an apartment? Like what is it? Well, that's
(40:17):
not I know, it's a house. It's about what year
it's town called a year. It's near too long, it's
about well maybe three five minute bike ride, three minute
bike ride and fifteen minute walk to the beach. French
Riviera town plus sixty thousands. So it's a no. It's
a beautiful place. On one side of it's like wine
fields going up on a mountain and then you go
(40:38):
the other way and you're to the beach. So it's
a no. It's a three bedroom house, got a pool,
payton and play in payton balls. He played in boat
boat ball. Yeah, yeah, anyway, the French they played on
clay Um. Okay, So you grew up in in pow Way,
(41:00):
which is not really near the beach, right, but you
still San Diego. But then you went to UCSB, which
is right on the beach. Um Oregon is u oh
is like an hour from the beach. But what is
what is a beach like a bike ride from the
beach in France? Like, what's what's life like in comparison
(41:21):
to when again, like you have to remember most people
listening to this state side. So when we think of
beach towns, you've got people think of the Jersey Beach.
I think of California beaches. What what is your that
that area in France like in terms of being beachy,
like the people were flip flops, people serve, right, is it?
Are you like super Frenchman where you're going speed? Oh,
(41:44):
you're going banana hammet when you go to the beach,
you mean you mean the beach thing. I mean, I
say a little San Diego style, but as far as
the flip flops in the regular swim shorts, but the beach,
the town we live in, it's kind of I want
to say, it's countryside basically countries. That's why I like
about it because it's not the big if you see
on TV the French Riviera or Nice or Marseilles. We've
(42:06):
got the big buildings and overlooking the beaches right on
top of the beach. It's basically a forest type thing
on the beach. So basically you can go to the
French beaches, you've got you've got some populace, and then
the beach closest to my house. You go a little
bit down further and you've got the newest area. Then
you go a little bit for you know, you got
you got a little bit of everything. So so the newist,
(42:29):
the newdest area is a little uh interesting at times
because it's right, you've got the families and got people
just setting up shop normal and it's not the news
is not people you really want to go check out
either because it turns out to be a some pretty
special uh human beings hanging out there. So it's a
it's some basically a lot of people don't women especially
(42:52):
and meet as well, don't. You don't really want to
send your kids, so so you're planning for your loan
for all that time. Right at what point in time?
And that's different like lots of people playing when they
play in Europe, it's like a one year they're always
in now maybe two um at what point in time
did you get to where like this is home. I
(43:13):
don't I'm not looking to bounce to the next team
every year. What when did you remember when that took place? Yeah,
well probably about a year maybe in the first or
second year I was there that this team because the
area's it's actually a team where there's a lot of
especially French players, but a lot of people. And there's
two two older American players if you're Alan Bunting, he's
(43:34):
in sixties or seventies, but and Tom Snyder. But there's
a couple of American guys who had played there before me.
You ended up setting up shop and French people, French
players get there. Once they get to that team, many
people don't want to leave because it's such a nice place.
And so for me, once I got there, I felt
like home, almost being in the southern California in a way.
(43:55):
And uh, because said the size of the town, everything
about it was kind of fit my style. I was
happy that basketball was fine and first division, but the
first Neuvision basketball played on the beach in the beautiful area,
I couldn't go wrong. So and I didn't really want
to move around. You know what, you bet you had
a kid us to move around, family and stuff. There
(44:17):
was no real reason. And the team like me. I
like them, so there's no reason. Um, who are your
favorite Americans? Did you played with? Uh? Favorite? Jason Rowe?
He went to Buffalo, he was played, he was not
the one. He stayed at least three years, if not
four years, and too long with me. Sean Colson was
(44:39):
one of the playing guards. I played against Sean Colson
a bunch. He was great. He's a big basketball trainer. Now. Yeah,
he kicked my ass a ton in USBL He's really
good playing. Yeah. Sean day Rogers played their year Washington.
George Washing played against him in college. Yeah, he used
you could play. Yeah. You know, there's all all of
the guys who are extra on the shorter side, you
(45:01):
know too to perform at that level of that size too.
I felt like France like what separates it in terms
of uh first and second division faster than a lot
of Europe and um, you know, you have like a
lot of American point guards, which speeds it up. But
(45:23):
you also have a lot of the French kids who
are from the French West Indies. You know, you have
a lot more athleticism from the French, the French players.
So it whereas when you play you know, I played
in Russia, I felt like, even though you had some
great players, it was still more kind of classic old
school Europe grabbing and holding. Um. I always felt like
(45:45):
when I played in France. I played in Clament for
Rome for just a month, but it was like the
whole game was up and down. It was amazed. It
was perfect for me. I was like, man right away,
is that an accurate depiction of French basketball? Yeah, French
it's probably the most athletic league outside of America for
sure in Europe and pretty much everyone says the same
(46:07):
thing because the French players are very wide. They probably
have the second most amount of NBA players in the league,
I think France. So it's very athletically. French players are
just as long and as athletic as the American players basically,
and so it's it's a very physical league too, because
everyone can jump, everyone can run, and everyone can can
(46:27):
can go on there just as long as athletic. Like
you said, the West ind of French Islands as well
as there's many African countries who speak French, so a
lot of the immigrants instead of immigrating to some of
the European countries that immigrade to France. When you speak
the language, eventually, you know the African culture gets. Uh.
(46:47):
It's it's very diverse. I mean, that's that's true. What
you get you get diversity, and you get and those
athletes are not all playing soccer like they are in
European fannships. They actually playing playing basketball and there there's
even but I mean a lot of NBA scouts go
to France. When you go to watch the young kids
or even walking on the street, they can't believe that
the amount of talent, physical talent or bodies that that's
(47:10):
there or whatever. And you go to Paris and be
like six nine seven footers walking down the street. But
they're they're they're not basketball players, but they're just that
length and the size. Wherever it's there's a lot of
a lot of talent there. All right. That's the end
of part one of my discussion with Kyle mill like that,
(47:31):
that's what it's like for him to play overseas for
all those years, what it was like to transfer. I
mean you heard it was really good. Um. Part two
will drop, I don't know tomorrow the next day, and
it's about how he got into coaching. It's really kind
of a fascinating story because so many of us, you know,
we play and then you're like it's done. And he
played really until kind of his body let him down
and he was just done. Um, and then you're like
(47:55):
what's next. You know, when you're playing in proby in France,
even as a Frenchman. You know you're making likely low
six figures. You know you stack and call that money
away and then you gotta figure out what's next to
your life. How did he become a first division coach
(48:16):
in France? How did he get to coaching in Japan?
What was it like during quarantine during COVID especially in France,
And um, he's got an amazing story, amazing, partially disturbing,
but amazing story about how he got a ticket from
a police officer during quarantine. Install all that's upcoming on
(48:39):
the next episode. In the meantime, a reminder to uh download, subscribe,
make sure you rate us as well, write a review,
and listen to The Doug Ali Show daily fore to
six Eastern twelve to three Pacific on Fox Sports Tradio,
Fox Sports Trade dot Com, the I Heart Radio app,
or you can download that podcast wherever you download podcast.
I'm Doug Gottli, Thanks for listening. This is all ball
Hey, welcome in. I'm Doug Gottlieb and you well you've
downloaded all ball. Uh the I think the best and
most fun basketball podcasts you can find. And there's plenty
of other ones and they're they're all really good and
different what I try and do on this pod. It's
your first time listen. Um. Is I have friends all
(00:28):
over in the sport that I made. Some people that
I don't know. I know through a friend and I
reach out to him and then we just talked. That's
about it. That's kind of the magic to it. Uh.
This week or this show, we already have one this week.
Um Um, we're gonna kind of keep a little bit
of a San Diego theme here, Okay. Brian Dutcher was
the last pot. This pod is Kyle Milling. Kyle grew
(00:50):
up Powi High School and then he went to UC
Santa Barbara into Oregon, and then he played in Belgium
for a minute, then France, stopping living on Japan, back
to France, been in France, became a coach and France
now coach in Japan and great dude gave me my
first beer when I was fifteen years old. Actually, don't
(01:11):
know if that's true. I think I had a couple
of SIPs of beer before that, but officially I'm gonna
go first beer. Kyle Milling, who was also my host
on my visit to the University of Oregon. They took
down Arizona this the year that Arizona ninety seven when
they won the national championship, so there's a history there.
Um he's currently coach in Japan. I just I find
it fascinating that guys that grew up here and what
(01:33):
they're doing now and how they got to what they're
doing now. But Kyle was a tremendous player. He's like
one of those classic blue collar workhorse, big guys that
you know now he would have been a center, but
you know, able to really you ferry athletic in terms
of the aaible building modist, moved steep rebound throughout his
area and then could score and again probably now even
though he wasn't a score he wasn't he just didn't
(01:55):
have great back to the best moves. But as a
drop off guy for dunks who's playing the five or
face up shooter. But he is a very high basketball
like you, and he also really good interpersonal relationships, understanding
different guys. And I think that's why he's become a
good coach, just because, um, he just kind of understands
people really really well, calm, willing coaches in Hiroshima. Right,
(02:16):
what do you think of Hiroshima? Pretty amazing? Um? And
I thought we check in with this is second year
there and he's joining us from his apartment in Japan.
And I think you enjoyed this conversation. Okay, So can
I tell you my memory of you playing you basketball? Maybe? Okay? Um,
(02:42):
So Matt Party was on the team too, right, I
believe so? Yes, Okay, So, and Matt Party was the
Santa Barbara guy too, right? Uh? Not my year, however, No,
he went to so he grew up in Santa Barbara.
He went to Northwestern And anyway, so I remember the
(03:03):
two of you, and I think you guys were roommates. Um.
I think you guys were roommates in Vegas. And I
was a gonna be a freshman, but I was a
whole back. So I was like fifteen, and I remember
we had a day off the next day. It is
a true story, okay. And my experience in Vegas was
really simple, Like I was still going to circus circus
(03:24):
trying to meet girls, and you were like, let me
hang out with you guys, And so I roll up
into your room and we opened up a drawer as
a bunch of beer in there, and I I mean that,
I don't know if I had had a beer. I
think that was my first beer, and all of a sudden,
we're like drinking beer. I felt like the coolest kid
on earth drinking beer with you in Matt Party. That
(03:46):
that's my memory of you guys in Vegas. So there's
a few people at Memories and you drinking beer. Um,
what was your high school experience like it was? I
grew up in San Diego to pit It was a
it was a great experience. And uh it was before
(04:07):
was going on and mostly in l A, of course.
And uh I remember, I don't know how I got
in contact with your dad, but your dad I oe
a lot to your day because he got me going
in the circuit Au stuff. And uh, you know, I
started playing the slam and jam in l A with
you guys for your dad, and that that really got
(04:28):
me going to to play at the higher level and
to see all different basketball compared to what I was
playing in Sandgo, so you're you're going up. Who are
the others in San Diego that year? There wasn't a lot.
I mean, POI had a lot of people going through
their job. Bushler was before me in Pawe. He's six
(04:51):
six years probably older than me, But I mean I
was one of the only guys coming out of there
as far as the Division one type stuff. But I
can't remember to any other names. Our last pod was
with Brian Dutcher, who's the head coach of State, and
trying to explain to somebody, a kid or anybody really
(05:13):
today over what Sanego State basketball was like then. It's
really hard because they played Peterson was like a high
school Jim right, and they sucked and the school was
like you only went there if you want a party.
That was it. My painting and acting a picture of
it pretty much. Yeah, like San Diego State when I
(05:34):
was getting high school, they were recruiting me and uh,
but I basically was not interested at all. Like you
said that Santego State was wasn't an option for basically
anybody coming out of San Diego or even in southern California.
And the amazing isn't it amazing, Like it's crazy they
really built with Steve Fisher and then now they've really
(05:55):
done a great job and I don't know, incredible, and
I wonder, and again you mentioned how I'm part of
it to spread of a U basketball. But you know,
one of the things my brothers always told me, he's like, dude, sanity.
He was always an under recruited area. Uh, Tony Clark
was San Diego. That was that your year, a year
or two probably before me, right, and he went to
(06:15):
Arizona and then obviously became a pro baseball player. Um.
But but the volume of kids coming out of San
Diego now is really I do wonder how that changed, right,
because you've always had it's always been a lot more
diverse than like Orange County because you had so many
military kids. Uh yeah, people from all over. It's just
(06:36):
interesting on how now if you said you from sang
You're like, oh, there's lots of guys from San Diego.
But then there really wasn't. Yeah no, and I think,
like you said, so, you know, beach community. Uh, back
then it was probably a little bit smaller than what
is now. But but basketball has grown obviously a lot
in San Diego a little bit everywhere. So why did
(06:57):
you to Santa Barbara? Why I first committed to U
c l A with Herrick and uh, I don't know
if I was pressured to go there from my boy
because U s it was U c l A. So
they offered me a scholarship. But I remember going on
a recruiting ship there and Tis Edny ed O'Bannon took
(07:19):
me around. I had a good time, but at the
same time, I didn't feel quite comfortable. I just I
mean one in the line. I remember the first night
it wasn't my style. Basically, the first night it took
me to the I think it's called the African American
Beginning to your Dance and it was just like a
weird Uh yeah, it was okay. The night time we
(07:40):
went to some sweet downtown l A somewhere there was
like a party where but it is. It just didn't
fit me. But I still committed there because as U
c l A. And uh so that's interesting. So here
here's here's my kind of USA. So, uh, we had
season tickets when we moved out here like that was.
I used to go to U c l A games
all time. My brother and sister went to my sisters
a yearlier there, probably right when you when you visited there,
(08:03):
and um, I just remember, like again, I was a
couple of years removed, but the summer before my my
so I was gonna be a junior, they took Toby
Bailey like first day of summer, and Miles Simon was
my teammate and my best friend and back then, and
I don't know it was like for you because you
(08:23):
didn't play for my dad all growing up. But there
was like three big teams and Toby played for SLAM
and JAM and then there was a r C and
there was our team, like it was Orange County San Diego.
We had Jared Henderson and it was just like they
took one of somebody else's guy was like, I want
to play with those guys, Like I grew up not
liking them. Now I have to like them. That's so weird.
(08:44):
And then so I took an an official there. And
keep in mind, even with all the ties to U C.
L A. And how many times I said ball boy
during the Hazard era, um, they didn't offer me until,
like I remember, I went to a game my junior
year and I went with a bunch of my guys
and Jared Henderson who had signed there to go there,
(09:05):
and my tickets were way up high and everybody else's
was right next to the court. And then I they
like asked me, what, why haven't you come back for
a game. I haven't used our tickets. I was like, fuck,
you put me up so high that the concession man
would go out there. Oh that's a mistake. We're sorry,
We're sorry. So I go the next game I go to.
I'm sitting there and they come out and get everybody
for halftime, and they don't get me. Literally, let's go
(09:29):
and we go watch Herrick at halftime and I didn't
and I was like, I'm no chance. So then before
my senior year, I kind of blew up and they
offered me and uh um. I went on an unofficial
I went there'd you like just come up and hang
out and fall And I was getting ready to take
my trip to Notre Dame and I just remember it
was the same thing like I've been used to a
(09:51):
bunch of times, but I hadn't ever been around the
team and and this is the team that won it.
And Charles had played for my dad back when he
was little, and everybody like Ed and everybody liked Hi
Us and j R. Was there and he was my
roommate whenever we go on road trips or whatever, and
christ Tom Johnson was there. So there was no beef
(10:12):
with those guys. It just didn't it didn't feel like
they were like super excited for me to be there.
I was just just some white kid recruit, right. I
was like, I could just never get into it because
they weren't into me. I thought that was that was
that was my thing. So so did you did you like,
did it get to the they sent you a letter
of intent? You're like, no, what when did you decide to?
(10:33):
Had verbally committed and then I tore at my ankle
springtime going into the summer, and so I was out
months and you know, blue foot, blue calf, blewe everything,
and basically they were I committed and they could they
basically reneged on it. But I was kind of happy
with it. And so it's kind of our little hard
(10:56):
feelings in a way because I had committed, So they
pulled the offered me and then uh so I went
back getting recruited and I went up to Santa Barbara
and I went out on Pim's boat and Ben Holland
had recruited me forever and uh went out on Pen's
boat and that fit me, uh my style much much
more and uh basically hanging out and ills to the
(11:18):
beach and h and that got me. You went on
Pember's boat. Yeah, me out on the boat. He lived
on the boat, is that that? That's what everybody says.
He had a house or an a partner somewhere else,
but I think he was living with his I think
it's his wife, and now I don't think i't married. Yeah,
he had a place wherever, but no, we went on
on the boat. And growing up in San Diego and
(11:40):
living on the beach basically that was a fit my styles. Okay,
So who'd you have when you first got there? As
far as uh uh, Rob Raymaker was my roommate. J. J.
Polk Chris Ford from Fremont. We had played in the
sight quarterfinals maybe or some high school. So they had
(12:04):
one of the best recruiting classes that they had ever
had in the Yadris Jones was still there, Didres Jones? Yeah?
Ray Ray Kelly the point guard was there when I
was there, was there, so I know we have good teams.
So you stayed there two years? Right, Well, what is
it like for it? Because okay, so there's the campus
(12:26):
and I almost went there when I transferred. I had
my high school girlfriend went there, and then I'd kind
of be up there all the time on weekends. And finally,
like they would put the hard recruity pits, I was like, yeah,
I can't, I can't do it. You already have girlfriends
at all of the schools everywhere. No, no, no, no, no,
that's not this. This is not true. Um what was?
(12:46):
But if you haven't been to UCSBS campus, I would
make the case it's the greatest campus in all of America. Okay,
and and tell me if I'm painting the picture wrong. Okay, First,
you got the ulus lifted trees, which are amazing. You
have freshman sophomore dorms which are actually on the beach.
You have a town called is La Vista, which is
(13:07):
literally all students. Right. The gym is right there kind
of in the middle, and even though it hasn't really
been updated as much as it should. You know, and Redone,
we've all played in it, right, played Superstar Camp back
in the day or wherever, and Michael Jordan is camp there.
So it's kind of cool. But basically you're in a
student town on the beach, and while school's hard, it's
(13:30):
not like crazy crazy hard. And it's the U C
school where the good looking girls go. It sounds kind
of amazing. Oh, it's it's incredible. It's my second year
I lived. We live, had a house on the beach,
We had a couch on the cliff. We hit golf
balls out on the cliff. One of my roommates, Scuba
died and you know, I was illegal. They used to
(13:50):
go out there and h get some lobsters at Now
you can cook up lobsters. Uh from Yeah, I'm not
a player. One of my friends, what's the day we'll
give a little shout out to go down to the
pot is Chris, Chris Fleming Chris something he said about
they get lobsters every once a while. We hit golf
balls out on the cliff at night. It was incredible,
(14:13):
Like you said, beautiful girls to go to class, half
of them the bikini tops, and that was it's a
whole different world out there. Soon. Oh yeah, So what
was the decision like to leave? It was hard because
I kept most of it in quietly. You know, I
was like a lot of kids now is that. I
don't really know why I left. I was I wasn't
(14:34):
happy for some reason. Maybe in my life it was
basketball plus just a little bit of everything, and uh
I keep a lot of stuff to myself. My mom
always to stay growing up and because I took them
as a surprise, and uh so it was hard. I
thought about it a lot because I was freshman of
the year and my freshman year was playing and starting stuff.
But anyways, I decided to leave because I wanted more. Basically,
(14:56):
I wanted to I felt like I wanted more. I
don't know what, but it was a whole I don't
know why I wasn' happy, but it was very hard
to leave because I had my friends there and I
was there two years. But uh I decided to transfer.
And back then, you know it was there was no
transfer portal either, so you put your name in somehow,
but you know, I was calling. I was calling schools
(15:16):
and other people calling schools for me. Whe nowadays that
you put your name in the transfer portal and within
a couple of hours everyone's blowing up your phone whatever.
So so that was a little different too, show how
many schools do you visit? Uh? Basically, why NAU because
Ben Holland had done an AU. So I went up
(15:37):
there to visit Oregon. I was in contact with Stanford.
I really want to go to Stanford, but I couldn't
get in because of my grades. I was, I was eligible,
but Stanford was a whole another uh and Uh Oregon,
I fill in up with the Oregon one. One of
the manories Oregon five four or five big men. They're
all seniors. So there I had retchet of course, and
they're all gonna leave, and so I kind of that
(15:59):
just packed in back then, back ten pretty much. Fox
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
Catch all of our shows at Fox sports Radio dot
com and within the I Heart Radio app search f
s R to listen live. Okay, so here's here's here's
our we Reconnect story. So, UM ninety seven, right, So
(16:25):
it's a February or so of nine seven, and Darren
Kalish was an assistant and Darren used to be the
coach of team of Villa, right, and so that's how
I knew him. Um Tad Boyle was an assistant and
Mark Turshan was an assistant in Bobby Braswell, and obviously
(16:47):
anew Bobby bras Well. My dad knew all those guys,
but Darren was pursuing me the hardest. And I knew
of Tours. I didn't know Jerry Green at all, and so, um,
I was probably gonna go to Utah and and play
for m Jari's because they had Van Horne, they had Metal,
they had all those guys. The sticking point was Andre
(17:09):
Miller was a prop forty eight, and so the sale was, hey,
you'll come. You'll be a sophomore after you I sat
out of your junior college, would be a sophomore. You'll
play with Andre and then he's he runs out of
eligibility and you'll have junior and senior year. You'll start there.
So he said, well you'll start in the same backcourt
(17:31):
and then you'll be the guy, the only guy the
next two years. And I liked it, and they had players,
and I didn't give a shit about being yelled at.
I thought, you know, so I'll be fine, um. And
what happened was it was like it was January whatever.
I had seen them play UC Irvine and had dinner
with Rick and he actually, you know, like illegal n
(17:53):
c A rule, like closed the doors and worked me
out for two hours, like yo, you can play less
foolut some beep. So she know the n c A
past rule, if you graduate in four years, you get
that year back of El Jabila And so I would
have had to share the backcourt with Andre Miller for
two years. And I was like, yeah, so now I
reopened it, and um, all of a sudden Oklahoma State
(18:16):
bate factor and I was so into Oakland State and
I was coming to Oregon, and I was kind of
in on Oregan. But it is also you guys were
playing Arizona, and Arizona had Miles and Miles like my
best friend. So I was like, I get to go
see a cool game. And I knew what about Oregon
about Matt Court because my dad had been an Oregon
State back in the mid eighties and he was like,
it's the best atmosphere I've ever seen in basketball. So
(18:39):
the Oakland State trip kind of got screwed up. I
only was like a one and a half day trip.
So I fly to Eugene, Land and I'm at shoot
around and you know, you're going through stuff with the
starters whatever, and I was like, is that Kyle Billing, Like, yeah,
you didn't know com millions there too, was like I
played with him, he played my dad, Like I know, Kyle,
(19:00):
but he gave my first she gave my first beer.
Stay in my house and say all that ship anyway,
So it was then I was like, I kind of
like this play was super cool. The game was incredible,
But this is the story I always tell this is
there two reasons I didn't go to work. Okay, maybe three,
but to two reasons. So I'm sitting there and you
(19:21):
guys beat Arizona and they carried Jerry Green off the flour.
You played great, you played the place was insane, insane.
But if you remember that year, and I don't know
when they changed it, because eventually they put benches in,
they put chairs in, but they had me sit behind
you guys on bench because it was all bleachers, so
(19:42):
my knees were literally to your guy's backs. And Jerry
had a rule that, like especially the point are you
can sub yourself in and out of the game. So
you guys was a little point guard. He was a stud, right, Yeah,
So Kenny Wilkins is he's calling all the defenses and
he's doing all that ship, all that North Carolina stuff,
and like this is cool. But every time he would
(20:03):
sub guys that come out and they be like, he
has no fucking idea what he's doing, Like what is
he doing? Like everybody was motherfucking everybody was like one
like you usually have one guy grumbling, but everybody was like, dude,
what is he doing? Oh my god is he doing?
Don't sup again? Right, everybody. The second part is you
guys win, celebrate. Yeah, I remember you come out and
(20:27):
you were super cool about everything, Like I'm sure middle
of the year. Last thing you want to do is
show somebody around, right, Like I just want to go
to have a good fucking time. And you're like, all right,
you're with me, let's go. So we go. We go
to a party. We opened the door and I never
I had never I went to Notre Dame. Remember I
never saw a weed to Notre Dame and I've seen
weed a couple of times, but I was overwhelmed by
(20:49):
the amount of weed that I was like, oh my god,
I was like teaching. I was like whoa and you
weren't even smoking. But it was like we went into
a party, went to two parties and it was literally
I had its second secondhand high. I was setting you know,
contact time. He's crazy and the amount of partying and
you're like, this is how we do it. The amount
of party. I was like, I don't know if I
(21:09):
can handle myself. And then and then he came to
my house and it was like a week before he left,
and he was like, I got the greatest contract in
the world of never leaving love Oregon, and it just
seems such. It just like just you gotta give me
a little something like hey, man, like it's a business.
I might take it, it might not. Gotta see what
they do money wise, but it was just note. It
(21:30):
was so like, I'm not leaving. And then like a
week later I see him putting on the Tennessee hat.
It was like this, I've since tipped to coach Green.
I love him. It's a nice, very nice man. Um.
But that was my What do you remember about organ?
(21:50):
I loved it. I mean I can said it was definitely. Um,
there's a lot of teaching sewn. Uh could be a
film there, basically a lot of teaching chunks there's could
be filmed there, but but no, that matc Court, Matt Court,
as far as the basketball goes, like your dad I
told you and you you experience it was Arizona is
the last loss before the win the national championship, I think.
(22:13):
But the ambiance and the feeling in Mac Court was incredible.
It was like three levels the top level looking down
at you that place you see just rock and uh
so all his home games and experience was great, and
uh I wanted to get that higher level basketball. I
touched in the Pact twelve Pac Tandon back in the day,
(22:34):
but no had a great experience in Oregon. For me,
I wanted to change oregans. It's a beautiful place. It
reigns a lot. But having grown up in South in
California and then getting experience a little bit something different
without having to go to the East Coast, it was.
It was a good experience almost like you know, it's
once say it's a different culture up in Oregon, but
it's a it's a different way a life in a
(22:55):
different way people live. So it was it was a
good time. Is it what what's it like to see
what that athletic program has been become, like's not just football,
Like the whole thing is like state of the art,
completely different than when you were there. Yeah, when when
I got there, I mean, they've always had a Nike
money and when I got there, I think it was
it was and there and the football team and made
(23:18):
it to the Roles Bowl, I believe the first time
and forever. And uh so they were just getting role
and they had some new facilities gone, and uh so
it was building. When I in the basketball team the
year before the year I read shert was the first
time to made ns A tournament and I don't have
any years, so there was it was slowly building and
I was just exploded to a whole another level. But
(23:40):
I've always wondered this. I think I experienced this some
obviously played a time. Now you're coaching in Japan, you've
coached in France. I always thought that those places that
are special, that are packed, where you have incredible energy.
It's really hard to play in the minor leagues, especially
and to a lesser extent overseas, because sometimes you're playing
(24:02):
empty gyms, you know, or halfull gyms, and and there's
not the connection with your teammates, there's not the connection
with the fans, you know, and again not every situation
is like that. You've coached and played in a lot
of them. But I always thought that that's one of
those things where it's it's like, honestly, the reason that
Duke guys, I don't think most of them could ever
play overseas or could play minor leagues. Kentucky guys the
(24:24):
same thing, because they're so used to every gym they
walk into is full. And so what what was that
like for you later on in life to experience that
and that energy and then now you've got to kind
of generate your own energy. Yeah. No, Like, like I said,
that's why a lot of guys when they hit overseas
the first year or two, they struggle a lot. One
(24:47):
it's not just the atmospheres, but college athletes they get
spoiled a lot. You get treated very well, and you
go overseas and all of a sudden, you're you know,
we're in college of you're sleeping in the Hilton or
the Marriott with the queen size or king size bed,
and you head over season first year and you most
likely sleeping in a you know, a small little hotel room,
(25:09):
a single bed, sharing the room with someone else where
you almost a rubbing legs with the guy at night,
and uh, so you have little things the road trips,
the food, to the empty gyms too, to having to
watch your own practice jerseys, to all that stuff. And
so it is an adjustment. So if you're not ready
to to adjust and to adapt to your surroundings. And
(25:32):
many guys that struggled the first year or too expecting
to have their stuff a wash, expecting to travel nice.
And then you know, they a lot of times, a
lot of guys get cut their first year, even second year,
and they finally adjust and bring their stuff down a
little bit and uh and then then then then they adapt. Okay,
so you get done Blane College. Then one my head
(25:54):
over to an agent. He got me a job in Belgium.
My it's basically, first I got cut like many guys do,
like I said, and uh, played maybe six weeks there
and I was playing okay, But once we were in Belgium,
wear in Belgium, get where get what's that like? Gone
(26:15):
is gone gollar gold again and said it's a it's
a super nice sound, super nice one of the one
of the bigger cities in Belgium. But so I was
there maybe a month or two, and why do you
think you got cut? Uh? They said I was inconsistent
and they wanted more scoring, probably because the same type
of thing. I was in a massive score but they
(26:38):
want me street. There was a bottom team and they
wanted more scoring. And yeah, so in the same same
like many young players, maybe I wasn't taking it as
serious and they needed to because they're even the preseason
games in Europe there cut throat. You gotta win, you
gotta perform. So you had one game at scored twenty,
the next game score six. When games scored twenty one,
game score eight. So so they they packed me, but
(27:01):
in my agent found a job basically the next day
or two. So that's when I headed to France and
U packed at my bags and about four bags. Got
on a train there there's no cell phones. He told
me some guy was gonna pick me up and announced
my first team in France, and I had to change
trains and lil I remember, but lially got to change
(27:21):
train stations, but I didn't know that. So I got
little norm and I had to go to little Europe.
Some of that bad like four bags. I was waiting
in the train station that I arrived in. I was
some ten minutes to go, and I didn't see my
train coming up. And I was sitting there, you know,
young dumb American. Some lady luckily spoke a little bit English.
(27:41):
She came and helped me. I saw my take a said, oh,
it's so over there, over there, So she actually took
two of my bags and basically sprinted to the other
train station. Got on there about a minute before my
train left, and sweat and bullets because it was still
hot as hell in Europe. Got to not had no
idea who's picking me up or where? And I was
(28:03):
worried about missing the trains, like I don't know how
i'd contact anyone. And he's got off the train and
there's a little frenchman sitting there and picked me up
and took me to my apartment and h start a
new life and not so good? And uh, what was
what's what's life like? What what do you remember life like? Then? Um,
(28:23):
you're in your early twenties, you know, And okay, so
did you have do you have a car? Yeah? It
gave me a little uh the station wagon, the old
little station wagon thing. So I love it not And
that was a great city and Uh, I don't know.
I went there with an open mind, and I like
(28:44):
to visit a lot of stuff. And uh, you know,
obviously I didn't speak any French and there's no internet,
no FaceTime, nothing like that. So I used to watch
game shows when I was bored to try to learn
French because I can understand the numbers, and a lot
of the game shows they have words on the screens
and stuff. So and I took some had the cassette
(29:05):
tapes and try to learn French. But I'd be out
almost every day off. I'd go drive to Normandy, drive
to different cities to go visit the Chateau region and
go up to Paris. And so I'd like to visit
a lot and get out and see a lot of
things and stuff. So that kept me busy and and
and it forced me to go out and meet people
and try to learn the language as well, because now
(29:27):
you just kind of sit in your apartment and go crazy.
So how many years until you felt comfortable with the language, Uh,
probably two or three? You know. The guys, the guys
in my team, they first teach you all the the
bachelors how to pick up girls or you know, stuff
like that. And then uh, and then slowly uh, it
(29:48):
gets going. How to eat, how to order food, that
order drinks? And yeah, I can understand it more easier
before you start speaking it. And then I met a
French woman and my wife I got married a couple
of years later. And how did you how did you
meet her? I don't dance for her? Do you remember,
like in Paris in where there's a I think I
(30:12):
met her on the Halloween night something like that. So
you think about think about this for a second, right,
had you missed that train, yeah, they might have cut you.
They were like, yeah, we like can'dling for this guy? Right?
Like like get rid of him? You don't. Some lady
speaks English enough English get you to a train of
(30:34):
sweat and bullets. You get there? If not for that,
if you ain't been cut in Belgium, if you just
stopped messing around in Belgium, he's still little bit of Belgium,
dring in Belgium, beer married to a Belgian woman. Instead,
you're married to a frenchwoman. Yeah, exactly, so your dancing,
you danced with her, right, I mean you're the you're
you're you know back then you're a Greek god like,
(30:54):
you know, you're gigantic human being with flat flexing muscles.
She's and you're, well, what did you say to her?
Did you did you go there? What I got? Do
you speak English? Like you know, do you speak English?
And she said yes a little bit like they all say,
and uh, she actually did speak pretty good English. So
that's how we started and basically just talking because she
spoke English basically, and she was a pretty girl, pretty woman,
(31:18):
and uh, I don't matter that night, and then uh,
from there the rest is history. Over twenty years later,
a couple of sons and and the granddaughter now too
with Jesus year old granddaughter. That's that's that's that's old okay.
So um, but you didn't stay the only how many years?
(31:38):
Not only one? Right? One? You're not okay? And then
you went to I say, ruel. Well, in between, I
made a little pit stop in Lebanon for about a
month and that was an experience. What was that like?
But I thought I had a job, went out there
and there was about thirty guys on a tryout for
(31:59):
basically one or two I'm about thirty, but at least
ten to fifteen guys for like one spot we're all
in the hotel together too, so all of this will
showed up. But like, what are we doing here? It
was like, there's not ten jobs, there's one job or
two jobs or whatever. And the guy who picked me
up the airport, he was going through the streets and
(32:19):
and he was just basically running red lights and I
was like, you know, going fast as hell, and he
was like, Christmas lights, the traffic lights, Christmas lights right moment.
It's basically no traffic rules, no nothing. Were in a hotel,
like a bunch of guys, fight for a job, go
to practice. It's practicupposed to be a tan. They pick
us up, drop us off at the gym. Coach shows up,
(32:41):
practicles to be a tan coach. But like ten thirty,
it was basically I had to get out of there.
And then uh, I went back to France about a
few weeks later. And then when you go back home
in between, no, I was, uh, I stayed with my
wife or girlfriend at the time, and then I was
in France and then I went to Rue played there
(33:04):
and wait, so so I mean your friends had to
be much better then this is you know, you said
two or three years, but yeah, that was about my
second in Lebanon two is the French speaking country where
they speak a little bit everything there but eleven I
was nice. I mean those parts of its cities was
destroyed and then there's the other part where they had
to j Fridays and western part and it was ended
(33:27):
up in Rue in Paris and Proby again the second
division where that's what not was and uh spent a
year in Paris, which was a lot of fun too.
Did she she come with you or did she just visit? Uh?
She Well, that actually had gone to Japan. My second
year was in Japan. Thirty year was living on So
(33:49):
I forgot about I forgot about Japan. Yeah, what was that?
So how did you continue relationship when you're in Japan
and she's in France and there's no internet? Just call her?
Sheaed Japan for a few on section because when I
was flying back from Japan, some agent Japan's Asia, who
I think my brother got because someone got me kind
someone got in contact. I basically flew in from France,
(34:12):
went to l A. Basically the next day I didn't
workout in front of two Japanese the manager and some
coach did individual workout basically signed a contract in their
hotel room a couple of hours later. When I had
heard about Japan back then and come of them Rome.
You guys only played like once a week, right, and
there was like a limit, like you could only make
like most guys only made like a buck or buck
(34:34):
twenty five, Like it was like the max. But the
whole thing was like, yes, you only play once a week,
but you don't practice as much and they just don't
grind you as much. And is that is that your
recollection of it? Yeah, well we played sixteen games and
like eight months basically, and you have like six weeks off.
So I flew home that year for Christmas, which is
(34:54):
like in Europe, you know, you playing all the time
and that twelve month contracts, but there's a lot of
guys making you know, hundred hundred but there was a
lot of guys. Guys who stayed over there were making
big money or you know, three hundred, four hundred five
stuff like that, even back in the day. The company teams,
but you know, there's a lot less games, but sixteen,
but you're guaranteed your money. There's no problems. And I
(35:14):
was home for three months and they're wiring the money
home or in Europe at that time. Yeah, he never knew.
So what was it like to live in Japan where
everything seems pretty tight quarters and you're not exactly Japanese size? Yeah,
but I love the experience again because the culture was
so different from the European culture what I've been in
(35:37):
and American culture obviously, And I was with a great
group of guys. Uh. Uh, you know, Derrek Graham played
at Missouri c l A. So you we live in
the same basically apartment complex and who's right across from
me and Tim Mason He went to the s mbu's
the other America, but we had an American coach and uh,
we all live in the same apartment complex and play
(35:59):
a lot of cards, a let of tonk and let
it drink quite a bit of a society and supper
between the stuff. But no Osaka was you know, it's
a huge, incredible seating the first time you get down
town to see all the lights and everything. It was.
I loved it. Yeah, very clean to write, incredibly clean, respectful,
(36:20):
no one but track. There's no trash anywhere, uh either,
what's rude? Team and walking down the street eating basically
and uh everything but everyone was everything in the trash.
Oh it's ah as far as respecting the rules of
basic society and you can't you can't go any you
can't get any better. So what about France? What is
(36:41):
what is different about French culture that that you learned
and absorbed and liked. Uh, there's there's a lot of
people last me, what do you like better French or
France or America. I always say, uh, my mind is
almost franlis mixed mixed between the two, because uh, you know,
(37:02):
it's one better than the other. I can't say that,
but obviously you can can't have the best of both words.
The world's either. But there's many things in the French
culture that I styles alive and that I like. French
culture is a lot smower the lifestyle and the than
the obviously an American style. It was. Sunday basically is
a day off rest day. People are running around to
(37:25):
ten a U games. Uh, you know, having to stay busy.
There's a time to to uh take time for yourself,
you can almost say, and or your family and uh
and be at home and relax and uh. So there's
there's a lot of different things that that's what's the
(37:45):
best French boodied m I probably go with some duck
like the duck. Whether desserts, I'm a big dessert guys.
Mulio chocolate chocolate cake with what kind of oozes out
in the middle. The obviously fresh bread that's a little
(38:07):
classic thing, but but the some of the chocolate cake
stuff deserved. That's what I'll go with any times. And
now you've always been a beer guy, you a wine
guy in France, you still beer guy. I like wine,
but kind of stick to my beer, my beer, in
my beer. There is there a German beer that you
always get or what was when you're when you're in Frances.
(38:29):
There we got the old sixteen sixty four. I know
they so in the States and Heneyken in the in
France is obviously very popular. But in France and France
everything's about ten years behind States. There's a lot of
cultural stuff. So the beer markets gone crazy, all the
micro breweries and brass. Each city basically has a couple
(38:50):
of different places that make their own beer. Now with
the I p A. S. Bale Ales and the Belgian beer,
I like Belgian beers. Who okay, so you make your
way back to France, okay, And at what point out
when did you get married after Japan? The year? About
a year after Japan to two thousand? I better stay it,
(39:13):
right if my wife listens to so, so now you're married,
so you're kind of so. So was it like I
have to be in France or was it your it
just worked out for to stay in France as long
as you stay in France. But you actually I got
my French passport, so a team po Ortez played the
(39:34):
yearly I played the early one year. They they signed
me like a three year deal, and uh, because that
has we become French. So I was gonna play as
a Frenchman. So and that's one reason why I stayed
in France and time after and you want do you
want to play one year at po right? Then you
played with too Loan. After that I played Too Loan
seven or eight years, basically set up shop there so
(39:55):
I still that's basically home in the year and we
have a house there and stayed there seven eight years
and finished in Monaco lower divisions. What is it? What
is it like to buy a house in France? So
like like the house you own? Okay? Is it a
house is in the countryside, is it a like a
townhouse is an apartment? Like what is it? Well, that's
(40:17):
not I know, it's a house. It's about what year
it's town called a year. It's near too long, it's
about well maybe three five minute bike ride, three minute
bike ride and fifteen minute walk to the beach. French
Riviera town plus sixty thousands. So it's a no. It's
a beautiful place. On one side of it's like wine
fields going up on a mountain and then you go
(40:38):
the other way and you're to the beach. So it's
a no. It's a three bedroom house, got a pool,
payton and play in payton balls. He played in boat
boat ball. Yeah, yeah, anyway, the French they played on
clay Um. Okay, So you grew up in in pow Way,
(41:00):
which is not really near the beach, right, but you
still San Diego. But then you went to UCSB, which
is right on the beach. Um Oregon is u oh
is like an hour from the beach. But what is
what is a beach like a bike ride from the
beach in France? Like, what's what's life like in comparison
(41:21):
to when again, like you have to remember most people
listening to this state side. So when we think of
beach towns, you've got people think of the Jersey Beach.
I think of California beaches. What what is your that
that area in France like in terms of being beachy,
like the people were flip flops, people serve, right, is it?
Are you like super Frenchman where you're going speed? Oh,
(41:44):
you're going banana hammet when you go to the beach,
you mean you mean the beach thing. I mean, I
say a little San Diego style, but as far as
the flip flops in the regular swim shorts, but the beach,
the town we live in, it's kind of I want
to say, it's countryside basically countries. That's why I like
about it because it's not the big if you see
on TV the French Riviera or Nice or Marseilles. We've
(42:06):
got the big buildings and overlooking the beaches right on
top of the beach. It's basically a forest type thing
on the beach. So basically you can go to the
French beaches, you've got you've got some populace, and then
the beach closest to my house. You go a little
bit down further and you've got the newest area. Then
you go a little bit for you know, you got
you got a little bit of everything. So so the newist,
(42:29):
the newdest area is a little uh interesting at times
because it's right, you've got the families and got people
just setting up shop normal and it's not the news
is not people you really want to go check out
either because it turns out to be a some pretty
special uh human beings hanging out there. So it's a
it's some basically a lot of people don't women especially
(42:52):
and meet as well, don't. You don't really want to
send your kids, so so you're planning for your loan
for all that time. Right at what point in time?
And that's different like lots of people playing when they
play in Europe, it's like a one year they're always
in now maybe two um at what point in time
did you get to where like this is home. I
(43:13):
don't I'm not looking to bounce to the next team
every year. What when did you remember when that took place? Yeah,
well probably about a year maybe in the first or
second year I was there that this team because the
area's it's actually a team where there's a lot of
especially French players, but a lot of people. And there's
two two older American players if you're Alan Bunting, he's
(43:34):
in sixties or seventies, but and Tom Snyder. But there's
a couple of American guys who had played there before me.
You ended up setting up shop and French people, French
players get there. Once they get to that team, many
people don't want to leave because it's such a nice place.
And so for me, once I got there, I felt
like home, almost being in the southern California in a way.
(43:55):
And uh, because said the size of the town, everything
about it was kind of fit my style. I was
happy that basketball was fine and first division, but the
first Neuvision basketball played on the beach in the beautiful area,
I couldn't go wrong. So and I didn't really want
to move around. You know what, you bet you had
a kid us to move around, family and stuff. There
(44:17):
was no real reason. And the team like me. I
like them, so there's no reason. Um, who are your
favorite Americans? Did you played with? Uh? Favorite? Jason Rowe?
He went to Buffalo, he was played, he was not
the one. He stayed at least three years, if not
four years, and too long with me. Sean Colson was
(44:39):
one of the playing guards. I played against Sean Colson
a bunch. He was great. He's a big basketball trainer. Now. Yeah,
he kicked my ass a ton in USBL He's really
good playing. Yeah. Sean day Rogers played their year Washington.
George Washing played against him in college. Yeah, he used
you could play. Yeah. You know, there's all all of
the guys who are extra on the shorter side, you
(45:01):
know too to perform at that level of that size too.
I felt like France like what separates it in terms
of uh first and second division faster than a lot
of Europe and um, you know, you have like a
lot of American point guards, which speeds it up. But
(45:23):
you also have a lot of the French kids who
are from the French West Indies. You know, you have
a lot more athleticism from the French, the French players.
So it whereas when you play you know, I played
in Russia, I felt like, even though you had some
great players, it was still more kind of classic old
school Europe grabbing and holding. Um. I always felt like
(45:45):
when I played in France. I played in Clament for
Rome for just a month, but it was like the
whole game was up and down. It was amazed. It
was perfect for me. I was like, man right away,
is that an accurate depiction of French basketball? Yeah, French
it's probably the most athletic league outside of America for
sure in Europe and pretty much everyone says the same
(46:07):
thing because the French players are very wide. They probably
have the second most amount of NBA players in the league,
I think France. So it's very athletically. French players are
just as long and as athletic as the American players basically,
and so it's it's a very physical league too, because
everyone can jump, everyone can run, and everyone can can
(46:27):
can go on there just as long as athletic. Like
you said, the West ind of French Islands as well
as there's many African countries who speak French, so a
lot of the immigrants instead of immigrating to some of
the European countries that immigrade to France. When you speak
the language, eventually, you know the African culture gets. Uh.
(46:47):
It's it's very diverse. I mean, that's that's true. What
you get you get diversity, and you get and those
athletes are not all playing soccer like they are in
European fannships. They actually playing playing basketball and there there's
even but I mean a lot of NBA scouts go
to France. When you go to watch the young kids
or even walking on the street, they can't believe that
the amount of talent, physical talent or bodies that that's
(47:10):
there or whatever. And you go to Paris and be
like six nine seven footers walking down the street. But
they're they're they're not basketball players, but they're just that
length and the size. Wherever it's there's a lot of
a lot of talent there. All right. That's the end
of part one of my discussion with Kyle mill like that,
(47:31):
that's what it's like for him to play overseas for
all those years, what it was like to transfer. I
mean you heard it was really good. Um. Part two
will drop, I don't know tomorrow the next day, and
it's about how he got into coaching. It's really kind
of a fascinating story because so many of us, you know,
we play and then you're like it's done. And he
played really until kind of his body let him down
and he was just done. Um, and then you're like
(47:55):
what's next. You know, when you're playing in proby in France,
even as a Frenchman. You know you're making likely low
six figures. You know you stack and call that money
away and then you gotta figure out what's next to
your life. How did he become a first division coach
(48:16):
in France? How did he get to coaching in Japan?
What was it like during quarantine during COVID especially in France,
And um, he's got an amazing story, amazing, partially disturbing,
but amazing story about how he got a ticket from
a police officer during quarantine. Install all that's upcoming on
(48:39):
the next episode. In the meantime, a reminder to uh download, subscribe,
make sure you rate us as well, write a review,
and listen to The Doug Ali Show daily fore to
six Eastern twelve to three Pacific on Fox Sports Tradio,
Fox Sports Trade dot Com, the I Heart Radio app,
or you can download that podcast wherever you download podcast.
I'm Doug Gottli, Thanks for listening. This is all ball
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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