Take A Licking...And Keep On Ticking!

What's up world? I am laying in my bed getting ready to find some breakfast from somewhere, but I decided to go ahead and post my blog for this week. Well it was a tough week for J.J. Miller! I am still standing though and I think the saying goes: "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." Well hopefully I am gaining some strength, lol. Let's get into another week in the life of J.J. Miller.
Well after a tough loss last week, I was determined to make sure that we did not harbor a losing attitude. I wanted to get myself and our team back on the right track immediately! I showed up an hour early for practice on Monday to get an individual work out in. I was just fine tuning some things that I felt needed to be sharp for the upcoming game. I also wanted all my teammates to see me putting in the extra work so that they would know that there was no time to worry about last week's loss. We needed to be fully focused on getting this week's win! Practice started off well on Monday and spilled over into to Tuesday! Unfortunately, that would come to an end before the end of Tuesday's practice. I was working hard on defense, and my rotation called for me to switch on to one of our big guys! Well this meant bad news for me because my teammate can sometimes be out of control and he is really strong! He hit me with an inadvertent elbow or backhand right smack in the mouth. I knew that serious damage was done. Blood was all over the place and I could feel my upper lip swelling up! One look in the mirror and it was obvious that I would be spending some time in the emergency room.
I get to the E.R. in France.... and well my french is o.k. but this is not the time to be mixing up words and having my accent lead the doctors to think I meant something entirely different than what I was really trying to say. I was a little worried but Thank God everything worked out. The doctor spoke a little English and together with my little French we were able to figure things out. I made it clear from the beginning that no action would be necessary if I did not know what was going on, lol!! I ended up getting 4 stitches on the inside of my upper lip and 2 cuts on the outside of my lip that are not suppose to leave a scar. The doctor suggested that I sit out of practice the next day. Even though I was not my normal self I knew that missing practice would not help our situation as a team. Sometimes you have to TAKE A LICKING AND KEEP ON TICKING. Besides, I did not have to mix it up inside the paint if I did not want to. So the very next day in practice we lose our starting big guy to a hip injury that was caused by the same guy that knocked me out of practice, lol!!!! He is a good guy though, and I am sure that he is not taking guys out on purpose????? haha
Anyway, we go into the game shorthanded and nursing a lot of injuries, but we are still capable of winning the ball game. Unfortunately, we come out playing just like the week of practice (incomplete) and we end up getting smashed! This game was the worst performance of the year and we definitely have to do some soul searching after this one! It is not going to be easy, but we have to find a way to get back to doing the things that make us a good team.
As for life off the court, We are less than a week away from Christmas break (one that I really need). Monica is excited about getting back home, but because of our current basketball situation it has not really hit me yet! Don't worry, I am sure it will! We are gonna go check out the Christmas Market here in Le Havre today. I think that will get me into the holiday spirit! I am sure Monica is gonna take a lot of pictures so I will be sharing those with you guys!
Well, I am gonna go now because I am hungry and I need to find something to eat, lol. Eating is not that simple for me right now with these stitches in my lip...haha! I will figure it out though. Thanks for stopping by! I hope your week was better than mine, and I hope that next week is great for everybody. No matter what put your best foot forward and remember to EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!

Even in Defeat...A Valuable Lesson Learned

Good Morning Everyone! This week's blog will be short as this week was a relatively uneventful week. Sometimes this can be a good thing. Basketball is the main attraction as always. So let's hop right into it.

We faced the #1 team in the league(Le Mans) last night at their place. All I can say is that they showed us why they are in the top spot. They outplayed us in every phase of the game! I have to show some love to my homeboy Dee Spencer. He plays for Le Mans, and he really put it on us last night! He is also a part of the Higher Vision Sports AMG family. As I mentioned before, our agency represents the best of the best in Europe and Dee showed why he is in that category!

As for Le Havre, we did some positive things but we also made some mistakes that we have to correct this week. I don't think that this loss will be detrimental to what we are trying to do in this league. I actually think that this loss will be good for us. Last night was a measuring stick and now we know where we stand and exactly where we have to get to.

I did not have the individual game that I wanted to have. However, I did the things that my team needed me to do, in order for us to have a fighting chance! Sometimes the ball bounces that way, and you just have to make the best of it. So I guess it's true that "Even in defeat there is a valuable lesson learned."

Well I have to go now because I have a lunch date with my beautiful wife! Tune in next week as we look to bounce back at home against another tough opponent! Plus, Christmas will be here before you know it! This is normally a very eventful time for me, lol! So thanks for checking out the blog and as always remember to EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!

THANKSGIVING: Great week to be Grateful

Well, it is about 12 am here in Le Havre, France. I am wide awake and eager to share my week with everybody. Why? Well because it was a great week for myself, my family, and my team! Thanksgiving is a pretty big holiday in the USA and it is something that the Miller family celebrates pretty seriously. Being in France makes it a hard to celebrate with our family, so if we couldn't go to Thanksgiving in the states we thought we would bring Thanksgiving to us. I invited the entire team to my apartment for a huge feast to be prepared by my lovely wife, Monica! She did an awesome job! She stayed up all night on Wednesday preparing turkey, rice, potatoes, pies, cakes, yams, macaroni and cheese, and more. I have to admit that I was unsure about being able to feed a group of 14 guys who were and average size of 6'5 , 200+lbs but Monica pulled it off! She got some great help from Natasha Jackson. She is the girlfriend of Joseph Jones and she knows her way around the kitchen as well. Together the ladies really hooked us up. We all had a blast and I think that it really helped the team get a little closer. Things like these are necessary if we are going to be there for each other on the court! I have to say for those of you who do not know that Monica could be on Top Chef or something! This was one of the qualities that I noticed before I jumped the broom with her(forward thinking fellas, lol).

Thanksgiving also did a great thing for Monica and I. You see during the holidays you have a tendency to miss home a little more than normal. Being able to enjoy this day with close friends and family made being away from home a little easier. We even got a chance to do the family tradition of letting everyone tell what they were thankful for. My french teammates got in on it and it was awesome to see the guys take time to acknowledge how blessed we all were to be able to do the things that we do. Obviously, I am grateful to God for blessing me with such a wonderful woman to be by my side, an awesome family, and this special gift to play basketball.

Speaking of basketball, we had a tough match this week against Chalon. They were at our place and we knew that we had to leave it all on the court to get a win! We couldn't let another team come into our house and get a victory. We battled for 40 minutes and although it wasn't pretty we came away with the win! So for this week MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Hopefully our team has learned something from the way we played this week. I mean, the game was ugly and we did not play well, but we stayed together and that is what got us the win!

Well it is getting late over here, and I have an early practice tomorrow. I want to thank you guys for tuning in to another week in the life of JJ Miller. Before I go I have something that I would like to share with you that I thought was very inspirational. I am beginning to realize that "If I've got correct goals, and if I keep pursuing them the best way I know how, everything else falls into line. If I do the right thing right, I'm going to succeed." I want to challenge everyone to strive to do the right thing, not to receive anything, but just because it is what should be done. Have a great week and as always remember to EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!

Proving That We Belong!

What's up World? So listen I know that this is a blog about me and my life, but today's post is going to be about more than that! You see I want to take the time to recognize the orchestrator responsible for all that happens in my life. GOD! I understand that without him, nothing is possible. I also had a great week of basketball that was largely due to the fact that our team had a great week of basketball. Don't worry I will explain later in the post. This was a good week and spending time with my wife and dog just put the icing on the cake! So let's dive into another week in the life of J.J. Miller!

As usual basketball leads off the events of the week. This was a big week for us because we were coming off a huge loss and needed to bounce back quickly. We had a french cup game on Tuesday and a league match against a Euroleague team on Saturday. If you recall last week, I mentioned how confident I was in my teammates to step up to the challenge. Well they did just that! Practice was good all week long and Tuesdays french cup game was a blowout in our favor. We played very well as a team and seemed to find some of our swagger that we had momentarily loss. This swagger would need to be harnessed and kept on ice, because we would need all of it to beat Orleans! We started the game on Saturday full of energy and focus. We were clicking on all cylinders, hitting shots and sharing the ball on offense, playing the passing lanes and rotating on defense. We jumped out to a double digit lead and were rolling. We knew that Orleans wouldn't just lay down on their home court, and they made a run to take the lead by 4 points. Fortunately, we all had the same hunger in our eyes and were determined not to let this game slip away. We rallied together, fought our way back to take the lead, and would never relinquish it again! We ended up getting the win by 9 points on the road against a good team. I just have one thing to say to all my teammates JOB WELL DONE FELLAS! So now we are back to .500 and in the playoff mix pretty heavily. We still have a lot to do this season, but we're striving every match to PROVE THAT WE BELONG! Every week brings another challenge but as long as we meet the challenge as a team I think we will do just fine.

As for family life, we are making it along pretty well. Monica and I took our dog (Prince) to the beach today. It was his first time at the beach so we were both eager to see how he was going to react. When we got to the beach he stopped for a second and looked at the water as to say "What in the world is that, lol?" If you know Prince he is scared of everything so there was no chance that he was gonna take off and dive in. I took him off his leach and let him run free without a single worry that he would get wet, haha. He ran up and down the shoreline playing with the suds from the waves and had a blast without ever touching the water! It did Monica and I some good to get out of the house today and take a nice walk as well.

Now before I go, I would like to take a few moments to talk about what I believe to be the focal point of my life. There are some people reading this post that are not familiar with who I am within, what I believe in, and how I try to live my life outside of basketball. For those people who do not know, I am a christian. I believe that God sent his only son (JESUS) to die for my sins that I may have eternal life. I am constantly trying to live my life in a manner that will please my God both on and off the floor. I try to emulate him as best as I can. In order to do this I try to read his word(BIBLE) daily. This week when I was in his word, I came across some interesting scriptures that really made me put things in perspective. If I believe that God is ultimately in control of my life (and I do) then I must know that as long as I love him, and try my best to live a righteous life for him, all things will work out for the good! Romans chapter 8:28 says "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." As you know from last weeks blog, I was a little frustrated with our loss and my individual play but was determined to get things back on track this week. I knew that this task would require some divine intervention so I was really seeking something from the lord. I read in the book of Samuel how Saul's son Jonathan won a battle in which he was outnumbered and outmatched. Jonathan trusted God and his ability to deliver the victory, and he was blessed for that! We sometimes face overwhelming odds, not just in the game of basketball but more so in the game of LIFE! I speak from personal experience and present circumstances that these huge obstacles do exist. But GOD is never intimidated by the size of the enemy or complexity of a problem. With him, there are always enough resources to resist the pressures and win the battle. If God has called you to action, then bravely commit what resources you have to God, and rely upon him to lead you to victory! -Life Application Study Bible-

When reading this I remembered that this is how my life is governed. This is how I need to live my life! I must trust God in all things and rely on him and not myself for the desired outcome! All my life I have been considered an underdog. However, I have always did more than I was expected to do. Not by my own efforts, but because I can do all things through christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13) I encourage everyone to believe the best for your lives and push yourselves beyond the ordinary. In so doing this, you will surely EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!

Backs Against The Wall

Hello Everybody! I hope as you read this blog you are in a great place in your life! I want to take the first few sentences of this week's post to say that I hope all the readers and their families are doing well! I really appreciate you guys following my blog and my life for that matter.

Well this week was very frustrating! We loss a home game on TV by about 20 points! It was frustrating because we worked hard all week long. As for myself, I personally had a great week of practice full of focus, hard work, and sacrifice. All these things normally translate into a good win and a good individual performance. Well this week I got neither! Not only did we lose as a team, but I had a less than stellar performance. I realize that my team needs me to be at my best if we are going to win games, and when I am not it gets under my skin.

Nevertheless, I am still here. I am still focused. I am still hungry. I understand that: The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

So here I am knowing that our BACKS ARE AGAINST THE WALL, but I believe in my teammates and myself to fight our way out! Next week comes with another set of challenges including our first French Cup game and another tough league match up against Orleans ( Euroleague Tean). But hey that's "WHAT WE DO, LOL"

On another note, life off the court is good. The weather here in Le Havre is beginning to turn for the worst, lol. We don't get snow here, but rain is beginning to be a daily thing. This is no surprise because we were told to expect that during the winter season. We have had a chance to do some traveling over the last few weeks and it has been nice. I want to send a special shout out to my agent: Craig Mckenzie, Higher Vision Sports AMG! Thanks for the support. Let's go all the way to the top!

I am going to upload a video blog with this post updating my fans on how the season has been going thus far. I hope you guys enjoy it. Well until next week, stay blessed, and remember to always EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!

Embracing The Process

What's up world!?! I am sitting here watching the Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards play on my european television!! Sport plus is working and in full effect! This is a big deal, lol!

Well, it was a week of improvement and disappointment for J.J. Miller! We lost our road game this week, dropping us to a 3-3 record! We have to do better than this! Small mistakes are killing us right now and we have to get on top of this real quick! I know what we are capable of and I am gonna do everything in my power to get it out of this team. As you can probably tell, I am still hungry, and I realize that even in defeat a valuable lesson is learned! I will EMBRACE THE PROCESS!

On a personal note, I want to Thank God for allowing me to refocus on pushing myself to be the best! If you read last week's post you know that I was on a mission to improve my play from last week. I am happy to say that with the help of the lord, I was able to do just that. Now it is time to put everything together and not look back.

Monica and I spent some time with our close friends Rasheed and Rebecca Wright and their precious little girl Rayne this weekend. We had a blast! It was awesome to be able to spend time with our peeps from the crib! It was a 4 hour drive back from Poitiers but "THE TANK" made the trip with no problem, lol!

Well, I think that is all for this week. I am about to watch the rest of this NBA game and see what I can add to my game to make it better. I am also going to call my lovely mother today to see how she is doing! It is always good to talk to Momma after a loss, lol!

Anyway take care, have a blessed week, and as always remember to EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!

Tough week at the Office

Well, I sit here typing this week's post on a rainy and gloomy Sunday which just happens to be a fitting setting for the way this week went. This past week seemed to be a little bit of a struggle in every phase of my life (professional, personal, and miscellaneous). But even in the midst of a cloudy week the sun found a way to peek out from time to time. So let's take a look at another episode of the Life of JJ Miller.

The basketball week started tough. We ran a lot in the beginning of the week, and practice was a bit more demanding than normal. I think it was because we had just come off an emotional 1 point road victory, and our coaching staff did not want us to get complacent. We were not fluent at all. The more the week progressed the more I felt that we needed to pick it up if we were going to get a win. Personally, I just could not get it going the way I wanted it to go all week. My effort was there but I just could not get the results! Sometimes that's just the way it goes. Unfortunately, we played the way we practiced or maybe I should say that I played the way I practiced! We dropped a crucial home game and now we have to make it up on the road! This will not be an easy task because we play a tough team led by Rasheed Wright! Rasheed is my work out partner during the summer so I know first hand that he can be a problem for us! Bad news for them, is that I am very hungry to get back in my zone, and I plan on getting there this week!!

As for the rest of the week, it really played out just like the basketball side of things. I seemed to have one of those weeks where everything was a little off. I think the main thing that played a negative role in the week was the fact that I did not get to read THE WORD (Bible) like I normally do. I am not sure if it was because of a shortage of time or just because I subconsciously chose not to do so. Whatever the reason, I will try my best not to make that mistake again. The good thing about a week like this one is that I had a chance to learn from the struggle! Wifey and I are a bit closer after having a little spat (one that I was right about as usual), lol! If you are reading this sweetheart I LOVE YOU...HAHA! Anyway, I realize that this week was necessary for growth and I am glad to have experienced it.

Despite the somewhat dismal week, there were some bright spots! Our friends from Belgium came to visit us and we have been having a great time together! We decided to get some Mexican food tonight, which is kind of funny. It was 2 Americans and 2 Belgians eating Mexican food in France, lol! We were at the table eating and enjoying great conversation when I was approached for an autograph! Luckily our friends did not mind because they are familiar with it. They are supporters of my previous club in Belgium! Mark and Diane if you are reading this Thanks for everything! You guys are awesome.

So as I close this week's post, I have to say that I am doing it with some relief to have made it through. I am eager to get next week started so that I can push myself to get better in every aspect of my life. One of my teammates mentioned to me today, "it is not what happens to you that matters, but how you respond to it!" Well I plan on making the most of my response! Take care, have a great week, and as always EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!

Deauville Resort Photos!

Back Up and Running

What's up world? I hope that everyone reading this blog is in great health and good spirits! It has been a good week to say the least! As you can see, my pc is back running, we got a big win, and had a chance to visit the Deauville Resort! There were some minor setbacks which I will get into later in this post, but all and all, I had a great week.
First, basketball was the main agenda as usual. We had a tough week of practice. For some reason this week seemed like a longer week. I am not sure if it was the fact that we were coming off a lost or if practice was just that much harder. Either way practice was a beast for me this week. It ended up paying off though because we were able to get another win against a good team. Roanne came to the Docks (our gym) this week and found out that we were not going to lay down for anyone. It was a good game but before I get into the details I must tell you guys about my game day misfortunes. Earlier this week I started playing in a brand new pair of Nike Hyperdunks! They were crisp and looking and feeling like a million bucks, lol. Well I come into our normal shoot around practice on game day and notice that my shoes were not in the locker room. I look around for a minute and notice that everyone else had their shoes. So now I am getting upset because I know that I left my shoes where I normally leave them. Which meant that either someone was playing a joke on me or they had been stolen. I knew that no one would be playing around with the captain on game day because I take game day pretty serious. After some investigation, there were two guys in our arena during the junior teams practice the night before that were not affiliated with either one of our teams and the locker room had been left unlocked!! I am still not sure why they would only get my shoes, but they did and they also had my orthopedic insoles in them!! This was huge because these insoles were made to fit my feet and I had been playing with insoles for years! As you can imagine, I was highly upset but I tried to focus on the task at hand. I grabbed my old shoes, put the thin generic insoles that comes in the shoe when you buy them, and suited up for the game as if everything was normal. I mean when it comes down to it "YOU HAVE TO DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO!"
I was quite uncomfortable at the beginning of the game, but as the game progressed I just stopped thinking about it and played ball. Roanne came out strong and we couldn't make a basket. They led for the entire first half and at one point were up by 15! At the break we were down 11, but I kept telling my guys "We have 20 minutes of basketball left... Keep Playing." That is just what we did in the second half. Before we knew it we were back in the game. I hit a 3 pointer at the end of the third quarter to cut the game to 1 and the momentum was on our side. We took the lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter and Roanne never got it back! We ended up winning by 3 points and were able to protect our house! I am extremely happy with the effort that our team put forth last night! We played tough when most teams would have folded and that speaks volumes about this team's character. On a personal note, God blessed me with 19 points, 9 assists, and 4 steals. These numbers are pretty good when they are accompanied by a victory, lol!
After the game my feet were killing me as expected and I am gonna have to get some more insoles made ASAP, as well as getting some more kicks to hoop in! Stb Le Havre... break out the check book and take care of Yaboi please, lol!!
On another note, Monica and I, 2 of my teammates, and their girlfriends went to check out the popular Deauville Resort. We had a good time, but I think that it is overrated. For those that are not familiar with this place, don't feel bad neither was I. It is a nice place that hosts a lot of film festivals, horse races, sailing competitions, etc.... I mean almost every actor that you can imagine has been there for the festivals. They have a lot of stores to shop and the beach is nice. I was just looking for more of a site seeing type spot or more of a tangible attraction. The best part of the day was kicking it with our friends! But hey it was cool and I am going to upload the pictures for you guys to check out!
So I got my pc back running after I carelessly dropped it off the table. It turned out that I just knocked the hard drive out of it's slot and I just had to push it back in. We are all good over here now, Thank GOD!!
Well that's my week in a nutshell. This week we travel to play Strasbourg where the victory will be tough to get, but I am confident that we can get it. My homeboy Tremmell Darden plays out there and he can go! It will be nice to catch up with him. I also have to figure out how to take care of my feet this week which should be an interesting challenge, lol! I plan on uploading the photos in the next day or so. Anyway, thanks for tuning in, have a great week, and as always remember to EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!!

DROPPED MY LAPTOP!!

What's up world? This post is to actually let you know that i will not be updating the blog this week. Unfortunately, I dropped my laptop this morning and it is not working at the moment. We dropped our last game and are now 1-1! Anyway, have a great week and remember to always EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!!!!

First week of the season, First win of the season!!

Good evening everybody! It is 7:50 pm here in Le Havre and I am chilling after an awesome week. If you have been following my blog you know that I was really looking forward to this past week, because it was the first week of the season. There were a lot of things that had to take place and I must say that it did not disappoint. Also my wife and I had a chance to do some site seeing today and it was nice. So here we go. The first week of the regular season went like this:
We started off the week with a very focused attitude. I notice from the beginning that we were working hard and precise. I wanted to make sure that I stayed in tune with making sure everyone understood the assignments that coach gave us, and that we were committed to getting them done. As the point guard and captain of the team I wanted to make sure we were communicating a lot! The practice week went really well and I felt good going into the game on Saturday.
As for the beginning of the season formalities, everything was in progress and made for a very busy week. I think that I had to do at least 2 interviews as well as some photo shoots. But that is normal for the beginning of the season. Normally these type of things can distract you from the task at hand, but this was not the case for me. Actually it was these things that made me even more focused! I mean every interview made me realize that this week's game was for real. It counted! It was extremely important for us to get off on the right foot and set the tone for the season in front of our home crowd (which might I add was a great crowd!).
As far as the game goes, it was a good one! Vichy is a team known for their defense and I must say that they lived up to their reputation. They doubled the post every time we passed it in and they were aggressive on the ball as well. However, we were prepared and handle the pressure pretty well early. We got off to a good start and led by 10 for most of the first half. Unfortunately for us Vichy made a run towards the end of the first half and cut the game to 1 at halftime. Coming out in the second half I wanted to make a conscious effort to be more aggressive on both ends of the floor. I did just that and together with my teammates we once again built a lead of 10 points and held it until the end of the 4th quarter. With 3 minutes left to go Vichy tried to shake things up with a little zone press and they did just that. We made some untimely turnovers and let them back in the game. But the clock and the bonus was on our side and as long as we could have the ball we could score on the line. We knocked down our free throws and kept a hold on the game until the last minute of the match! We missed an opportunity or 2 and found ourselves down by 1 point with 35 seconds left to go, but we had the ball! I must admit that I was concerned but still confident that we could get a bucket and secure the victory. They denied me the ball as any smart team would, lol! But our other guard handles the ball well enough to make plays and he did a good job of finding me on the wing where I was able to elude my man and get a wide open jump shot for the win. Unfortunately the shot rimmed out but our big guy was there to collect the rebound and kick it back out with less that 10 seconds left. Again another penetration drew my defender to the middle and allowed me to get free for just a second. I got a look at the basket from 3 point range and was not only able to get a shot off but was fouled in the act of shooting!! There was 1.8 seconds left on the clock, we were down 1 and I was on the free throw line for 3 shots. Needless to say, I iced 2 out of 3 free throws to secure the win and STB LE HAVRE is now 1-0!!! I want to tip my hat to Vichy who came into our house and pushed us to the end. However, the best team prevailed last Saturday night! To all my teammates I say JOB WELL DONE! We did what we had to do to get the win and that is big time in my book! On a personal note, I am happy with my play but not satisfied. I finished the game with 17 points and 8 assists but there is still work to be done. There are always ways to improve. I have included a few pics from the game below.












So earlier today Monica and I went to enjoy some of the beautiful sites that Le Havre and the surrounding cities of the Normandy region have to offer. It was a nice day of relaxation and enjoyment. I really had a chance to soak up some of God's wonderful work! I am really blessed to be able to see the world! Again I have included some pictures for you guys to checkout. Hope you enjoy and tune in next week as we hit the road to face another good team (Dijon)! Be blessed this week, trust God for the best in your life, and as always remember to EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!

Pre-season comes to an end.... Now it's SHOWTIME!

What's up world? I apologize for this post being a day late, but we had our last tournament of the preseason this weekend and I got back extremely late. I am dedicating this blog to the culmination of yet another tough preseason! A preseason that I am blessed to say I got through without any major injuries! Anyway it was a good week so let's jump right into it!
We started of the week sort of light due to the fact that we had just competed in another tournament the weekend before and we had 3 games coming up. As usual we worked ourselves into a nice pace by the end of the week though. We played on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday! We had a good week winning 2 out of 3 and grabbing one of those victories by more than 30 points! We made it to the championship game to play against Gravelines (A team who i think is very solid). It was a battle from start to finish! We ended up losing the game by 6 points, but we played well enough to win! I mean if a couple of calls would have gone our way, or if we could have made a couple more of our good looks, we could have came home with the big trophy! It's all good though because it is games like these that prepare you for the real thing. I already know that if faced with some of the situations we saw yesterday we will know how to handle them!
On a personal note, I am satisfied with my preseason. I have worked hard and learned a lot about my teammates! I think that I have a good feeling for how we need to play to win games and at my position that is very important! So with that said, PRESEASON IS OFFICIALLY OVER!!!
In case you were wondering, J.J. Miller is ready for the season to begin! It is time to turn on the lights and battle for every win you can get! Competition at the highest level is what drives me and I am looking forward to it. So from here on out each week a portion of my blog will be dedicated to taking you inside the life of a baller while in season! I am considering doing video blogs the night before each game this season.... still thinking on that one though but maybe! I think it is going to be an exciting season and hopefully you will enjoy it too! First game of the season is against Vichy! This team is known for there defense and they have a few major players! It should be a good one, but they are coming to our house and we must protect our house!
Well take care, check out the pics, have a great week, and as always remember to EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!

Tough Week!

Good evening everyone! It is 11:40 pm on Sunday night here in France. I am about to call it a night, but could not do so until I posted the blog for this week. As I look back over this week, the title of this post is quite appropriate. Basketball is a great game. I love it like no other, but I realize that things may not always go my way! I do know, however, that even in defeat there is a valuable lesson learned. Ok, enough small talk...let's get into this episode of the life of J.J. Miller
So, I know that most people reading this blog probably thought that I would only be talking about the high life that I live. The good things like winning awards, getting money, fame, etc. Unfortunately, my life is not all peaches and cream so that means that this blog will not be all peaches and cream! Now don't get me wrong I am extremely blessed. I am just saying that I am just as susceptible to tough times as anyone else is. Why am I saying this you ask? Well, I have been talking a lot these last few weeks about how good preseason has been going and how well we have been doing as a team. This past weekend we visited Belgium to play a couple of teams that were in the league that I played in last season. Now before the trip if you asked me how I thought the outcome might be, I would have without a doubt told you that we were going to get 2 victories and come back home. Unfortunately, I would have been dead wrong, lol!! Not only did we lose, we got smashed!! Not once, but twice!! For whatever reason we just could not get it together as a team! The teams that we played were decent teams, but with the talent that we have here in Le Havre there is no way that we should be getting beat the way we did this past weekend. All i can say is that we have some serious work to do!!
Work that I looking forward to putting in next week. We went hard last week there is no doubt about that! I recall on last Tuesday being extremely tired when i got back home after our second team practice. It was actually the third practice for me because I had to take a routine bike test/stress test. Stress test is a good name for it because it got pretty stressful towards the end of the test, lol. They put me on a bike with all kinds of cords attached to my chest and back to monitor my heart rate. What the doctors are trying to do is push you as hard as they can to see how much stress your heart can take! Well i think my heart can take too much stress, haha! I was on the bike for longer than the doctors expected me to be. This sounds good, and it is from a medical standpoint! However, I was EXHAUSTED and I still had another practice to go! Let's just say that I am done with the tests for this season, lol!
On another note, I was noticing some things on the bus as we traveled back to France! Things have changed so much from when I first turned pro in 2001! I mean it has almost been a decade in the game for me which is a blessing in itself (Thank God). I remember when i first came overseas to play. The bus rides were one of the worst things about the season. I mean we're talking long trips on slow buses with small seats, no air condition, and loud engines! Now we are traveling in what seems to be first class buses with spacious recliner seats, air condition, and t.v screens in case we need or want to watch a video. I mean looking around the bus, it was almost like I was in a portable best buy, lol. My teammates and I had DVD players, Play Station Portables, Video ipods, Blackberries, Iphones, Entertainment Notebooks, Macs, PCs and more. The two and a half day trip in which we spent what seemed like most of the time on the bus was absolutely painless! The morale of this little paragraph is basically that I/we have come a long way! I could not help but think how great my life is now and how far God has brought me! Sometimes we need to take time to look at where we are, how far we've come, and think about where we could have been! I know we are all busy and believe it or not that is a good thing, but take some time this week to look at where you are. Is it where you want to be? If so great! If not, why not? Either way I encourage you to get with God on whatever circumstances you are in because he knows how to handle any situation! Take care, thanks for checking out the blog, and as always remember to EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!

Steady Progress

Hey! What's up world? I am sitting in my apartment watching the Panthers and Eagles game on my slingbox. The Panthers are getting smacked! Anyway, this week's blog will be a short one. Basketball is the only thing to talk about and it is mostly practice. Preseason is still here and we are hard at it. We had a tournament this weekend and played decent but fell a little short in the championship game.
It was a full week of hooping for STB LE Havre! We had practice twice a day all week long. We played my former team from Paris last Tuesday and got a good win! The rest of the week was full of tough match ups in practice and I think that it prepared us for the tournament we had in Rouen this weekend. The first match was a well played game. We pulled away from our opponents in the first half but allowed them to creep back into the game. It ended up being a dogfight, but we made the plays down the stretch and pulled it out securing our ticket to the championship. In the big game of the weekend we met a good team from Paris. We had just played each other earlier in the week. We got the win on their floor so I am sure the were a little eager to try to get some revenge. For the first half of the game it looked as if we were going to cruise to another victory. However, Paris came out hungry in the second half as we expected them to. They hit some shots and were back in the game before we knew it. We battled for most of the second half. Unfortunately for us, they made the necessary plays down the stretch and we didn't. We ended up losing a game that should have been ours by 8 points. Paris played a good game and actually deserved to win more than we did tonight. This was a good experience for our club, because now we know that even though we can play good we have to stay focused for 40 minutes. We have some work to do, but there are a lot of positive things to build on!
I did sneak in a little time to give an interview to be published on our team's website. They asked some good questions to which I had no answers, lol just kidding. If you guys are interested in seeing the interview you can find it at http://www.stblehavre.com/spip.php?article114
On another note, It was great to see all my friends from Paris this week. I wish you guys all the best this season except when you guys play Le Havre, lol!
I am back home now getting some much needed rest and relaxation! I plan on taking things up a notch in the coming week. We have tomorrow off and then back to work to get ready for a 3 game stretch in Belgium this weekend! I wish everyone the best and as always EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!

Trip to France Photos

Well guys here are some photos of our trip to Paris! We had a bit of a time in transit as you read in last week's blog but we made it. There are a couple of things that I want to mention, if you guys notice i have put a before and after picture of the in-flight meal. THAT CHICKEN DISH WAS BANGING!! lol I also included a couple of pics of my wristbands in memory and dedication to Justin! The season is for you son! NEXT POST BELOW! (it's a must read, lol) Be Blessed Everybody!

Preseason In Full Motion

Hello Everybody. I am extremely happy to be in the comfort of my own living room here in Le Havre! That's right, my internet is in full effect now, lol! This week felt long but I got through it. I really believe that I got better this week both on and off the floor. I worked hard, took care of business off the court, and had some funny experiences to tell you guys about.
The week started off with a funny story that I have to share with you guys. Last week, I mentioned that my car was by far the worst car that I have had in my career. I had planned on showing you pictures of it this week but unfortunately that will not be possible. You may be asking why? Well here is the answer:
A teammate of mine who's name I will keep private for the time being wanted me to help him out. He cannot drive a manual (stick shift) car. The vehicle that the team had for him was a stick shift and it was a big van. Now my car is a stick shift as well but not quite as big, and the clutch is a little easier to handle. He felt that it would be easier to drive my smaller car. Now since I am an excellent driver, lol, I decide to test out the van and give him a chance to use my car. If it worked out, I would bite the bullet and keep the van and let him have my car (I know I am such a nice guy haha). Now before we take off with the cars I ask him, Teammate are you sure you know how to drive this stick shift. He says, "Yeh man our other teammate let me drive his and it was easy." So off we go and we get about a quarter of a mile before he pulls to the side of the road to ask me a question. (unrelated) When we take back off I notice that my car, which he is driving, is overcome with smoke! I signal to him with my arms swaying from side to side STOP STOP!! He stops only to try to take off again and even more smoke comes from underneath the car. I get out of the van and walk to the car which smells like the engine is on fire and could explode at any minute! I was afraid that this could be a big deal. I get him out of the car and I get in to check things out. Well, wouldn't you know it. My fears were confirmed when I tried to put the car in gear! This young energetic fella which had gotten into the car with extreme confidence that he could handle it had burnt out the clutch! LOL I will be the first to say that the car had seen better days before he got in it, but he ended its days on the road in a hurry! Haaaa!! Now I am stuck with the van that you see below which has officially earned the nickname "The Tank"! That's right your heard it. As you can see it is definitely not easy on the eyes. It has the blackout spare tire look all around. It has tape holding the bumper and headlights in place. The mirror is hanging on for dear life and the inside could use some work to say the least. But I have to be honest and say that it is good on gas and runs pretty well, lol! It may be a keeper, Haaaaa!




Now i want to clear things up. The way this car looks is no indication of the professionalism of the STB Le Havre basketball club. The club has handled all our needs in a timely manner and have made our stay here really comfortable so far.
As for the basketball side of things, practice is run as good as any team that i have ever been apart of and we really get after it. This past week came in a stretch of the preseason where we do not have any friendly games. This means that we went pretty hard in the conditioning department! This is never a fun part of the game but it is necessary. We left practice a couple of days this week with our tongues hanging out of our mouth. We also got a few 3 a days in this week! When I look back on this week it was a good week of work. It is easier to say that now in hindsight, lol! As the captain of the team ( a position that I am honored to have) I feel good about the guys and the work ethic and chemistry that we possess early.
So after a tough week of practice, Monica and I got a chance to enjoy the city of Le Havre. In case i have not mention in previous blogs, we live on a beautiful beach with a great view! The weather was really nice this weekend and we got out and took some photos to share with you all. It felt good to get out with Monica and enjoy some downtime. We got a few laughs riding around in "The Tank", grabbed a bite to eat, and came back to listen to the big AGGIES vs. RAMS football game. I am an Aggie. She is a Ram. So you know that we were talking a little friendly smack. Of course, the AGGIES won! Aggie Pride!
Well, that is about it for this week's post. Tune in next week as we get back to preseason games. I am going back to my old stomping grounds next week to play the team from Paris, a team that I used to play for and am looking forward to facing. I hope you enjoy the beautiful pictures of Le Havre. Have a great week, let someone know how much they mean to you, and as always EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!