TACOMA, Wash. – While a number of fall teams prepare to return to Tacoma and the University of Puget Sound for the upcoming season, a small group of student-athletes are on their way out of town as the defending Northwest Conference champion men’s basketball team is on their way to The Bahamas for three games against local teams.

Senior guard Colin Koach (Portland, Ore./Franklin) has agreed to share his experiences in a series of journal entries, beginning with their trip preparation until the team arrives back in Tacoma next week.

Day One - August 10th

I pulled into the Memorial Fieldhouse parking lot this morning at about 6:15 a.m. As usual, Coach Lunt and Robes were already there.  Despite having slept only a few short hours, I felt the type of energy and readiness in my stride that I hadn't felt since before we had started our summer practices nearly two weeks prior.  Any one who has been around a Puget Sound Men's basketball practice knows that when we step between the lines for those 2-3 hours we are in for a mental and physical battle, a battle that we embrace daily, as a team, because we know why we are there. Because we graduated a prominent senior class in 2009 and because of several unfortunate and untimely injuries our active roster stood at 6-7 for a grueling ten days of practice.  Despite bumps, bruises, strained muscles, head wounds, stitches, and black eyes, none of us seemed to get much sympathy from friends and family when they found out the reason we had to be at the gym at 6:00 a.m. was to prepare for a trip to the Bahamas, and rightfully so.

We were preparing for a 7-day trip to the Bahamas where we will play three games against local teams and further enjoy the recreational experience that the Island nation has to offer. Every one of us is lucky to be part of this dedicated program, at a University that is committed to athletic excellence, community support, and individual growth.

I received a call a few days ago from 2008-09 First-Team All-NWC selection Robert Krauel.  After taking a similar international trip to Brazil three years ago, Rob had this advice for me as a former teammate and a lifelong friend.

"It was a once in a lifetime trip, those were some of the greatest times of my life. Cherish it. Make sure everyone takes full advantage of the experience. Don't let anyone waste this opportunity sleeping in the hotel all day. You're going to love it."

For those of you who know Rob, this was a rare serious moment; I could sense the sincerity in his tone.  With this advice, when our SID Chris Thompson asked me if I was interested in writing a blog about our trip I jumped at the opportunity.  My name is Colin Koach, senior guard for the Loggers and I will be writing this blog throughout our trip on behalf of the players:
    
David Aberg
Austin Boyce
Edric Egberuare
Orion Falvey
Conner Gehring*
Nadav Heyman
Bryce Levin
Ryan Rogers
Kaleb Shelton
     
And our Dedicated coaches:
Coach Justin Lunt
Coach Matt "Robes" Robles
Coach Andy "Nelly" Nelson

I also want to thank all the Logger supporters out there, friends, family, alumni, and community members.  We thank you for all that you do for us.

I promise my future posts will be a bit more exciting. How could they not be with the Miss Universe competition hosted next door to our hotel on Saturday night? I just wanted to use this post as an introduction and a thank you to Puget Sound Logger Basketball.

* Before I sign off I have to mention one more thing.  We will be missing a piece of the heart of our team on this trip.  Senior wing Conner Gehring tore his Achilles in a summer league game several weeks ago and has not been medically cleared to fly.  Conner is the type of teammate who makes you want to get the gym early just because he is there.  He works hard at everything he does and deserves to be on this trip as much as anyone.  Unfortunately sometimes bad things happen to good people.  Conner is a great person, a great teammate, and an even better friend.  The loss we feel without his talent on the floor this week will be surpassed only by the void we feel without him in the huddle.  Here's to wishing Conner a speedy recovery. Thanks for being you Connie Mac.

Day Two - August 11th

We flew out of Sea-Tac airport at about 10:21 PM on Monday night.  The overnight trek was draining, but relatively uneventful. We arrived in Nassau a little after noon local time, got through customs without a hitch and were greeted by our now beloved bus driver Mr. Harrison.  Mr. Harrison, a basketball player himself, has been great over the past couple days, although his relaxed sense of punctuality has allowed us a lot of quality time getting to know the staff while waiting in the hotel lobby.

After settling into our rooms, we were off for shoot around at the Kendall Isaac’s National Gymnasium.  With the local neighborhoods, intense tropical downpour, and the unnatural feeling of driving down the left side of the road, there were a lot of wide eyes on the ride to the gym.  When we got there it appeared as though they weren’t exactly sure we were coming, we had to wait for a local women’s team to clear the floor and were forced to walk through some things on the court while we waited for a couple basketballs to arrive from the college of the Bahamas a mile or so down the road.  We had a good shoot around, but it was a bit difficult to know what exactly to prepare for.  I don’t think any of us really had a solid idea of what to expect from the competition.  Mr. Harrison told us that our first opponent, the Cybots Club Team, was the most popular team in the Bahamas, but who knows.  We prepared as we normally would and after about an hour on the court we hopped back on the bus.

On the way back to the hotel we asked Mr. Harrison if we could stop by a grocery store to stock up on some snacks for the hotel room.  I would say that this was our first real immersion into the local culture.  As we walked into the “Value Market” the first thing I heard was, “Oh welcome, Miami Heat!” We had a lot of questions coming our way. People wanted to know who we were, where we were from, and what we were doing here.  As we walked down the isles I saw a couple of the employees laughing and dribbling an imaginary ball. We heard several NBA references.  “KEVIN GARNETT!  Welcome!” I don’t think that one was directed at me…

In the checkout line I met Opal.  Opal was a nice cashier who was not very shy about her infatuation with Austin.  “I like that one,” she said and pointed as he walked by. She went on to tell me all about how cute she thought Austin was and asked me to tell him that if we ever come back to the store he should go through her line.  Austin is never one to shy away from attention, but he seems to have gotten a little tired of people asking if he’s the center just because he’s tall.  Now when locals ask what position he plays he just says, “all of them.”  We had to say good-bye to Opal, but as we were leaving her friend came out to tell us that she also thought Robes was cute…Love triangle on the first day on Paradise Island?  How are we going to focus on basketball?

Day Three - August 12th

We woke up this morning knowing that we had our first game to play, but also knowing that we wanted to enjoy the weather and location.  After a packed continental breakfast we were soon on our way to the Atlantis resort and all it had to offer.  With our all access passes we enjoyed the white sand beaches, pools and water slides, we even snuck in a couple games of water front shuffle board.  After everyone went down the "Leap of Faith" water slide, which goes through a tank full of sharks and other marine life, we broke off into groups and headed our separate ways, reuniting for stories and laughs.  The lazy river seemed to be a team favorite, even Ryan with his injured knee was able to escape the brace and let loose for a while.  Despite some scattered clouds the weather has been pretty perfect. I left the resort a bit earlier than the rest of the guys just to make sure I had enough energy left for our first game. On the way back I walked past the aquarium and as I looked at two enormous sting-rays I noticed the cameras around me began shifting their attention to my right.  As I followed their movement I noticed a few security guards followed by all of the Miss Universe Contestants, all dressed up and wearing their national sashes.  Some of the guys still don't believe me since no one was there to see it with me, but I must admit it was one of the highlights of my week so far.  For the record I think Miss Ecuador is going to take it, her smile looked the most genuine, but we'll find out this weekend.

We had a very nice pre-game meal at a place called Anthony's right across the street from the hotel and after a quick pre-game nap Mr. Harrison and his two oldest son's were out front of the hotel to pick us up for the game.  The mood on the bus ride was a relaxed focus born both of excitement and uncertainty about what we were getting into.

PUGET SOUND vs CYBOTS

We pulled into the parking of the National Gymnasium and were greeted by a few local fans and coaches.  We walked inside to the see the gym ready for game time.  Although it took us awhile to find someone with a key to our locker room, we were soon dressed and ready to go.  We came out onto the floor to find that Cybots, the most popular team in the Bahamas, only had six players show up for the game.  Instantly our numbers disadvantage turned into an advantage and we felt confident about our conditioning.

Early on our excitement showed. Cybots started out in a 1-2-2 zone, which we didn't expect and our first few jump shots were well off the mark.  We started out pressing full court and forced some early turnovers, but they had two very quick guards who handled the press decently early on.  Eventually we settled into a rhythm and began to wear them down.  Although we were prepared for the physical international game, we found that the officials were pretty tight with their whistles early on.  Edric and I both found ourselves with four personal fouls midway through the 2nd quarter and were forced to enjoy the game from the bench for quite some time. The head referee who looked like he was about 12 years old seemed to be having the time of his life. With an emphatic charge call that Austin drew, the ref showed a real flare for dramatic calls, and there were plenty.

We went into halftime up 57-29.  We didn't have many adjustments to make, just wanted to make sure we kept pushing the tempo and wearing them down. The Cybots didn't look like they were used to playing our tempo.  Despite Edric and I having to sit out the 3rd quarter with foul trouble, the five on the floor for us really began to wear them down.  Soon we were able to dictate the game offensively and defensively, forcing turnover and converting lay-ups on the other end. At one point David got a steal, went the length of the floor and with a sneaky between the legs pass hit Austin for a dunk.  From that point on things got a bit out of hand.  They were clearly exhausted and our lead soon ballooned to 40.  Even though we hadn't shot the ball very well from outside their defense was clearly unable to contain our penetration.  By the last few minutes of the game we were pulling the ball out to work on some sets and use the full 24-second shot clock.

When the final buzzer sounded the scoreboard showed a 101 - 50 victory for the Loggers.  It was a great experience and a dominant victory.  There were a lot of laughs to be had and stories to tell on the bus ride back to the hotel.  The Cybots were all great sports and nice guys, it was great to talk to them a bit aft.  Stay tuned, thanks for reading.

Day Four - August 13th

We’ve been having an amazing time here on Paradise Island. The weather was great again today, about 87 f and partly cloudy. With so much to do here and so many things to see, it was pretty difficult to focus on basketball throughout the day, especially after the ease with which we won our first game.

On the way to the National Gymnasium to take on the College of the Bahamas, Mr. Harrison told us some interesting facts about the impact of tourism in the Bahamas. He said that 75 cents on every dollar earned in the Bahamas is from the tour industry and that upwards of 90% of tourists here come from the United States. He told us stories of his parents sending him to work summers in the cornfields in Nassau when he was a boy. As he looked over to his youngest son, who rode along with us, he noted that those days were long gone. The impact of tourism around the world is an often complicated and controversial topic, but Mr. Harrison for one is glad to have us here. He commented that the economic recession has been hurting business and thanked us for being here saying, “If you don’t come, we don’t eat.” Just another reminder of how lucky we are to have this opportunity. It’s important for us to be conscious of our impact within the local culture, especially because basketball (along with softball) is the most popular sport locally. Luckily basketball seems to be a pretty easy way to cross any cultural boundaries that may exist. All the locals we’ve met have been very kind and welcoming, eager to find out what we’re all about.

PUGET SOUND vs COLLEGE of the BAHAMAS

As we walked into the gym for our game tonight we could tell right away we were in for a stronger test than the night before. The twelve members of the college Bahamas team were stretching at center court and were clearly better organized than the Cybots team. Throughout warm-ups it became clear that our opponents were very athletic and ready to play.

C of B started out the game in a zone and for some reason we still have not been able to find our shooting tough from long range in the National Gymnasium. We jumped out to an early lead but our opponents stood tough against the press and played us tough. We were a bit sloppy with a ball early on and gave up several offensive rebounds to our athletic opponents. Several careless turnovers led to easy buckets on the other end. All-in-all the first half was a much stronger test than the previous night and going into the half down 47-44 we knew we were in for a challenge in the second half.

In the second half we began to turn things around. We picked up the pressure in the full-court, and the College of the Bahamas was unable to handle it. We went on a nice run, forcing turnovers and converting lay-ins and soon found ourselves up about 15 points. Edric played very effectively at the high post against their zone, finishing well from mid range. David handled the ball very well and began getting other guys some good looks out of the zone. With Austin and I getting to the rim effectively and Kaleb crashing the offensive glass, things began to look pretty good for the Loggers.

Towards the end of the third quarter it seemed as though the officials decided they wanted their hometown team to stay close. In my opinion the whistles began to shift strongly in our opponents favor. As a pressure defensive team it was difficult for us to play our typical style without picking up fouls. Austin and I soon found ourselves in foul trouble on several questionable calls, but we knew this might happen and we had to stay mentally tough and focus only on what we were able to control.

C of B made a strong run and got the score back within a couple points, I fouled out with about 3 minutes to go and on the way of the court I asked David to, step up, be a leader and win the game for us. When Austin fouled out about a minute later our final five on the court knew it was up to them and they delivered. Bryce came through with huge back-to-back threes and David and Orion handled the pressure well, taking care of the ball and drawing fouls on the defense. With a few Shelton free throws to clinch it, we won 101- 93. I feel proud of the way we battled and was glad to see some guys step up and make big time plays.

Loggers 101 College of the Bahamas 93

Our final game of the trip is tomorrow night against the College All-stars. Several of them were at our game tonight, they have some good size and athleticism. Looks like we are in for another strong test tomorrow night. Stay tuned, thanks for reading.

Day Five - August 14th

So this afternoon the team was sitting in the lobby waiting to go out for our pre-game meal. Someone was flipping through a magazine that had pictures of some of the Miss Universe contestants and Orion stopped them, seeing a familiar face. Turns out Orion went to high school with Miss Paraguay….in Haines, Alaska. Apparently she was an exchange student during his sophomore year and being a small school in a small town Orion and the future Miss Paraguay became good friends. Orion has been trying to get in contact with her but no one seems to have her current number and you can’t exactly just walk up to the front desk of the Atlantis and ask for Miss Paraguay. I’ll keep you updated on the situation.

As for the rest of the day, it was more of the same, enjoying the weather and activities. I met a family from Tacoma and they were excited to see us so far from home. I also ran into former Oregon Duck and current player for the Houston Rockets, Aaron Brooks at a little shop. I thought about asking him if he felt like playing a little basketball, we could use another body out there, but he looked pretty relaxed so I just said hi and was on my way.

PUGET SOUND vs COLLEGE ALL-STARS

Our final opponent of the trip presented us with the strongest challenge, at least for awhile… The college all-stars team was without a doubt the most athletic team I have ever played against. Their 12 players ranged from about 6’3” to 6’9” in height and there wasn’t one of them who I didn’t see dunking with ease in warm-ups. It turns out their entire roster is made up of guys who either play, have played, or will play D-1 basketball in the United States. Athletically we were out matched, so going into the game we knew we needed to rely on our biggest strength, team mentality. Though they had many talented individuals, the all-star team doesn’t spend a lot of time playing together, they lacked the type of team identity that we pride ourselves on. Going in we knew we had to play smart to win, but also show them that we were there to play and win, being aggressive and physical from the onset.

The college all-stars had 3 monster dunks within the first two minutes, two of which included an opposing player jumping over or around a Logger in good rebounding position to throw down the offensive put-back. Early on it looked like we might be in for a long night, we quickly fell behind by 8 points. However we soon realized that our opponents were not the most disciplined team. They didn’t share the ball very well on offense and defensively it looked like all they cared about was highlight reel blocks, of which there were plenty. We were able to get pretty much anything we wanted. The key was for us to use pump fakes and draw contact on their lengthy interior defenders. A few times I attacked the rim with the sole purpose of getting to the free-throw line. I knew it would be difficult to finish at the rim but I also knew I could draw fouls if I attacked the rim strongly. I ended up shooting 8 free throws in the first quarter, Edric shot about 4, and Kaleb had 4 or 6 as well.

Though it took us a few minutes to get going, there was soon a fiery competitive edge born from the familiar desire for D3 athletes to prove our worthiness and ability against D1 athletes. Being a short white guy playing basketball my whole life I have come up against a lot of players who maybe don’t take me seriously at first glance, I’ve always got something to prove and it is not in my nature to back down from any opponent.

We finished the first quarter on a nice run and pulled into the lead with several steals and transition buckets. We had the College All-stars on their heels. At the end of the first quarter we led 27-23.

We walked back onto the court for the 2nd quarter and then…..darkness. All the lights in the building went out aside from a couple emergency lights high on the walls of the National Gymnasium. The power had gone out all around the island. We didn’t know how long it might take to get the lights back on so we did what any good team would do, we got our lay-up lines going in the dark. We wanted to stay loose and focused, not to lose the momentum we had going into the break. After about 15 minutes in the dark our lay-ups turned into floaters and trick shots….another 5 minutes… What’s going on?

After about half an hour in the dark the officials called the game. We took a few team pictures (flashes on), thanked our opponents and the officials, and said goodbye to the National Gymnasium. It was a weird feeling but it had been such an intense first quarter it almost felt like a full games worth of drama. On the bus ride back to the hotel I asked Robes if after one quarter we could consider that a victory. Without a word Robes gave an emphatic thumbs up. The Robes stamp of approval is always good enough for me. Loggers win 27-23!

As we crossed the bridge back onto Paradise Island dark ominous clouds unleashed several bolts of lighting over the Atlantis. Despite a few flickers the power has stayed on here at the hotel. So we went 3-0 and now we have a couple days to let loose and enjoy the Island. I’m excited!

Days Six and Seven: August 15th and 16th

Hey Logger Fans, sorry it has taken me awhile to get this last entry posted, but life has been pretty busy for the past few days.  We got back to Tacoma around 8:00 P.M. on Monday night and I for one didn't have much time to relax. I am an orientation leader at Puget Sound and this is training week as we prepare for the new students to arrive on campus.  We take our reputation as one of the best orientation programs in the nation seriously, which means long days...as in 10-12 hours of obligations.  I love it.  It is an enriching and fulfilling role that I have taken-on every fall here, but it hasn't left me much time to write.

SO, the last two days for the Loggers in the Bahamas were free of any sort of basketball commitments.  This gave us a great opportunity to go out and experience the activities and people of the local culture, not to mention have a great team bonding experience.  I almost feel bad for how much fun we had the last couple days there, almost. Aside from meeting Kevin Durant and Cory Brewer, we also made friends with the women's soccer team from John Brown University in Arkansas.  They were staying at our same hotel and had also come to compete in a foreign country.  They were all very kind and interesting women; it was nice to meet some people our age who could identify with our experience there.  We ended up seeing them around quite a bit. Hopefully we now have a few Logger fans in Arkansas.

While it was nice to meet people with common backgrounds, Paradise Island was very touristy and Americanized.  Without basketball to focus on, we had the opportunity to get out and experience the culture a bit more.  One of the hotel employees Cyril was an amazing friend and ally to us.  Not only did he have a great sense of humor and some killer dance moves but he was a genuinely nice guy who wanted to make sure we had a good time in his home country.  On Sunday night we decided to go out for a final team dinner with the coaches and parents who had come along.  I had heard from a few locals that we had to go to a place called "the fish fry" before we left.  After talking to Cyril I found out that "the fish fry" is a name for a strip of restaurants in town where they have the best seafood and where many of the locals hang out.  Cyril recommended we go to a place called Seafood Haven, so we did.

With a party of nineteen I was a bit skeptical when a man dressed in a full suit and top hat opened the door into a small downstairs dining space with four booths and a small bar. The ring-leader looking man assured us kindly that they had room for us and we followed him upstairs where there was additional dining area. After some shifting of tables and chairs we had a cozy corner spot for a nice dinner. Soon after we had ordered our food, which ended up being absolutely delicious, two local men in flower patterned shirts walked up to a microphone placed just feet from our table. As a singer and fan of live music I was excited to hear them, little did I know that these two men would turn out to be the highlight of my trip.

Ted, the lead singer, and Herbie the guitar man began to play and I was immediately impressed by their stage savvy.  Herbie was obviously a little more shy but as we sang along to well known songs with island flair we got to know Ted pretty well.  Before long we were all singing a long and they were taking requests. Ted and Herbie were great guys and really interested in us, we chatted on their breaks and we soon decided we wanted to stay and listen to them play after dinner was over.  The coaches and parents left and soon a 6:00 P.M. dinner turned into trying to convince Ted and Herbie to hang out with us when they got off at 10:30. This was one of the places where the women's soccer team showed up, we sang and danced together and I can honestly say that Ted and Herbie have at least 20 fans in America.  After singing along for a couple hours Ted finally invited me up on the mic with him to see the Van Morrison classic "Brown Eyed girl." It was a thrill. Both of the guys were so kind and thoughtful, we got a chance to have some great talks and I got Ted's address so that I could send him a better tip than I was able to at the time. I can honestly say that I am Ted's biggest fan. I wish we could get him and his band (there were two members missing) to come perform at Puget Sound.

After we left Seafood Haven smaller groups of guys broke off and did different things that night.  One of the highlights of the trip for me was the ride to the hotel the next morning. Hearing everyone's stories and sharing in the laughter of great experiences is something I will always treasure.

This will be my last entry, but I wanted to thank everyone for following and those of you who helped get us to the Bahamas.  It was an experience that none of us will ever forget.  We competed and won, but more importantly we got a head start on forming a new team.  The flight from Atlanta back to Seattle was far too long and when we got off the Airplane I felt like I need to hug the guys who I hadn't sat next to on the plane.  Five hours on that plane was the longest time spent apart from those guys for a week, and it felt like something was missing.  The 2009-2010 Puget Sound men's basketball team has a lot of work to do, and a lot of hours to put in to achieve the goals we have for ourselves, but I can honestly say this is a group of men that I am proud to spend that time with.  We have a group of great athletes but more importantly we have a group of great friends, students, and citizens.

I hope that for everyone involved in this trip we can both remember the fun that we had, but also be aware of the privilege that we have in our lives and address the responsibility that comes along with that.  For all student athletes be aware that we are noticed and valued in our society.  I encourage all of you to get to know yourself, keep an open mind and work to find balance in your life. Make connections with others because no matter what country we are from or activities we participate in, we are more alike than it may appear on the surface. Find a connection and we can rise together..."Youu  Myyyyyyyyyay Brown Eyed Girl!"

Thanks for reading; it's been a blast.

Logger fans from Tacoma and beyond would like to thank Colin and the men's basketball team for providing a window into their trip.