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Kyle Hines: Postcard from Italy

Former UNCG star Kyle Hines is embarking on a basketball adventure, playing for Prima Veroli of the Italian Lega 2. As Hines plays his first season abroad, he will provide regular updates on his experiences for the News & Record.

Welcome back for my fourth post for the SportExtra blog at news-record.com. I want to again thank everyone for their continued support and comments on my previous blog posts.

It has been a while since I last wrote a post. My computer crashed and it hasn't been easy to find a computer repair shop in Veroli. I've had to make due using my Blackberry as my primary Internet source, and even that was beginning to act funny.

When I left off in my previous post, my team had just lost a tough road game to Banco Di Sardegna Sassari where we had a 20-point lead at one point in the game. Our next game was at home against Regina Emila. Coming into the game, Regina Emila had a good all-around team and was considered at the beginning of the season to one of the favorites to win the championship.

Entering the game, our team was still unhealthy and we had yet to play a game with our full roster. Dawan Robinson, our other American, found out that he would be out for almost three months with a broken hand. This left us with only nine healthy players and we would need everyone's best effort to win.

We started the game very slowly, finishing the first quarter down 26-23. In the second quarter we picked up our play slightly and led with less than three minutes left in the half. After an unforced turnover in the final seconds of the second quarter that led to an uncontested layup, Regina Emila took the lead into halftime, 36-35.

In the third quarter, we started off a lot better. Midway into the period we held a 10 point lead after going on an 11-3 run. We finished the quarter with a four-point lead, 55-51. We continued to play well in the fourth quarter and pushed the lead out even further and eventually won 69-58. I played my best game of the season finishing with 22 points and nine rebounds while going 9-for-9 from the field.

The next week was a very exciting time for me as a Philadelphia sports fan. My Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series for the first time in 28 years. (Told you it was a long time since I had blogged!) I was happy that I was able to watch the games here live. I have satellite television at my house and I'm able to watch the majority of the American television networks such as Fox, MTV, HBO and ESPN. I would wake up at 4 o'clock in the morning to watch the World Series games.

I was talking to my former UNCG teammate Kevin Oleksiak, who was playing in France at the time and is also a big Phillies fan. We were laughing that the one time the Phillies would win the World Series, we would both be outside the country. If you know the history of Philadelphia sports, then you know that championship don't come that often. Before this championship, it was 23 years since the last time Philadelphia had a championship parade. I started to get a little bit homesick hearing the stories from friends and family about the parade and the exciting atmosphere that the championship brought to the city. I told KO (Kevin Oleksiak) that, at this rate, by the time another championship occurs we will both be well into our 40s and should have no reason not to be at the next parade.

Later that week, I made my acting debut in a local commercial. The owner of my team is a stakeholder in a local bank, and the bank asked me and one of my teammates to take part in a commercial they were filming. My part in the commercial was small; I was filmed sitting in the bank in the midst of a bunch of other people and then someone throws a basketball in the air. I jump in front of the people and snatch the ball out of the air and then shoot it back toward the camera. I know it doesn't exactly sound Oscar-worthy, but it was interesting to see how a commercial is filmed and put together.

Our next game we traveled to face Livorno Basket. We had yet to win a road game this season. We came into this game still down a player because of Dawan's injury. We started the game slowly and finished the first quarter down 24-15. Things didn't get any better the rest of the way and we lost, 84-75. We shot horribly, going 10-for-32 from 3-point range. I finished with 16 points and six rebounds.

During the next week, our team signed a new American player, Jerome Allen, to replace Dawan Robinson while he recovered from his injury. Jerome was 35 years old and basically came out of retirement to play for a few months. He is considered a legend in Italy because he had played here for almost seven years on some of Italy's biggest teams. Jerome has had the prototypical career that an American player in Europe would want to have. He came to Europe in 1998 after playing three years in the NBA with Minnesota, Indiana and Milwaukee. After that he continued to play 13 years in Europe and chose to retire while still having offers on the table to play for big teams. With his talent and experience, he should be the missing piece that our team needs to succeed.

In our next game, we went back on the road to face Fastweb Casale Monferrato. I would be matched up against a fellow Sicklerville, N.J., native, Jamar Smith. This game also marked our first time this season playing with a full team with the addition of Jerome. The first quarter saw both teams go back and forth with Monferrato holding a two-point advantage, 17-15. The back-and-forth pace of the game continued in the second quarter with us up 26-23 at halftime. At the end of the third quarter it was 45-45. In the fourth quarter we had a six-point lead, then because of turnovers and missed shots, Monferrato rallied to win by two points. We dropped to 0-4 on the road. I finished the game with 17 points and eight rebounds.

The day after the game, I went to airport to pickup my girlfriend, who would be staying for the next five weeks. After being here for almost three months, it felt good to see a familiar a face, especially hers. Her visit didn't start as smoothly as I hoped. I got lost going to the airport and showed up to pick her up about an hour late. Let's just say that when I got there she wasn't too happy because she had no way to get in contact with me to find out where I was.

After two straight away games, our next game was at home, where we were undefeated to that point in the season. We hosted Umana Venezia. We started the game ho, going up as much as 15 points in the opening half. We closed the half up nine, 40-31. They mounted a comeback in the third quarter and cut the lead to five. But we withstood their run and pushed the lead back to 12. We pulled away in the fourth quarter to win 70-54. I spent majority of the game in foul trouble and only played 20 minutes, but I finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

For our next game we traveled to face Basket Rimini Crabs. The first quarter we played fairly well and trailed 19-18. The next quarter we played horribly, probably our worst of the season, and went into halftime down nine. In the third quarter, something sparked inside our team and we began to make a run and went up 63-56. The fourth quarter we continued our excellent play and ended up winning 82-72. We finally got our first road victory! For the second straight game I battled foul trouble. I finished with eight points and even rebounds.

The day after the game I had to go to the airport again to pick up my former UNCG teammate Kevin Oleksiak. He had been playing professionally in France for the past few months and had decided to come visit before he left to go back home. After spending three months living alone, I now had a full house. It felt nice to have company and to be able to enjoy Italy with my girlfriend and Kevin. My coach allowed Kevin to work out with our team while he stayed in Italy. It felt good to have a familiar friend at practice and brought back memories of our four years together at UNCG.

Our next game was at home vs. Edimes Pavia. At the time, Edimes was in last place and had lost six straight games. I guess our coach could sense that our team was slacking a little bit, because during that week of practice he tried to make sure that we were extra focused. He kept telling us that this team was a lot better than its record showed. I guess we didn't believe it, because we played our worst game so far this season. We finished the first half tied at 32. When the third quarter ended, we were down by three points, 52-49. In the fourth quarter, Edimes Pavia outscored us 30-19. We end up losing 82-68. It was our first lost at home this season. I found myself again in foul trouble and finished with 12 points and five rebounds in just 21 minutes of play.

The next week was Thanksgiving. In the past four years, I haven't gotten the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with family because we have always have had practice or games. I have instead spent it with either my teammates' or coaches' families. Coming into this season, I didn't really have any expectations to do anything for Thanksgiving because I thought I would be alone and it is a holiday that isn't really celebrated in Italy. Because Kevin and my girlfriend were here, we decided to try to have our own Thanksgiving dinner.

We went to the store the day before Thanksgiving and tried to find some traditional foods. We were unsuccessful, so we decided to try to find some substitute items. Instead of turkey, we got two whole chickens, and instead of the traditional cranberry sauce and other thanksgiving food items, we settled for green beans, potatoes and corn. My girlfriend, who is actually a great cook, also made macaroni and cheese and also stuffing from scratch. Surprisingly, it turned out to be one the best Thanksgivings I've had in a long time.

Our next game was at home against Vanoli Soresina. They are one of the top offensive teams in the entire league and are led by two former ACC stars: Troy Bell, who went to Boston College; and Reyshawn Terry (Reynolds HS), who went to North Carolina.

We started the game really well, ending the first quarter leading 29-20. The second quarter we kept up a similar pace and finished the half up 47-40. Coming out of halftime we stumbled a little bit and Soresina took the lead for the first time. When the third quarter ended, we were down, 64-62. In the fourth quarter, we were able to regain the lead and made a late run to win 85-76. For the first time in four games, I was able to stay out of foul trouble. I had my best game yet, finishing with 27 points and 11 rebounds.

As I write this post, we are 6-5 and I am averaging a double-double. I think after all the injuries and changes within the team, we are finally coming into our own. We have four games in the three weeks until the holiday break where I will get to go home for a week, which I can't wait to do. If we win these next four games it will gives us great momentum into the holiday break and put us in a strong position for the league's final four.

Well, that's all have for you all for now. Until next time.

Ciao,
Kyle Hines