From the small "Village" of Staples to Minnesota State University Moorhead to playing professional basketball overseas Jordan Riewer has been places few have.
The all-time leading scorer in Staples-Motley basketball history (1,957 career points) is playing basketball in the Czech Republic.
Riewer was one of the shining stars in the most recent heyday of basketball in the Brainerd lakes area. Few areas of the state had so many state-caliber teams (Little Falls, Crosby-Ironton, Pequot Lakes and Staples-Motley) and elite talent (Bryce Tesdahl, Dan Kornbaum, Mark Hoge, Derek Wolhowe, Jesse Fisher, Tucker Sheley, etc.)
Riewer took time from his hectic practice schedule to type out answers to a few questions to let his former classmates and fans know what's going on in his Euro life.
JM: After college, what were your options and how did overseas come into play?
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JR: Well, after my senior season at Moorhead State, and the great team success we had reaching the Elite 8, I was contacted by a few basketball agents. For me, it was a no-brainer to pursue as I have always wanted to play professional basketball and to see where this great game can take me. I signed with my first agent (Diamond Sports Agency) out of Greece. Luckily for me, one of my former teammates who was currently playing had put us in contact.
JM: How does one go about getting into a Euro league? What were some of the hurdles?
JR: First and foremost, it's not easy. You're talking about players all over the world trying to play this game for money and it simply just doesn't happen. The hardest part of playing professional basketball is getting your foot in the door the first time. Fortunately for me, my first agent solved that problem for me. In my opinion, an agent can make things go a lot smoother for you when it comes to furthering your professional basketball career.
JM: What team are you playing for now? Who did you play for last year and how has the season been going?
JR: Last season, I played for the Oettinger Rockets in the German Pro A league. (16 total teams). What a great learning experience for myself as a rookie coming from a Division II school having the opportunity to play right away in such a well known and competitive league.
Currently, I am playing for BK NH Ostrava in the Czech Republic National Basketball League. (12 total teams). Signing with them took some time as I had quite the summer parting ways with my old agent and signing with my new agent Vision Quest Agency out of New York. I didn't sign with Ostrava until mid-November and they were already 10 games into the season.
Playing here in Ostrava in the Czech Republic's NBL is another great opportunity for me to expand my game and also play in another competitive league. It's been challenging here as far as winning and that was one of the reasons they brought me in and I think it had a lot to do with the team success that I had and experienced in Germany.
JM: Compare and contrast the style of basketball you're playing. Is it similar? Different? What are some of the rule differences?
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JR: The biggest difference to me is the physicality of the game over here in Europe. Yes, at the end of the day basketball is basketball, but the style of play here is a lot more physical and that takes time to adjust to. Here in Europe, the game is more of a full-court game where 90 percent of the time teams play aggressive full-court, man-to-man defense. As far as some of the rules go, every country or league is different. We have a quick 24-second shot clock and if you get an offensive rebound it only resets to 14 seconds. In the German Pro A, 2 Germans had to be on the floor at all times for both teams. Here in the Czech, no such rule as how many Czech players have to be on the floor.
JM: Has language been a barrier? And what are some of the other issues that have arisen that have made it a little harder than usual?
JR: Luckily for me the language barrier hasn't been too big of an issue. In Germany, all my teammates and coaches spoke English. Here in the Czech, most of them all speak a little English. That's the great thing about basketball, the terminology is pretty straightforward so we understand each other.
One of the biggest changes for myself was to understand that the game of basketball is my job now and not just a hobby. It's your life over here and it's what you do. It's my profession right now, so the coaches and organization expect you to perform at a certain level. Otherwise they have no problem letting you go and signing someone else. Also, you better love your job. As in most leagues, in Europe you aren't playing an NBA schedule. You will practice way more than play games. Here in the Czech, we practice two times a day Monday through Friday and usually play one game a week on Saturday with Sunday being the day we get off, doing this from mid-August until April or May.
JM: What have been some of the benefits to playing overseas?
JR: For me, it has been all about meeting new people from different backgrounds all across the world. I've been fortunate to have teammates so far that I can truly call friends now from Cyprus, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Bosnia, Sweden, Czech Republic and of course America. Life is all about connections and it's no different in this game of basketball. That's something that no matter how different my teammates are, or where they come from, we share one common thing and it's the love for this great game.
JM: Have you been able to travel, sight-see?
JR: Not as much as I would like. It's just very hard with the time you spend on basketball, which I understand. I hope to do some traveling once I'm all done playing for good.
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JM: Any culture shocks?
JR: It hasn't been too bad. Not much of a culture shock really, but I remember my rookie season sitting in the locker room the first day of preseason and coach had us all say where we were from. As I'm sitting down listening, I'm hearing Barcelona, Stockholm, Cyprus, Frankfurt, Berlin, Chicago, Indianapolis and it gets to me and I say Staples, Minnesota, and everyone kind of looks at me and my teammate from Spain asks how big is Staples and I proceed to tell him a little under 3,000 people and he looks at me and says, "Wow, so you're from like a village." I just started laughing.
JM: What does the future hold for you? Plans for the summer, next season?
JR: This summer I will be an assistant coach for the Minnesota Comets Elite 17U AAU program under Chris Lewis based out of St. Cloud. Not only am I excited to work with Chris, who is the director of the Comets and has done a lot for me in my basketball career, but equally excited to spread my knowledge and what I've learned to young men where I was once in the same shoes as them, pursuing a college basketball scholarship. I will also will be helping out with a few of Noah Dahlman's basketball camps again. As for next season, I do not know yet what will happen. I probably won't know until late June or July, but yes, I want to continue to play as long I can.
