From the Hoosier state to Basketball Champions League

VALENCIA (Jeff Taylor's Eurovision) - It's not every day that a player has the sort of performance that Jimmy Baron had with Neptunas Klaipeda back in early December, when he lit the Svyturio Arena up with an incredible 42-point night in a victory over Muratbey Usak Sportif.

Baron, a native New Englander known for his scoring explosions, surpassed anything he'd done before in Europe when nailing 10 3-pointers.

He tried to play down the shooting display, but it was of little use. The scoring eruption earned him the honor as the MVP of the Week and it captured the imagination of basketball fans in Klaipeda and really, all over Europe.

No player had ever poured in that many points in this, the inaugural season of the Basketball Champions League. Jimmy my man, you were awesome!

This past week, the Basketball Champions League was the stage for another American-born player, Chris Kramer, to raise eyebrows all over the old continent.

Kramer, who is and is not a Hoosier (he hails from the great basketball state of Indiana, which makes him a Hoosier, but he donned the shirt of the Purdue Boilermakers and not that of the Indiana Hoosiers in his college days), recorded the first triple-double in the history of the league.

He had 16 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for EWE Baskets in a 106-77 rout of Muratbey Usak. Yes, the Muratbey Usak defense holds the unwanted distinction of having given up a couple of incredible huge offensive performances by opposing players, though Baron did hit some ridiculous 3-balls against them.

Truth be told, the triple-double was just the latest example of Kramer's excellence. He had been terrific on numerous other occasions this season, including the week before in a win at Neptunas.

If you want to see an all-round, excellent player, a coach on the floor, watch Kramer in action. He will get his points, but more importantly, he'll make sure his teammates get theirs.

The Neptunas and EWE Baskets fans are not the only ones that should be excited about Baron and Kramer. All the other players in the Basketball Champions League should be, too, and especially the Americans.

Many had dreams while growing up of playing in the NBA but their careers have taken them to Europe. Kramer made plenty of headlines at Purdue, where in two of his four seasons he was named the best defensive player in the prestigious Big Ten conference.

"In Indiana, everything is diehard basketball," Kramer said. "As a young kid, my dream was to play in the NBA. That didn't work out but I took this other path overseas and I'm very blessed to be able to play this game. This game has taken me to places otherwise I would never have gone to.

"To be able to see the world and play the game that I love so much, to be able to take care of my family and have their support with me is an amazing thing."

Kramer reminds me other American players that I've bumped into over the years. In Valencia, Kentucky native Justin Doellman was "living the dream" as he used to say. Now a player with Barcelona, Doellman says on his twitter account "It doesn't last forever so LIVE in the moment!"

Doellman, who hails from Kentucky, chose to play college basketball in Cincinnati for Xavier and he used the four years he experienced there as a launchpad for a career in Europe.

Kramer had other options coming out of high school but cited Purdue as an easy choice.

Kramer is the master of the bounce pass

"I really loved the situation," he said. "I loved the Mackey Arena and I loved the chance to play right away.

"And West Lafayette is a little less than two hours from Huntington (his hometown) so my parents were able to come and support me every game and that was something I really cared about, too.

"Everything worked out. It was a great four years, but the transition that has happened after that has been unbelievable as well."

Baron, Kramer, Doellman and so many others are on interesting journeys that have taken them to Europe. They will hopefully last a long time.

Kramer, 29, doesn't know what is in his future. He may remain in Germany after this season or could go abroad. It wouldn't be surprising if other clubs knocked on his door to see if he would be interested in trying out a different league. This is his fifth season at EWE Baskets, though, and he's clearly a great fit for the organization and the city.

And what about once his basketball playing days are over? Maybe he'll coach, or maybe do something completely different.

"I think it depends on what kind of opportunities come my way whenever I decide to hang up the shoes," he said. "It kind of depends on where I'm at with my family."

Kramer is married to American woman who hails from Ohio.

"We want to have some kids," he said. "I just want to be able to be there for my kids if we're blessed to have those kids.

"I will want to coach them, so some of those things and enjoy them being kids and watching them grow up.

"As a coach sometimes, you might be gone and miss some of those things and I don't want to."

That time will come soon enough. For now, get to the arena and watch Kramer in action. Who knows. Maybe he's got another triple-double in him.

Jeff Taylor

FIBA

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