A Van from Albania to Montenegro

I found myself in the back of a van taking myself, brother, and two friends, Tanner and Jordan, from Tirana, Albania to Kotor, Montenegro. The night prior to this road trip was spent hooping on the street courts of Albania and let me tell you – Albanians love basketball. Saying that, my tale of late night Albanian hoops is for another time.

My first blog post is actually something that I wrote in the back of this shuttle. There was no air conditioning, we were exhausted and maybe even sampled one or two Albanian brews the night before, but WOW was I inspired from the experience we had in Tirana. This shuttle ride was when I decided I was going to start a blog devoted to global basketball culture. Although it has taken me a while to get the ball rolling, I am extremely excited to officially start my blog as a part Buckets & Borders. Below is the original blog post – check It out!

Somewhere between Albania and Montenegro – July 2015

It started two years ago with a deflated basketball, a pump, and a backpack.  My brother Brendan and I set out on our first backpacking adventure for six months in Europe in 2014.

Endless opportunities and no set path, just exploration.  We didn't just want to experience different countries, we wanted to experience the basketball courts of the world. Accompanied by our good friend Jordan we played on basketball courts in Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Greece. I have now added various different international courts to my hoop résumé over the past six months of living in France and travelling throughout Europe. I can proudly say that the best and most powerful travelling experiences I have had have been on basketball courts. The people and shared love for the game creates a feeling of unity that is powerful and unique.

Unity through sport. On the court there is no such thing as language barriers, cultural differences, or beliefs - just the passion and love for the game. It is amazing that a ball and a net can bring people from all over the world with extreme differences together to feel overwhelming similarities. There are no barriers to ball, just the creation of unity through the passion for a beautiful game.