Getting It Together

Hey, everyone. It’s Donyell – checking in from the road. I hope everyone had a great Christmas.

It was nice to get a win over Miami on Christmas Day. We’ve been struggling a little bit lately. Obviously, we just need to start coming out and doing the things we did last year and even earlier this year.

We’ve gotten away from our defensive schemes. I think a lot of people wanted to see offense, but we went to the Finals playing defense, and that’s what we have to get back to. Teams have been shooting the ball well and coming out in the first quarter and getting a lot of confidence.

I think once we realize that when we get our defensive mindset back, we’ll get back to the way we’re used to playing. Fans want scoring, but they have to realize that to win a Championship, you’ve got to play defense. You look at last year, we were one of the top defensive teams and right now, we’re near the bottom. We have scorers and we know we can put points up. For us to win, we have to play defense. It’s very simple.

Sometimes to snap out of a stretch like this it just takes one or two games. We had that losing streak in the middle of the month, but right now we’re winning one, losing one, winning one, losing one. And it might take just a two-game run to turn this thing around.

It’s still relatively early in the season, and if you look at the East, it’s still bunched up – and anyone can emerge. You can look at it today and say that Boston and Detroit are the two teams that have the advantage, but it’s bunched up and, in a long season, anything can happen.

You look at last year, when Orlando started 10 games over .500 and barely made the Playoffs. You just have to continue to play and work hard, come to practice every day, and hopefully continue to get better.

We’re not oblivious to the fact that fans have been unhappy with our play at times. We are, too. But we look to each other for support when things get rough. We have the same team back this year – and we’ve said it for the last three years: the only people that really believe in us is us.

When things are going right, fans are cheering; when they’re going wrong, they boo. But the guys in this locker room are going to be here through thick and thin, win or lose. That’s what we realize – that it’s going to be us 15 guys and the coaching staff that’s going to turn this thing around. We have to come in, work hard, get better, help each other’s game, get healthy and try to get back into the hunt.

I’m not going to sit here and say that fans booing doesn’t affect us. And it can get frustrating as an athlete. It’s the fans’ right to boo – and we all realize that – but it can get frustrating. It’s a difficult thing, but that’s the way fans are and it’s our job to play through it. Most of us have been through these situations before and we just have to push it out of our minds and keep playing hard to try and work through this.

I’m really excited to get back out there and help my teammates. My wrist is getting there and I’ve been released to shoot the ball. I’m starting to get back to shooting and I’ll be released for contact within a week or so. And once I get to the contact, it’s just about getting some shots up and getting in game shape.

I’ve been doing cardio, but that’s a big difference from playing basketball. So right now, it’s getting some shots up and once I get released for practice, it’ll just be a matter of time.

It feels pretty good, but obviously, I haven’t shot in almost a month-and-a-half, so right now it’s a little difficult. But it’s starting to come along. I just have to get into a rhythm. Shots now are easy, because I’m by myself. But I have to feel comfortable with guys running at me and on the move, getting banged and things like that.

It gets a little sore now, but that’s just from not using it. But I think it’s slowly getting better every day. And pretty soon, I’ll be back. By then, maybe we’ll get this thing rolling, start getting some wins and get back to business in the East.

Holiday Happenings and the Road to Recovery

Hey, everyone! It’s Donyell, checking in from Cleveland. The Cavaliers are starting to get healthy again and hopefully I’ll be coming back soon, myself. I see the doctor next week and we’ll go from there. I’m looking forward to being back out there with the guys.

I’m still able to contribute to the team and the community even though I can’t suit up yet. On Wednesday night, I took 30 kids from the Broadway Boys and Girls Club out to Target for a little shopping spree. It’s the second straight year I’ve done it and it really means a lot to me.

You see that people can’t afford things and I look back on last year – I gave kids a gift card and watched them shop. I asked a couple of them what they’re going to get for themselves. And a lot of them don’t get anything for themselves; they bought stuff for their family members. They get things they know their parents wanted.

Last year, the kids got $150 and – this one girl – you could tell she was looking at inserts in the paper because she walked out of there with a shopping cart full of stuff. Then other kids just walk out with an iPod. And that’s great; that’s what this is for. But it’s just good to see the smiles on people’s faces and you’re able to make a person’s day.

I look at my kids’ situations and they can walk into a Wal-Mart and pretty much walk out with what they want to walk out with. And some of these kids are happy to go home with a miniature remote-controlled car. It’s things like that – seeing kids happy for the holidays – which make it all worthwhile.

As to how I’m able to contribute to the team, like I said in my last entry, I can still help out other players because being on the bench with an injury gives you a different perspective on the team.

When you’re a player – even when you’re sitting on the bench – you still tend to wait on getting in the game, waiting for the coach to call your name. Now, I know I’m not going to get called so I’m watching the game for guys setting screens, guys rotating on defense, plays being run right or wrong. And I’m able to talk to guys when they come out of the game.

There are times where a player gets pulled out of the game and they’re not too happy with Coach – and don’t want to listen to the Coach. I’m able to go talk to that person and tell them what they’re doing right or wrong, and they listen because they know it’s coming from a player. They’ll just listen to you more. Sometimes, I’ll yell at guys for not shooting the ball, especially when they’re wide open. I tell them: ‘You complain about not getting shots and you’re getting the shot and passing it up.’

It’s actually a good experience. And if you look at the guys who aren’t playing a lot – if you watch me on the bench – there are times where I’m serious and times when I’m joking around. I’m probably joking around with guys who aren’t playing a lot just to keep the smile on their face, so they don’t get frustrated. I learned that just from my own experiences, going through the last two years – sometimes playing a lot, sometimes not playing a lot.

So now I’m just trying to keep the other guys motivated throughout the game.

Like I said, it feels great now that the team is getting healthier and things starting to take shape. It’s kind of like LeBron said the other night, you don’t want to talk too much, but there were a lot of people talking trash about us at the beginning of the year that without Andy, without Sasha that we’d be about 4-15 right now.

Obviously, we’re 10-12. We had a good winning streak before LeBron got hurt. Then we lost some games in there. But now Andy’s back, Sasha’s back, LeBron and Larry are back healthy. We have to get Boobie and myself healthy, but I think once we get our full team back, people are going to see.

I think what’s helped us out is that we’re 10-12 after going through maybe the toughest part of our season. We’ve done China, we’ve done the West Coast. I think I saw an article that said since we left for China, we haven’t been in Cleveland for longer than 72 hours straight. That’s a rough stretch – the first two months of the season, including Camp and you haven’t been home for three days at a time.

So to be 10-12 right now with everyone coming back healthy, it only helps us out in the long run.

On the Road Again

Hey everyone! It’s Donyell – checking in from the road. It’s been a while …

Being hurt has been very tough, especially with us shorthanded in the front court. But I’ve tried to contribute as much as I can without actually being out there.

The prognosis was that I’d be back in 6-8 weeks and I just got that last week, so I still have five to seven weeks left. Right now, I can only take the brace off to take a shower. Next week I can take it out a little more often. My return just depends on how the situation unfolds as to when I come back. I don’t think conditioning is going to be a problem because that’s all I can do right now and that’s all I’ve been doing.

Obviously game conditions are different than just running and shooting around, but it’s like the doctor said: 25 percent of people beat the 6-8 weeks, 50 percent of people come back on time, and 25 percent come back after. And that’s the only statistic we have right now.

Being hurt has really sharpened my leadership skills – with a teammate coming out of the game, being able to talk with them. It’s like learning to be an assistant coach. I’m not saying I’m going to retire at the end of this contract and go right into coaching, but there’s still things I can work on in case that happens.

I’ve always said that I’m going to play this game and be done on my own time – not because I’m too old or anything like that. I want to make sure that I have all my tools in place, that I am able to step right in and coach. I just want to have all my avenues open and that’s the reason why I started to go back to school as well, because I wanted to have that opportunity open. I wanted to have this experience in case I wanted to coach. That’s why I’ve been more vocal.

I’ve always had an interest in coaching. One unique thing at my basketball camps is that I’m there all day, every day. I don’t coach all the time, but if there’s a team that needs it, I’ll coach them. I’ve never really decided at what level I’ve wanted to coach yet, but that’s something I’ve always been interested in.

Despite being shorthanded, the mentality of the team right now is great.

In the past, there were times where you might say something to a teammate and they might get upset. But this year, teammates are accepting advice very well. I know guys will come up to me and ask what they could have done differently and what they’re doing right.

When you look at the situations with Andy and Sasha and things could have gone sour early, but this team is playing hard.

I think the core group of guys coming back together for another year has been huge for our relative success, early on. Yes, we do miss Andy. But I think that’s the reason we’re still able to play pretty well. Right now, I think we have the same exact record as we did last year at this time. Yes, we’re missing a key component, but we have guys who have our back.

If you look at our first year together – three years ago – Andy was hurt in the first part of the season, and we still won 50 games that year. And I’m not trying to count Andy out, but we’ve been here before. And that’s part of the approach that we’re taking. We talk and we all agree that it’s going to be tough without Andy. But this core group played without Andy before, and that’s what’s helping us out right now.

Tuesday’s win over Boston was really big. Even though it’s early, it’s big. People have been kind of handing Boston the East, and when we won that game, I think we were letting people know that the Eastern Conference still goes through us. And Sunday’s game in Boston is going to be another huge game. I think this stretch is a very huge stretch for us, considering that it’s Toronto, Indiana, Boston, Detroit, Toronto, Boston, New Jersey and Washington.

These are all teams that we feel are going to be in the Playoffs and we might meet in the Playoffs. So even though it’s early, this is a very important stretch in our season.

A lot of people thought that the West Coast trip was going to get us and we came back 3-3 from that trip. And we’re 4-1 in this stretch, so hopefully we can keep it going.

Being on the road like this, you come into all the arenas you’ve had history in. Different arenas have different effects on you.

For some people, it’s, ‘Hey, we’re in New York. Look who’s in the stands – I’m going to go out here and play well.’ Or you’re in L.A. or Miami or anyplace like that. Or some players go to a place like Milwaukee and they’ll say, ‘Man, I don’t know about this.’ It could be the lighting in the arena. It could be a dingy feeling where it just doesn’t wake you up.

Some of it is the crowd in the arena. Years ago, you’d go to Cleveland and there was like 4,000-5,000 fans there and you’re trying to play a basketball game and there’s no energy – no nothing.

Unfortunately, it’s a mentality. I don’t play well in the Palace – never have. And that’s always in the back of your mind. You’re thinking, ‘Man, can I just get one good game here.’

I’ve had some great games in Philly, and I think that’s because its home and I usually have family and friends in the stands. Personally, I’ve had some good games in Milwaukee. Toronto – as an opponent – I’ve had some great games. Minnesota’s always been good, and I think that’s because of stuff that went down when I was a rookie.

That’s the way it is when a team kind of treats you wrong. It fades after a while, but the first couple times back, you really want to stick it to them.

Let's Get It On

What’s up, everyone. This is Donyell, checking in on Opening Day.

It’s hard to believe the season is already here, even though you could say that was a long preseason …

Our record was not good, but I think if you look at last year, we were in the same boat. We had two wins and one of them was against a European team – Maccabi Tel Aviv – which is not really even a legit victory. And I think if you look at the situations – we were playing our third-string free agents late in the game, and teams made some runs on us.

We used the preseason games the way you’re supposed to: getting back in sync, learning to play as a team, getting in some conditioning and work on defensive and offensive stuff. And I think that’s what we did.

If you look at Miami, they were 0-7. There are a lot of teams that didn’t do well in preseason. Last year, Dallas didn’t do well in the preseason, lost their first four games and won 50 of their next 55. We know it’s going to be tough, but we can’t look at the preseason to tell us that.

We have the “X” on our back now and teams from the East are going to try to take what we have. There are teams out there thinking that what we did last year was a fluke.

We know it’s going it’s going to be a tough start to the season. We open up with Dallas and go right on the road for a six-game-in-eight-day road trip out West. A lot of people are thinking that’s going to be our season. But that’s not going to be our season.

It’ll be good to get that trip out of the way. It would be one thing if we started the season off poorly and looked at the schedule and saw that trip coming. If we start out slow, we know we have that trip out of the way and we have a good schedule the rest of the season.

It’s strange opening the season without Anderson and as far as how that will affect me in the rotation, I don’t know what’s going through Coach’s mind. I know I’m going to have to earn minutes. I’m going to have to go out there and play effectively every night. And I can’t think about Andy not being here. I have to go out and perform and play well.

I’m older now and the body’s not what it used to be. But I can still play this game. I know I’m going to be called on to do different things. My game’s not always to score 10 or 11 points. Sometimes, it’s going to be the little things. Rebounding, playing good, hard defense, showing on pick and rolls and knocking down some shots.

I hope to do a little of all of those on Wednesday night. This is my 14th opener, and this one’s probably a little different. This one, I’m actually excited about. I know the Eastern Conference Championship banner is going up – a first for the franchise and a team I was on.

This is as excited as I’ve been since my rookie season.

Close Call in Macao

What’s up, everyone back home. Our trip to China is winding down, and this week, I had a pretty strange and scary situation come up.

Ater practice was over on Thursday, a couple of us were planning on going to Hong Kong. So we were looking at prices for the helicopter to see how fast it would get us over and get us back. Then, Coach pulled me over and said, “I’ve got some bad news.” And, at first, I thought he was joking. But he wasn’t. He said, “They lost your passport.”

I got angry at first, but I kind of loosened up when they told me I had to go to Hong Kong to get the passport, because I figured while I’m over there I’ll just stay for a while. (It’s about a 45-minute boat ride and a 15-minute helicopter ride.)

Marvin (Barnes) – the Cavaliers head of security – was telling me to hurry up, that we have to get over there because it’s a national holiday in Hong Kong on Friday. They have it twice a year – I think it’s called National Grave Cleaning Day, where you go to the cemetery and clean your loved one’s or ancestor’s graves. They have picnics there and everything. The whole city shuts down. So if I didn’t get my passport on Thursday, I wouldn’t have gotten it at all.

I had to fill out paperwork in the NBA offices. After that I had to go to the police station in Macao. I was in the police station for three hours and they wouldn’t let me leave the country. They’re telling me there’s a procedure I have to follow, and it’s going to take a couple days. Of course, we’re leaving Saturday and I don’t have “a couple days.”

The Consulate called and told them to release me. We got the paper work done so I could get out of the country. When I got to Hong Kong, immigration was there with the Consulate so I can get into the country. The woman at the Consulate agreed to stay a little longer, and I got my passport about 7:30 at night.

I flew over to Hong Kong on a helicopter. It was my first time on a helicopter and I was actually kind of scared at first. But once we got up in the air, it was pretty cool. It was a twelve-seater, not one of those “bubble” helicopters that you see on TV. It was a good experience – you have a lot of little islands and boats and like 300 big cargo ships in the bay near Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s a beautiful city, too. There’s buildings on top of buildings. It’s way different than Shanghai. They say it’s like New York, and it is like New York. I actually made a little trip out of it. And I took the 10:30 helicopter back.

I know a lot of guys are going to Hong Kong right after Friday’s practice. Even if you only get over there for a couple hours, you can say you’ve been in that city. And I was glad I got a chance to do that.

Even with the problems on Thursday, the whole trip has been a cool experience. The people have been great – very receptive.

I think I’ve lost about five or six pounds since I’ve been here. I know a lot of the guys have talked about losing weight, as well. It’s not that the food is bad; it’s just different. And we haven’t eaten as much as we normally do. We’ve been practicing hard and just not eating normally.

But when people from other countries come to the States, I’m sure they find our food really different as well. And you know, you’re scared to try stuff at first. If I wasn’t sneaking in a McDonald’s here and there, I probably would have lost more than the five pounds.

The fans here are really incredible. Preseason games back home, yeah they’re necessary. But they can be kind of boring. Here, people are cheering. They’re really into it. The fans here make everybody feel like they’re a superstar. If you do something well – no matter who it is – they cheer for you and they have a good time.

I feel big here. I feel real good. I love it – for real. They had a big billboard of me in Shanghai. People around see me and they say, “Marshall! Marshall!” It’s great. I’m surprised at how well people know me over here. They’re calling LeBron “The Little Emperor” on this trip. Maybe I can be “The Mini Emperor.”

This trip has really made me appreciate where I’m at. You take basketball for granted sometimes. When we landed in Shanghai, I turned to my wife and smiled because I look back at what basketball has brought me. I don’t have to struggle. My kids don’t have to struggle. Maybe it took coming to China to show me what basketball has brought me.

It’s been great. I’m really glad we came.

Get Out of Town

Greetings from Shanghai, everyone. It’s already been a trip – in every sense of the word.

Going to the huge outdoor market was really great. We read a lot in advance about negotiating with the street vendors, so it was fun doing that as well as just walking around. I felt like I was like LeBron or Kobe or Shaq – with people following me around. I don’t really go through that kind of thing in the States. To be here and everyone coming up to you, it was pretty interesting.

I’ve been really just taking in the whole city – the crazy traffic patterns, the structures of the high-rises. I just put my headphones on and walked around the city on Sunday.

I think it’s good for the team to get out of town for the camaraderie, but it’s also an excellent chance for us to see a different part of the world. I got into the hotel yesterday and was just amazed – even being in the league for 14 years – at what basketball has brought me. I would have never thought I’d be in Taiwan this summer. I never would have thought I’d be in Shanghai. I was with USA Basketball, but it was a different experience. Now I can come to a place like this and afford to get things and have fun in a different country halfway across the world. And it’s an amazing feeling.

Being on the road with the guys, we always say throughout the year that we only have each other. And when you’re over here, that’s really all we have. We’re the only people who understand each other, really. So it’s a good time to bond as a team. The food is different, so most of us go out to eat together. It’s a great place to bond.

You can tell by the response here in China that basketball is becoming a world sport. I don’t know if it’ll ever replace soccer, because if you go to Brazil, for example, that’s a soccer country – even though they’re starting to put out some really good basketball players. Yesterday, I’m sitting in my hotel room and ESPN International is talking about football, and I’m getting ready to watch a football game – until I remembered that they’re talking about soccer.

Being in Taiwan earlier this summer got me somewhat prepared to travel here to Asia. But Shanghai is completely different – the buildings, the structures, the people. Taiwan has a ton of shopping and I haven’t done too much shopping here. There, there was a huge mall on every block, but here I just picked up a couple of suits.

My wife is here with me, and she’s enjoying it. Anytime she can go shopping, she’s enjoying any experience. She’s more of a sight-seer, which is what she’s doing right now. I think that’s what I’ll do when we finish practice. And I’ll catch up with you a little later this week.

Summer is Winding Down

Hello Everyone!

The summer is winding down and training camp is just around the corner. Let me tell you how excited I am to begin! The Cavaliers built a brand new state-of-the-art player development center called Cleveland Clinic Courts. It's not too far from downtown and is actually a little closer to my house. I've been here working out already and it is a really great place. There have been several of my teammates and even some free agents working out there too, so we've been able to get some good pick up games going. Hopefully it will be one of the factors that will bring us back to the NBA Finals this year.

Soon after camp starts, we are going to China for two preseason games against the Orlando Magic. We will visit Shanghai and Macau. Some of you might recall that I went to Taiwan earlier this summer. I am looking forward to going back, but not looking forward to the jet lag. Our schedule is very tough to open up the season. We start with Dallas and three days later we're on a nine-day road trip out West. It will be a good test for us.

We are really going to build on what we did last season. All the guys are focused and ready to get to work...I know I am!

Peace,

Donyell

On My Way to Taiwan

Hi Everybody!

I can't believe the summer is almost over. Making it to the Finals definitely made the off season a whole lot shorter. But I've been making the most of my time since the Finals ended. Most of July I had my annual boys and girls camps in Reading, PA. It was another good year. I had a lot of fun working with the kids and spending time with my family back home. I also followed my AAU teams closely. We were really young this year, but we played well and ended up losing in the first round of the tournaments in Las Vegas at the endo of July. My teams' names are Donyell Marshall Foundation 1 and 2.

We are working hard to improve the website. Make sure you check back very soon to see the new design and all the new features. I also have a fundraising event coming up called Nothing But Net. I'll post the information soon for those who'd like to get involved.

I'm on my way to Taiwan. I'll be there for the NBA Madness Tour and while I'm there I'll have the opportunity to make appearances on behalf of the NBA to various basketball clinics. I'll be teaching basketball skills to young kids and maybe make a couple of speeches to the youth about life and basketball. I will also tour the country and meet with NBA sponsors from Asia and basically welcome them to the NBA family. I'll be very busy out there but I look forward to it. That's all for now, gotta take a nap to get ready for my trip!

Bye for now...I'll tell you all about my trip when I get back...



Peace,

Donyell

Reflection on the NBA Finals

Hi Everybody!

Getting to the NBA Finals was an incredible experience. Obviously, it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to. For my family to experience it, and for what I’ve been through in my career – as far as all the ups and downs – it was tremendous. So, to be a key part to a team that makes it to the Finals – especially in a city that’s never been there – no matter what happened in the end, it was a wonderful feeling. They talk about ‘bittersweet’ – but I never really understood it until today. Obviously, I’m bitter because we lost, 0-4. But it was sweet to be here and experience something that a lot of people play 15, 16, 17 years and never experience at all. So I think it was a good run.

I think the biggest disappointment was not being able to give the fans of Cleveland just one win. It would have been nice for them to be able to celebrate something.

I know a lot of people look at the five that we had out there at the start of the fourth in Game 4 – me, Andy, Damon, LeBron and Daniel – as probably a crazy lineup. I can’t say what we really call that unit, but that’s our “Don’t Give a Damn Team.” We just go out there and play. We don’t have exactly the best defensive players out there – but we talk, we help each other and half of the stuff we do isn’t in the playbook. We just go out and play and at that time – knowing that we had maybe 12 minutes to go in the season – we tried our best to go out there and extend our season. It just didn’t happen.

There was a reason many of us came here a couple years ago as free agents, and that’s because we thought this was a team that could win a Championship. It usually takes a couple years for a team to gel, but we gelled faster than a lot of people thought. But that’s because we’re a good group of guys and we genuinely like each other.

Last year, we were the big signings and maybe we didn’t have the seasons that people thought we should have, but we did what we were supposed to do: we got to the Championship. We didn’t win it, but we got there. And we feel that we can get back here.

We’re not satisfied, obviously. And we didn’t have a good showing in the Finals. But we’re going to try our best to get back and next time, have a better performance.

This season easily ranks No. 1 in my 13-year career. Maybe I didn’t get the playing time I wanted to or score like I wanted to. But it definitely ranks No. 1. Your goal in basketball is to win a Championship. I know they say that nobody remembers who finished in second place, but to be one of only two teams playing in the month of June – for me, it doesn’t matter what happened throughout the season. That’s what you dream about.

Peace,

Donyell

Ready for the Pistons

Hi Fans!

Well it's the end of May and I am certainly happy to be beginning the third round of the playoffs. The Eastern Conference Finals is the farthest I've ever gotten in my career. We are excited to be here. For those of you who didn't watch, we beat the Nets in a 6-game series. We just happened to clinch the series on my birthday and I had 18 points in 18 minutes. What else could I ask for? That was the best birthday present ever!

Now here we are beginning another round and we are taking on the Pistons for the second year in a row. Last season we fell just short in a long and grueling 7-game series and I hope this time we'll be the team moving on. It's going to be a tough, physical, defensive-oriented series. Last night was Game 1...we came into the Palace of Auburn Hills and almost took the victory. We play again on Thursday...Make sure you watch.

Until next time...peace,

Donyell

Round 2 Here We Come

Hi Everyone!

Round 2 of the playoffs! I hope you are as excited as my teammates and I are. We have 5 days off between the first and second rounds so we were very happy to play yesterday afternoon. But it was nice to be able to take the days off in between rounds to prepare for New Jersey. They are a tough team. This series is going to be very competitive so make sure you tune in and watch.

Four of the teams I have played for in my career are still in the playoffs (Cleveland, Chicago, Golden State and Utah). I am really happy for Adonal Foyle from Golden State. We played together for three years when I was in Golden State. That team has really been playing well at the right time and it was great for them to be able to beat the number one seeded Dallas after being out of the playoffs for so long.

Well, I gotta run...it's almost practice time. We play again tomorrow before heading out to New Jersey. Wish us luck...Talk to you all soon...

Donyell

First Round Opponent - Washington

Hey Everybody!

The NBA season has come to an end and we are one game into the playoffs. We drew Washington in the First Round and we beat them the first game. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. It should be interesting to see what happens. Hopefully everybody on our team will stay healthy and we can go deep into the playoffs. It's a great time of year! The weather in Cleveland is getting warmer...and the level of play is hotter too. You have to bring your "A Game" to the NBA postseason because everything is more intense. It's like a brand new season to all the teams because it doesn't matter what your record was in the regular season...we all have an equal chance at winning the NBA Championship. So stay tuned everyone...it's going to be exciting.

Other than that things are going well. I'm busy with my family and planning my summer activities and basketball camps when I'm not playing ball. Should be a busy off season for me...I have also decided to go back to college at UConn to finish my degree that I didn't get because of my early entry into the NBA. I feel like it's important for me and I'm excited to get started. Thanks for checking in again...I'll write again soon.

Peace,
Donyell

Back From Vegas

Hi Everyone,

I'm so glad to finally be back on line and in touch with all of you. It's been a very busy season for me and my teammates. We've definitely been on a bit of a roller coaster, but since the All Star break everything seems to be falling into place and the team is picking up steam going into the playoff push. I'm looking forward to finding out which team we will end up playing in the first round. It's still way too early to tell because all of the teams are very close record wise. It doesn't really matter which team we play, the playoffs are a totally different atmosphere and a time that all of us look forward to.

I went to Las Vegas for the All Star break and was able to get some good broadcasting experience working for a local tv show. Broadcasting is a career I am considering when I retire. It was a hectic weekend, but I had a good time while we were there.

The summer is coming and that means I'll be busy with my annual basketball camps. All the information is currently posted on this website. I would love to see you there!

Until next time...Peace.

Donyell