I was just chilling at my house with my family when I found out that the Cairns Taipans gave me an offer to come play in the NBL. I got the call from my agent and I was really excited about the possibility of coming to Australia.

Americans have a great attitude towards Australians - they know it’s a beautiful country and that Aussies have cool accents! So many people want to make the trip out here so to get an offer to play down under was almost too good to be true.

After speaking to my family, it only took a couple of hours before everything became official. It all happened really quickly and it wasn’t a difficult decision, but I’ll admit everything I knew about the country I had learned from Finding Nemo, Crocodile Dundee and the Angry Boys TV show!

I remember the first thing I did when I finally arrived was meet the team and go to lunch with coach Fearney. Actually, that was all I did. My first day was definitely a short one – I went to sleep at 6pm because of the jet lag!

That seems like so long ago now. It hasn’t taken me long to settle in. I’ve got my flow, my team mates have become my best friends and I’m enjoying the experience - I’ve even picked up some of the Aussie slang!

I catch myself saying things like, “whadd’ya reckon?” and I get teased about it when I speak to friends back home. A lot of the Australian talk still makes me laugh. I’ve noticed Australians don’t just say “no.” It has to be, “Noooiiii” or “Naaaah.” I love it!

It’s also been good to come up against some familiar faces already. Kendrick Perry of the Sydney Kings and I go way back! We played together when we were kids in the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) in Florida. 

We were on the same team, which at first was called “Team Florida” but then we became the “Dream Team,” and then I think we changed it again to “Team Champions.” You could obviously choose whatever name you wanted! 

Basically, anybody can start an AAU team. When you’re younger, usually it’s a Dad that starts a team and sometimes they become the coach.  It’s divided by ages, but as you get older, the teams can start to get sponsored and it’s usually by sports brands like Nike, Adidas or Reebok.

Professional baseball player Barry Larkins sponsored our team (his son Shane now plays for the New York Knicks) and because I didn’t live in Orlando where the team played, if I had to go to practice I would stay at Shane’s house.

Sometimes Kendrick would come over and hang out with us and we’d shoot hoops. I remember him being the smart point guard when we played, and he was also really funny – I don’t think much has changed!

Another familiar face for me is Jordan McRae from Melbourne United. We’ve been cool for years - he is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met!

We got to know each other because in college we were probably the best players on our teams, and played each other 12 times over four years. We caught up again this year at the Las Vegas Summer League, so it’s really strange now to be on the other side of the world together – sometimes I wonder how we all ended up here!

Of course, I’m homesick. It’s not too bad because I’m having so much fun, but it can be hard to be away from family. I’m close with my parents and I have two little brothers: Andrew is still in high school and Mitchell is a freshman at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

I only found out today that Mitchell will be starting in his next game for the Demon Deacons, which was great news. I wish I could be there but luckily he’s only a freshman so there will be plenty of other games I can catch!

Right now, my focus is on getting the next win. We dropped three games after winning six straight and I take accountability.

We stopped moving the ball as much, which as point guard I need to take responsibility for. In the last two games before Sydney against Melbourne and New Zealand I was probably trying to do too much and ended up forcing things.

I wasn’t getting my teammates as involved as I was at the start of the season. I tried to get back to that at the Sydney game last week, but the Kings were just the better team on the night. It was good to get a win again on Saturday against the Hawks, but in saying that, I don’t read too much into wins and losses.

We could’ve easily won the three games we’ve lost but we didn’t shoot well and gave up some easy shots. We probably need to start looking at our three-quarter starts as well, but I’m not concerned.

We’ve got Perth for the first time this weekend, and with both teams on the same win/loss record I’m looking forward to finally playing them. They’re the defending champs but that doesn’t change our approach - I’m just excited to get out there and play. 

Catch Scottie and the Cairns Taipans take on the Perth Wildcats in the Jungle this Friday on ONE HD at 9:30pm everywhere.