I got cut.

“Why would I think about missing a shot that I haven’t taken yet?” ~ Michael Jordan.

Hey Reader!

About 2 weeks ago, I played my last pro game with HLA Lucentum in Alicante, Spain. Not because the season is over. Not because I'm injured.

I got cut.

There is a lot I could say about this. How getting cut as an overseas pro basketball player works, why I think the situation played out the way it did, what I'm going to do next. But what's really interesting is that for the first time in my career, I feel like I can relate to so many other basketball players out there.

Because this is the only time in my journey where a coach, a team, a situation… kind of gave up on me. I'm sure you know the saying, "When your coach stops getting on you, that's when you should get concerned." Well, that happened to me.

I started playing fewer minutes. I was getting benched at the end of games. After starting for 2 months straight, I found out 2 minutes before a game that I was coming off the bench. The club brought in a new player who played the same position as me. Finally, my coach told me I wouldn't be traveling with my team to an away game. At that point, the writing was on the wall.

But most of this, actually all of this, happened with no explanation.

To be honest, I've never had to deal with a tough situation like this. So I'm proud of how I handled myself. I stayed positive and didn't blame anyone. But I also saw my season slowly deteriorating in front of me and felt like I didn't have the tools to change it.

I tell young athletes to treat failure as feedback, shoot through slumps, and use their past success as proof when their brain starts lying to them. Turns out the universe has a great sense of humor, because now I have to take my own advice.

I think one of the biggest superpowers you have in life is being able to look back at past failures, see exactly how you handled yourself, and learn from it.

Maybe you've been cut from a team. Or you've been benched in a big game. Or you've had a coach who told you you weren't good enough.

These difficult moments can turn into your biggest strength.

For the rest of my career, I'll be able to look back on this exact moment. I'll be able to see where I went wrong and what I did right. The next time I find things slowly slipping away, I'm not going to let them. And you shouldn't either.

I truly feel like the best basketball of my career is ahead of me. I don't exactly know what it's going to look like, but today I choose to be resilient. I don't feel sorry for myself. I feel sorry for whoever stopped believing in me. Time to show them why.

Stay tuned…

Overseas Pro Basketball Player

P.S. I'd love to hear from you! Reply to this email and let me know if you've ever been through a tough situation and how you got through it.

3 Hacks From Me

Hack 1: Journal Through The Pain

I’ve journaled almost every day for the past 3 years. This allows me to go back and see exactly how I was feeling and how I dealt with tough moments. So when things are not going the way you'd planned, write it down. Your future self will thank you.

Hack 2: Think About the Last Time You Got Through Something Hard

You've been here before. Maybe it was getting cut from a team, losing your starting spot, or having a terrible tournament. You survived all of it. The next time things get dark, make a list of every hard thing you've already gotten through. Use that list as proof that this won't break you either.

Hack 3: Pull Up Your Highlight Tape

When your brain tells you that you've never been good, go find proof that it's lying. Pull up a game where you went off. Watch yourself make shots, play great defense, grab hard rebounds. Your brain can't argue with video. Keep a folder on your phone of your best moments for exactly this reason.

*View all of our past emails at hackinghoops.kit.com/posts

2 Questions for Growth

Is there a tough moment from this season you've been avoiding thinking about, and what would you actually learn if you sat down and looked at it honestly?
Who in your life knows when you're struggling, and are you actually letting them help you or just telling them you're fine?

Reply to this email and let me know!