"How Me And One Of My Closest Friends Ended Up At Southern Utah"

The year is 2015. I had just gotten a lot of attention around Europe after playing in the second highest division in Sweden at 15 years of age and doing it very well. I was deciding what my next move was going to be, would I pursue a professional career in Europe, or would I see what was available on the other side of the pond. Me and my family was kind of convinced that I was going to stay in Europe and join an academy out there. The only exception would be if one of the best high schools in America were to recruit me, and it did. Montverde Academy came calling and I told my dad that I wanted to do it. This was my first experience going to America and living on my own so I was nervous, but also very excited. 

I arrived to Montverde Academy in September and one of the first people I meet over there is Cameron Healy. Cameron, or Cam as he is called, is also an international-student from Australia so we instantly bonded and found a connection. We would work out together and hang out on our free time and we grew close during that school-year. I ended up going back to Sweden after that one year and he stayed for his senior year of high school and we didn’t see each other since, until this year. 

Both of us have had successful college basketball careers that has taken us all over the states. I have been to 4 schools, Cam has been to three, but as last season ended, we both found ourselves in the NCAA transfer portal again. I was settled on finding a spot where I could develop and win for my last year of school, while Cam was set on actually foregoing his last year of eligibility and pursue a professional basketball career instead. I took a couple of visits to different schools and ended up deciding to come to Southern Utah. After I had made my decision, I receive a call from Cameron. We had talked sometimes throughout the years through social media but this was the first time we had a longer conversation on the phone. Cam tells me that Southern Utah had been very interested in him and he was also interested in actually coming back to the states for one more year and use his final year. We told each other that it would be sick to reunite for our last year and how fun it would be and then it became a reality. We both had committed here and now we are just starting our last year of college hoops together. 

I decided to share this story as I believe that everything usually comes full circle at the end of the day. You will face adversity and hardships throughout your career, but if you stay true to yourself and determined to your craft, you will often find yourselves exactly where you need to be at the end of the day.