There are three terrific reasons to grab the passport and head over to Germany for the FIBA tournament that begins at the end of the week.

Reason # 1 – Kelsey Plum will always remain in the top spot of female athletes for me, and if her lower leg 🦵 injury allows, she will once again be putting her talents on display. Plum turned 32 this week, which in real life is still relatively young, but by Basketball standards, not so much.

Reason #2 – Coach Lawson is leading the team once again, so that means that my favorite coach in the sport will also be making the trek over to Europe 🇪🇺. The fact that Lawson is at Duke University might have led me to pay more attention to her initially, but the fact that she is the real deal as a leader is the most important part of the equation.

Reason #3 – If Plum is my All-Time favorite women’s player, then Chelsea Gray is my favorite one to wear the colors at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Gray is 33 years old now, and like Plum, this figures to be her final opportunity.

  The only reason for not going can best be summed up by borrowing from one of the Indiana Jones movies. ” Snakes 🐍, why did it have to be Snakes 🐍?”

Germany 🇩🇪, why does it have to be Germany 🇩🇪 ?

  The initial trip to Germany years ago was to visit one of the children who was stationed there at the time, and it makes the one and done list. Driving 🚗 on the Autobahn was a blast, but if there’s going to be another 12 hour flight ✈️ somewhere, it won’t be back to Berlin.

Lawson coaching both Plum and Gray will be priceless to watch, even if it’s just on a television 📺…