Buried down in the article (which is a great read, btw), I found this interesting bit:
Quote:
That began Matt’s not-so-excellent Italian adventure, spending the 2003-04 season playing for Sicilia Messina in the Italian 1A. He averaged 19.2 points and 9.3 rebounds, but looking back he wonders how he survived.
Halfway through the season, the franchise filed bankruptcy and the team stopped paying its players. Soon, Matt found himself sitting in the dark after his electricity had been shutoff and he didn’t have much hot water. He survived two eviction notices and a case of salmonella.
“I lost 22 pounds in 5 ½ days,” Matt recalls. “I had a 105-degree fever and was hallucinating. Plus, the team didn’t pay half of what they owed me, but I never had a lot of money anyway growing up. So having a few thousand dollars in my pocket and having them pay for a car and an apartment, I thought I was in Heaven. That whole experience makes me appreciate what happened to me since.”
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