Living His Dream : Professional Hoops Overseas with Peristeri Basketball Club Forward Jake Van Tubbergen

From the high school gyms of West Ottawa to the professional arenas of Europe, Jake Van Tubbergen’s basketball journey embodies the power of persistence, hardwork and community.

As a 2017 West Ottawa graduate who led the Panthers to their first-ever boys basketball district title, Jake reflects on the unbreakable bonds formed with teammates who did "everything together" - from team sleepovers to hallway conversations between classes. That unselfish team chemistry became the foundation for his approach to the game, a philosophy that has served him well across multiple professional leagues.

Jake's five-year career at Grand Valley State University presented new challenges - transforming from a lanky high schooler to a more physically imposing player capable of competing against "grown men." With candid humor, he recounts his evolution from being nicknamed "Gumby" and "go-go gadget arms" to becoming a versatile threat who finished fourth on GVSU's all-time scoring list with over 2,000 points.

The leap to playing professionally overseas brought both excitement and profound challenges. "That first time I left was tough," Jake admits, describing fighting back tears at the airport as his parents dropped him off. Yet through basketball, he found connection in foreign lands, building friendships with teammates from across the globe while experiencing cultures he might never have encountered otherwise.

From winning league MVP in Portugal to floating in the Dead Sea during his season in Israel, Jake's basketball career has become a passport to life-changing experiences. Now engaged and preparing for a new season with Peristeri in Athens, Greece, he maintains the wide-eyed appreciation of his younger self: "Ten-year-old me would think this is awesome. To this day, I still think that."

Share your thoughts of encouragement and appreciation for Jake in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe for more conversations with Panther athletes making their mark in our community and throughout the world.

If you'd like to watch Jake play, courtside1891.basketball provides livestreams of all FIBA Basketball, including some Peristeri games, (we think), his new team in Athens, Greece. The annual subscription cost is $29.99 for the entire year. (Not sure if this will work yet but we will keep you posted.)

This episode was recorded on July 27, 2025.

Podcasts now dropping at 5pm every Sunday evening for that late weekend chill, or listen Monday AM during that morning commute or workout. Please like, follow, subscribe, or leave a review. Even share with someone who might like to listen. Thanks for taking the time to get to know each other a little bit better. The people who make West Ottawa Athletics what it is. Go WO!

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Special thanks to Laura Veldhof Photography.

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro & Welcome to Jake Van Tubbergen
• 4:40 Getting Engaged, A New Contract, Staying In Touch, Lasting Impression on West Ottawa Basketball, District Titles
• 9:44 Memories Of West Ottawa, Impact of Teachers, Windemuller & Ottoman, 2017 Team, Teammates, Unselfishness, Role Players, Regional Final, Cavanaugh Late Game Buzzer Beaters
• 21:32 Recruitment to Grand Valley, Playing Against Grown Men, Adding 20 lbs of Muscle & Body Transformation, A Stellar Career
• 27:16 The Move To Go Pro, Mentor's Guidance & Coach Wallace, Business/Basketball Differentiation
• 28:51 Season 1 - Vitoria Guimaraes, Leaving For Portugal For The 1st Time, Settling In, Keeping The Main Thing The Main Thing, Better Dunk That Next Time, The Rosters, Stats
• 44:43 Surgery On Left Ankle, A Season 2 Return to Imortal Luzigas and a League MVP Trophy, Great Teammates & Coach Bernardo, Playing On The Southern Coast
• 49:18 Jake's Game, Our Admiration. His Pure Love & Joy For The Game Of Basketball. Playing Defense, Getting A Steal & Making A Pass, Improving Conditioning & Fitness
• 52:28 Van Tubbergen!!!!! - Being Mistaken For A Dutch Player - The Arenas - The Crowds - The Travel - The Food
• 56:19 Israeli League Basketball for Season 3, Leveling Up, Chosen Not To Play, Overcoming Adversity and Getting Back, Support Circle, Nolan Eccker
• 1:02:06 Signing With Peristeri, Leveling Up, FIBA Competitions, 3 Countries In 4 Years, WO Influence
• 1:08:20 What Peristeri Fans Can Expect, 12 Year Old Jake, Living His Dream, Tulip City Tip-off & Thanks

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Man, that first time I left, that was tough. I mean, I just... I can only imagine. Yeah, because, I mean, my parents' house is two minutes away from West Ottawa. My Grand Valley, 40 minutes away. So I've always been, you know, right there. And they're the ones taking me to the airport. My parents are dropping me off, and I'm sitting there, like, fighting tears. Like, man, like, oh, man. So I was definitely feeling it. Hey, everybody. This is Rodney Valinga with the West Ottawa High School Athletic Program. And you're listening to the 29.1 Podcast. 29 sports, one team. The show that brings you into the lives of student athletes, coaches, and other faces in the Panther sports community. Bringing you the stories you might otherwise never hear. Join myself and Athletic Director Bill Kennedy as we dive in with you to get to know each other a little bit better. Every once in a while, those childhood dreams of becoming a professional athlete come true. Today, we're joined by 2017 West Ottawa graduate Jake Van Tubergen. We sit down with Jake and talk all things basketball, from his time as a Panther through his upcoming season in Athens, Greece. He plays the game professionally with the same joy he did as a kid and gets as much out of a no-look pass to an open teammate as he does with a transition dunk in traffic. Jake Van Tubergen, up next on the 29.1 Podcast. Let's get it. Hey everybody, welcome back to another edition of the 29 one podcast. I'm your host Rodney Valinga and I am joined once again by Panthers athletic director Bill Kennedy. It's late July and we are all enjoying the summer and we couldn't be more thrilled to sit down and spend some quality time Catching up with today's guest. He's a 2017 West Ottawa High School graduate. He helped lead the Panthers to their first ever boys basketball district title in 2017, a regional final that same year, and as a senior, averaged close to 19 points a game as the team went 23-2 overall, including an undefeated 12-0 OK Red conference record. He received numerous accolades that year, including All-Conference First Team, Holland Sentinel First Team, Grand Rapids Press, MLive, First Team, Dream Team, all the while maintaining a GPA of 3.59. He went on to play five seasons at Grand Valley State University in a full-ride scholarship, received numerous accolades there as well, including a First Team All-American in his senior year, and is now playing basketball professionally in Europe. And in 2024, he was named the league MVP for Immortal Luzigas in the Portuguese Basketball League, also known as Liga Betclic. And it's our pleasure to ask, who is it? Jake Van Tubergen. Awesome, Jake. Thanks so much for carving out some time. Jake's in town to take place in a little basketball game over at the Holland Civic Center later today. Was gracious enough to come in and... Spend some time, really appreciate it. Yes, sir. Happy to be here. Thanks for having us. And thanks for the nice introduction. Hey, yeah, I know it gets a long, sometimes it gets long winded at times. It was nice. Yeah, it's not too bad. So I got the Tulip City tip off. That's why you're in town. Yes, sir. I just texted you. This is really spur of the moment. If you're listening, I want to really just say how gracious you are. I texted you, I think Thursday said, hey, we hear you're in town. Can you slide on by for this? And within a couple minutes, it was really fun. It was really great. How long are you actually in Holland for? Probably, honestly, 18 hours at the most. And we get one. Let's go. So I came into town this morning from a wedding from a good friend from Grand Valley. Nice. Okay. So I had a good time there. Then come here. Did you get to see your family at all yet? Stopped by. I think they were out for breakfast maybe or something. Maybe walking the dog. Didn't quite see them, but they'll be around later today. Hey, that happens. That's all right. People keep leaving. You know, you come home and you expect everything to stop, right? Oh, Jake's here. No, we're doing this right now. Oh, yeah. No, no. Yeah. They stay busy. Oh, that's really funny. You know, you talked about the wedding you went to. You've had a busy June yourself. Yes. All right. You had two back-to-back days. Yes. that were amazing things. Can you share those things with us? So I recently got engaged in... Back, what was that? June? Yeah, congratulations. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. And then I recently signed as well to play in Greece this upcoming year. So that was kind of a back-to-back day right there where it was... Have you had a better two-day swing in your life? I don't know that I have. That was honestly probably like... You know, I was on vacation too, so I was like, I could just sit there and enjoy it. So I was like, man, I'm going to sit there and take this one in. And who are you engaged to? So my fiancee, Kayla Russell, she actually played basketball at Hope College. Oh, she did? Yeah. So maybe somebody listening out there. Big Hope Dutch women's basketball. Oh, absolutely. Shout out to them. That's fantastic. Yeah, she played there from Clarkson, Michigan. So that's where I reside now. Oh, you do? Okay. Oh, fantastic. All right. Well, it's really great to have you on. Well, thank you. We hear that you're playing professionally in Europe. Oh, what's Jake Van Tubergen doing? Oh, he's playing basketball in Europe. That's cool. And that's about all we get. Yeah, we get some social media posts. I make sure that when they come through, I kind of resend them through the Woe Panthers, just trying to keep our community kind of in touch with what's going on. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's one big thing for me. People keeping up through social media and everything. It means a lot to me, as much as it's pretty simple. But those little things kind of go a long way. You're kind of gone for a while. You don't see a lot of your people that you're used to seeing on a daily basis. So those little messages go a long way. Yeah, once a Panther, always a Panther, man. Yeah, it's really nice to stay in touch with people. I always talk about Bill too. The people that you're with are the people that you share space with. That's where the relationships are. You have all these relationships at West Ottawa because you share space, and then we graduate and we move on. But there's always a lot of affection. I know, Bill, you're a teacher, so you probably have that, but there's always a lot of affection for people that you've taught or they've been part of your athletic program and they grow on and do things. So that connection's still there, and that's why it's going to be so great to talk. Yeah, and it's also one of those things that, whether you realize it or not, there's still people that are in West Ottawa this building still part of our basketball program that remember when they were young kids watching you and those teammates and those, those teams. We sat down with our boys basketball team last year and they brought up, you know, how they were inspired by watching your group of guys when you were on the varsity court. And now they're doing the same thing for the kids under them. So it's really special. And that's one of the best parts of kind of high school athletics. Yeah, no doubt. I mean, just being able to, come and talk to see them grow and just kind of seeing that, being able to give back what I can. I know sometimes it's not much, but just being able to go and see these guys do what they do and grow up and just kind of do the same things that you did. So it's really cool to see. Yeah, they were the 11-, 12-year-old boys. And you know where they sat, too. They sat in that front row across from your bench, that whole front row. was pumped up with all these little 10, 11, 12-year-old boys. At times, they would get disinterested and head over to the Ox gym and shoot hoops so that it would be empty. And then all of a sudden, they'd come all back. You remember all that, right? Oh, yeah. Like I said, I used to do the same thing when my brothers played here. So I was, oh, they're boring. I'm going to go shoot in the Ox. Yeah, that's what we all did. That's great. Well, there's a lot of attention in the sports community. And what's really crazy now, too, is I didn't believe it when I heard it, but your district title was the first one in 2017. Yeah, yeah. Then you guys followed up with another one. Well, you weren't there then, but they followed up with another one in 2018. Yeah. Kobe Haglund's team in 2022 gets a district title. And then just this past year, we get another district title. So, I mean, the proof is there if, you know, you invest the time and obviously the resources are here as well. So, you know, you invest your time and work. Good things can happen. Yeah. Great place to be too. Yeah. From an athletic director standpoint, that's one of the things that's always kind of top of mind for me is resources. Right. And like, what are some little things that we can do to help try to close the gap between us and the people that we're competing against? And I think with, you know, Frank Lurchin and the strength program and some of the other things, you know, video stuff that we've done. And now the project that we just showed off in the gym with new scoreboards and video boards, those things are only going to help enhance the program. And, you know, just, Like I was telling you as I was walking up here, just coming down memory lane, you know, oh, that wasn't here when I was here. That wasn't here when I was here. So just being able to come in and, you know, seeing the room we're sitting in is, you know, great space for a team to come sit and be together. And just like things like that go a long way. I mean, you see it. You do it. So you get it. As you walk through here. Any specific memories that come back to you, you know, as you walked into the gym, walked into the building? What kind of stuff comes up in your mind? You know, it was more, it's not necessarily just one moment, but just kind of being here on a day-to-day basis, you know, and walk these halls every day. So just kind of come in, kind of get that feeling like, man. Yeah, it's a season of life, right? Yeah, yeah. I just, like, can't remember it like it was yesterday, but... What did we say? It was eight years ago now. Yeah, eight years ago. Yeah, really two full sets of classes have come through since you've been here. Crazy. But you still had that same facial hair back then, didn't you? Maybe not as dark as it is now. It was probably trying to show out. What memories of people like teachers and stuff? Do you have a few teachers that for you, they made a... You know, everybody makes a difference, but anybody stand out where you're like, man, that teacher really kind of did this for me or that, anything like that? Man, this place had so many great teachers, man. I know the few I can remember off the top of my head, I'm probably not even going to do it justice, but Mrs. Heemstra, Mr. Mandrick, who else am I missing here? And it's okay not to get it wrong. Mrs. Walcott, like, oh man, I know those three for sure were all just like people that, you could tell cared about what they do and like, you know, kids need that and you see it. And that energy is kind of felt, you know, when you have somebody that like really invested in you like that. So it's like, it makes you want to be there, you know? And then obviously some others who really invested in you during your time here, coach Windemuller, coach Ottoman, for sure. Maybe speak to kind of what it was like being a player for those guys. Oh man, it was, it was, To this day, like every time I see them, it's just like, man, you remember the days? Just another great example of somebody who just is like investing their time just all the time. I know Coach Ottoman, he's big with the Panther Fund.

SPEAKER_01: 11:50

And

SPEAKER_00: 11:50

I've seen some of the things he does firsthand in terms of giving back. And it's just, it's awesome to see. And having people like that around you is only going to make those people better. And so just like, Getting that example of when I was kind of shaping myself and who I wanted to be, getting that great example of that was very beneficial for me. Yeah, for sure. J.O.''s one of one, man. Yeah, no doubt about that. And then you're 26 years old, but guess who else is 26? All those guys you played with. Talk about some of those teammates from back then. Are you still able to stay in touch with them? You can speak to a few of them. We are going through a list of players kind of off the cuff. So apologize. Don't get everybody. So we had Tyler Bosman, Xavier Wade, Nick Weirmeyer, Drew Pedersen, Nolan Eckert, Liam Cavanaugh, John Hoffmeyer, Danny DeForest, Jason Fairfield, Chet Johnson, and Sean Cavanaugh, which I want to talk about because he would always do those late. Do you remember that? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. All right. But maybe talk about those guys and what that's like to grow up with them. And now you're older. Do you stay in touch or? What memories do you have of those guys growing up? Yeah. I mean, honestly, just, it was never, obviously the success on the court was fun. It was awesome. But I mean, you remember we were having team sleepovers and team dinners, like it seemed like every week. So just like having those, yeah, just like being that tight as a group was I think special. And that's kind of why I think we were successful in many ways is because, I mean, we did seem like we did everything together. It seemed like I could walk down the hall and the whole team was sitting there walking with me. That's how it felt being on a team like that. So it was just a special group. And a lot of those guys, you get older, you grow apart a little bit. But it's always really good getting back in touch with those guys. And you know what's great, too? Whenever I do these podcasts, I go into... or read as much as I can about people, right? So I'm going through your Instagrams and I see little, I see their tags on there, whatever their names, and we all follow each other as much as we can. And some of that closeness, one of the things that, you know, these teams were prior to me showing up at West Ottawa, but one of the things that I've always been told is how unselfish the team was as a group, right? Because you have all of these guys who on any given team could be the star, right? And very ball-dominant What was it about that group that just allowed you guys to kind of have that unselfish mentality when it came to game time? Well, I think obviously every team kind of has their growing pains they go through. And, you know, I think we were just a group that saw what we could do when we worked together versus... And credit to Coach Windermiller because his kind of philosophy was they... you got to play unselfish. So that was like, to this day, it's like still instilled in me to play that way. That's like how I know how to play the game was because that's how I was taught. And so like when we kind of saw what we could do as a group, we're like, Hey, like we got something if we, but we got to do it like this. We can't sit here and make it about me or him, you know? So that was credit to coaches because they were able to see that and and formulate a plan and put that plan to action. And then it was a great, like I said, a great group of guys that were able to go and execute that. And they even had that, sorry, go ahead if you want. I was just going to say, if we put you down on the court right now, could you run us through the motion offense? See, that's the craziest part is that it wasn't even like set anything. So it was, hey, like don't let the ball stick. Move it, dribble. It was really that open? Yes. Wow, and that's just years of playing together, right? Yeah, exactly. Well, I mean, think if you go play pickup with your friends, you're not running stuff. It's all instinct, right? Especially that group in 2018. I mean, they had been playing together since they were this high, you know? So since they were probably fifth grade, fourth grade, maybe even before then. So, like, for me, it was like I almost... was adjusting to fitting into that, you know, and being able to do so and understanding like, okay, like they have a special chemistry here. I'm not going to come in here and, you know, blow it up. I got to come in here and be like, right. Cause you were a class above them. Right. Right. Yeah. So, yeah, they, they did a nice job that year. It was one of the, that, that two year period. And I think 2016 was a good year too, but it's not coming to my memory. Yeah. But 2017 and 2018 as a basketball fan around here. Yeah. It was like the best thing. The gym was always packed. Black hole to the top row. And I was like, how bad are they going to tear this team up tonight? And there'd always be a run. Usually in the third quarter, there was four dunks in a row. Coaches calling timeouts, screaming at his players, get over here, what are we doing? These guys are all smiling, walking to the bench. Oh, man. I enjoyed one thing, too, during that time, too. You guys, and I don't know if this was 2017 or 2018. Not sure. But Danny DeForest, Jason Fairfield, John Hoffmeyer, and Chet Johnson. They would come in and play defense for two or three minutes. Do you remember that? Oh, yeah. Yeah, so they would have this. They would be called in. Hey, you got two and a half minutes on the court. You better give me everything you got. So the opposing team would be playing these highly skilled players all in rhythm, all in sync. And when you're talented... you're not always up on somebody because you don't need to be necessarily. But these guys would come on, again, very talented athletes, and just be in their face, right? And that's like credit to them because it's like, you know, that's not an easy thing to do necessarily just to come in and play a specific role. But it was like, you know, it speaks volumes to the group. Again, like those individuals make the group. And, you know, you got great individuals, makes a great group. So, you know, it's... makes everybody look better. And, you know, not everybody always gets all the credit that they deserve, but, like, especially that, like, those guys made the guys who played a lot better just because of, like, what you're saying. They're coming in, they're getting after it, you know. So, like, that makes everybody better. Keeps that energy on the bench going. Yeah. Yeah, it was just, like, you know, like you said, bring good energy just all the time. Yeah, for sure. We're going to end your high school career on that regional game in 2017. I watched it the other day. I just watched the last stupid ass thing, whatever it was. It was a heck of a game. It was a year where you guys probably could have ran to the Breslin if you get through that game. Didn't go your way, but it was a great basketball game. I think you guys were down 17-ish pretty late, and you make this massive run. That was quite a game. Who was there? We go back in history and we go, who was in that game? There's a lot of pro athletes that came out of there. Oh, yeah. I mean, Xavier Tillman, he had his camp up in Grand Rapids a couple weeks ago. I was up there still chopping it up about this game. Hey, you remember? Oh, yeah. That's fun. Even some of those other guys. Dwayne Washington. James Beck, JB. Same thing. It's funny how basketball brings people together like that. Yeah, although you're going at this. Right. As soon as you age and get out of that and have a different perspective on it, you have those conversations. To this day, still talking about that game. I played golf with Grand Rapids Christians AD a couple of weeks ago, and he still says that that's the best high school sporting event he's ever been a part of. Packed gym at Grand Haven, and that place gets packed and loud and hot. I'm just like... remember that day just being like, even just walking around like school and just everybody was just like so pumped for it. And it's just like, maybe like just so excited. There was such an energy about it. And, you know, the community was, that was just such a fun time. Like you're saying, just that time of, you know, feeling the community, you know, super, like you were saying earlier, just super fun. Yeah. Yeah, when you think about high school sports and a community being drawn together, that's the top of the mountain, right? Win, lose, draw, whatever, everybody's in. And that's, I mean, as a high school kid, I can't even imagine what that's like to be the source of that. Yeah, it was great times. I mean, like I said, still to this day, it gets brought up. And I'm going to do the Sean Cavanaugh real quick. So Sean Cavanaugh would be subbed in late. Game would be over, and maybe last half of the benches, if not more, were in the game. Sean Cavanaugh comes in, and we're under a minute now. Do you want to tell everybody how it used to be? No, I want to hear what you guys say. Sean Cavanaugh comes in. Now we're like, okay, we're dribbling down. We're under 20. Wyndham Mueller's giving him a look. Don't you dare. Don't you dare. Cavanaugh's up top. He goes all the way maybe to the half court circle, and he's up there now, right? Seven seconds, six, five. Sure enough, two seconds left on that clock. Up it goes. Let's go. And he made a few, too. Do you remember that? Oh, yeah. He made a few here. Shut up, my guy, Sean. Yeah, good old Sean Cavanaugh, so we'll give it up for him. Yeah, yeah, great. So coming out of 2017, then you're on the Grand Valley right here in the backyard. What was kind of your recruitment as you were as a senior? Was it? really down to Grand Valley and any other schools? So that was, I had a few other, like Davenport, Cornerstone, a few other schools like that. But really, it was, I really like Grand Valley. Obviously, it was close to home and it had kind of everything I was looking for. So I made that decision to go there before even my senior year season. So that was, I don't know what would have happened if I would have maybe got more interest, if I would have played out that senior year. But honestly, I look back at it and I'm like, I'm okay with what I decided. It worked out. But Grand Valley, I feel like West Ottawa in a way, just has a very strong community. There's a lot of really good people there that supported me and appreciative of me going there and being there for that time. I am prideful that, yeah, I'm a West Ottawa alum. Yeah, I'm a Grand Valley alum. You were there five years because of that COVID year, so you grabbed an extra senior year. I think it was Coach Rick Wesleyan when you were there. I think your fourth all-time 2005 points, I believe. As a person and a player, basketball-wise, what kind of growth did you have at Grand Valley? Maybe that surprised you. How did that make you better playing there? Well, I think obviously, you know, everybody, it's like when you graduate high school and moving on to that next level, it's like you're going against kind of grown men now. So that was kind of the biggest thing for me is I had my physical, like even my body was not quite... Gumby? Yeah, I mean, yeah. Yeah, exactly. So my body, like I was not physically quite where I needed to be. So that was probably the... most difficult part was getting to that point, which is, it's just hard work in the weight room, which is not fun a lot of the time. So, but, you know, you find your routine and you learn to, learn to love it. And so that, that was, you know, credit to that coaching staff as well, because, you know, I probably left West Ottawa's 180, 6'6", 180. Yeah. by the time i was sophomore i was probably 200 so you know put on some weight and you know was able to kind of mature in that way and you like the physical game let's be honest yeah you like to we're gonna get to your style of style of playing a minute because i'm a massive fan of that but but you have you have that ability you know one thing i want to do too real quick is uh I was talking to Bill about this before he came up here, but the whole Gumby thing, that was a bit of a nickname for you back then, wasn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So anyways, I'm going to try and stand up and do this because it was super fun back then. But you'd be up super high, right? Yep. So what are you in high school, 6'6"? Yeah, about. All right. So you're up real high, but then he'd have this incredible ability. Do you know this, dude? You would get down low, like you'd be down here, and I don't know how guys would guard you. Yeah. He'd be up, boom, down here. Yeah. And your body positioning was nuts. It was just really, really fun. Yeah, I think Coach Windermiller called me a go-go gadget arm one of these days. Yeah. We kind of get some funny comments sometimes, but it's all good and fun. It is because that's your unique qualities, right? The body you're in is the body you're in, and you have the ability to do these things, so that's cool. Yeah, no doubt. When you're at Grand Valley, when do you have an inkling– that going pro is something that's actually a realistic possibility? I would probably say... Probably after my freshman year. I think maybe it was possible. Because from when I was probably a sophomore in high school, that's what I wanted to do. But I probably didn't realize, like, okay... Everybody else did too, right? You know, I've... Like... saw people do it from where i was at and i was like okay like i see this is possible now i just gotta do it you know um put in that that time and that effort and stick to it and there's a lot of days that you sit there and like man i don't even know if this is possible you know those negative thoughts come come in and you you know just those days that you don't want to do it. You just get up and you do it anyway. You have a few advantages. You have your physical size. And then probably the biggest advantage is playing in the driveway with older brothers. Yeah. Can you talk about that, how that helped you? Yeah, you know, that was big for me because that was, I feel like that kind of fast-tracked my skill and development a little bit. Just, you know, I was always playing against an older crowd from when I was, could dribble a ball. I was playing against my older brothers and their friends. I'm guessing they didn't take it easy on you. Oh, no. It's a familiar thing that we hear, though. Yeah. Yeah, I was playing against bigger guys when I was little, and then I started playing people my own age. Yeah, yeah, and you know... When you're the older brother, you tend to give your little brother a little extra. All the business. Yeah, exactly. So the day I was able to kind of get him back for it, get my little revenge on them, that was a good day. Somebody's bleeding from the lip and it's not you. Yeah, right. There has to be a, so you're a senior, actually fifth year over at GVSU. You want to play in Europe. There's no European draft here. What is going on in the background to make that happen? So one of my assistant coaches, well, I'll say all my coaches, they were very involved with the process of kind of helping me through that, which very thankful for them because they kind of introduced me to kind of the business side of it, which is not always the fun part, but it's important. I've come to find out in my few years playing that, you know, you got to handle your business as well as, you know, the game itself. You got to be able to differentiate between the two. But yeah, so Coach Wallace, he really helped me because he played overseas as well. So he was also, you know, having somebody to talk to and just being guide you, you know, he, he sat there, he did it. So he understands how the, how the business works, got me in the right network of people, the proper connections that I needed to make. And he introduced me to who became my first agent. And so he made that introduction for me, met him. And at that point, it's kind of like getting recruited to a college almost to where it's like, but you have people who, that are kind of helping you with that process and years in there trying to find the best fit for yourself. So, um, so yeah, that's kind of how that process went. Sweet. Year one, 2022, 2023. I'm going to try and do the name of this team. Okay. I'm gonna do Vittoria. Vittoria. Yep. Uh, Alvis. Okay. Okay. Yep. Uh, and, uh, Guimaraes? Guimaraes. Guimaraes, okay. So this is your team. You want to do the full name properly? Vitoria Guimaraes. All right, and this is in Portugal. And the last part of that is the city that you're in. Can you walk us through your first experience? I mean, you must have been on a plane to Portugal at some point, right? This is actually happening. Who was on the plane with you? What's going on? Tell us about getting there and arriving and all that kind of stuff. Man, that first time I left, that was tough. I mean, I just... I can only imagine. Yeah, because, I mean, my parents' house is two minutes away from West Ottawa. My Grand Valley, 40 minutes away. So I've always been, you know, right there. And they're the ones taking me to the airport. My parents are dropping me off, and I'm sitting there, like, fighting tears. Like, man, like, oh, man. So I was definitely feeling it, feeling pretty emotional about that. But it was... Kind of once I got settled into what I was doing, it was a lot better. But, you know, it was just hard to put into words kind of that experience of just like, okay, I'm going here. Never been there. Don't speak the language just to play a game, which is like the concept of it is a little crazy, but it's so fun. So we've talked about this with some of our athletes that graduate high school and then they go away to college. They really find themselves locked into the game because it's the thing that they know the most in this foreign space. Yeah. Is that kind of what happened with you? For sure. I mean, it's like, you don't want to put all your eggs into one basket, you know, be so invested that it's your whole identity. Obviously you don't want to do that all the time, but it's, you know, it's what you're there for. So you got to keep the main thing, the main thing. So being able to lock in like that, like you're saying, like you've had these other guests come and say, it's like, yeah, you find yourself like, oh, wow, I've been here this long already. It's already been two months and it's feel like two days. Like you do get into a kind of a routine to where you're, you know, you're not really looking, paying attention to, you're just kind of going day by day. And next thing you realize, Head down, working hard, and next thing you know, oh, it's already December. Oh, I got family coming two, three weeks. Oh, okay. So, you know, my parents have been awesome with that. They've been able to come and visit every place I've been able to play, which has been super, you know, gives you something to look forward to. But being able to lock in and have things to look forward to, it helps a lot. One question I always hear as I listen to sports radio is, What was your welcome to the league moment? You're playing in a game, and you're like, okay. It's funny. I remember, I think it was our first game. I was having a decent little game, but going to the basket, make a good little move, go to the basket, and I go lay it up, and the center comes over and just smacks it, gets it out of here, lets me know about it, tells me, hey, better dunk that next time. I'm like, all right. Got it. Got to go dunk it next time. So, but so yeah, that was kind of the first time I was like, okay, this is, this is a different level. So what other ways did you find connection just as a person living there? Right. So, you know, you're playing basketball. There's other ways you need to, you know, your identity is in multiple facets. What other things did you do to feel comfortable there? Feel at home in a way? Well, I think, you know, the game, always has it like brings people together in a way and there's always um a culture around it so you know being a basketball player you're generally a fan of the game as well so being able to find topics that you relate to with uh people and honestly you meet like so many great people and that you sit there and you would have thought i would have never seen this person ever in my life that's the cool part about it yeah so i get there and say like And then at that point, it's just like having a connection with somebody else. It's, you know, you're just sitting there chopping it up with them, having a conversation and find out, oh yeah, like this person is very similar to me. They think the same, they feel the same, you know? So just being able to like make connections like that, like also goes a long way in being able to, and I think that kind of goes back into like a group, like being on a team, you know, you, the better you get along, the more you relate to somebody. I feel like the better the team and the group will be. So that was one of the things I've, that's really fun. Yeah. Uh, talk to us about how they build those rosters there. So they're allowed, I'll just call it a national. So Portuguese nationals in that league. And then they allow so many, uh, imports. Can you talk about how they, how they set that up? So each place you go is a little bit different and they kind of have their own rules, but, um, In Portugal, you could have five people of non-Portuguese descent or nationality, sorry. So there were five Americans, including myself, on my team in my first year. There are certain rules, and I think some of the teams with kind of the higher budgets, they're able to kind of you know, work their budget a little bit better and kind of maybe have a few more guys on their team that they want. But for the most part, that's kind of the general rule of thumb is you get Portugal's five. Other places may be different. So you have that familiarity because they're all in similar situations to you. Yeah. So that's a connection. And then just, yeah, you're playing basketball on teams with people. You don't even have to speak a language, but if somebody drops a nice little no look your way, that's enough to know I like this guy. Yeah, for sure. You start playing basketball. You have a really good season your first year. We're going to pull up some stats here. You average close to 15 points a game. Your minutes are like, how long are the games there? What is that? Four 10-minute quarters. Four 10 minutes. Okay, so 40 minutes. Just really solid numbers. I was going through all your stats. You have almost carried The same stat, the stat line, wherever you go. Have you noticed that personally? Yeah, yeah, I have. So it's, you know. Like you talk about a consistent, this is what I'm going to get out of this guy. You know, like you said, I kind of know what I need to do and know how I need to do it and when I need to do it. And so I think that is kind of a good reflection of that. me being, recognizing that. I talked to a lot of these younger basketball players on the West Ottawa team. I said, hey, we got Jake Van Tubergen coming on. What do you want to hear about from him? They said, what's his day like? What's his week like? Can you break down, especially just for younger athletes, you're a professional athlete, maybe just break down, I don't know, I know it's hard to say a typical day, but maybe just do that first and we'll go to a week. Maybe a game day. Okay. What's a game day look like for you? Yeah, so, usually, Depends on when the game is. It'll differ a little bit. If it's a later game, I'll probably sleep in a little bit more or we'll have a team shoot around. So go kind of get loose, a little warmed up, get your body moving, get some shots up. Just make sure your game plan is correct. Make sure everything's ready to go. Usually after that, go home, get some food, shower, take a nap and relax. I was always jealous of the professional basketball players naps. Like you always hear in an interview, if they're doing one of them, what's the date? And then I hit that nap in the afternoon. I'm like, yeah. Yeah. So that's a need to nap. Yeah. The nap for sure. The nap. All right. Yeah. Then after that, wake up, get another meal in. Yeah. Got to make sure, you know, feeling, feeling yourself properly, getting, getting all your fluids that you need, fruits, electrolytes, whatever you need. Kind of everybody's a little bit different on how that works. Certain people need more than others, obviously. Find a good balance for myself. You have a go-to? I like chicken and rice. So chicken and rice, pregame meal, that's usually my go-to. I could eat that every day, honestly, if it were up to me, but my fiance hates that. I'm a big fan of chicken and rice, too. Oh, man, it's the best. But anyway, so usually about three hours before, two or three hours before, get to the gym and go from there. Get some... lifting movements and kind of get your body primed and ready to go. And then just kind of same thing, get geared up and ready to roll. And then you have the leagues over there are different. You play one game a week. Yeah. That's cool. I go through the schedule and I'm just being a North American basketball fan. I'm like, I look twice. I'm like, that's a week. What? So you play once a week. Very different. Is that pretty reflective of the culture too, right? Is that fair to say? Yeah, you could say that for sure because, you know, especially Portugal. Portugal was, you know, they're slow-paced compared to what I was used to here. Like, you know, people here in a rush to sit there and sign their bill to go do whatever. Over there, it was like, man, you had to basically beg your waiter to come back. They're just like, leave you alone, let you take your time. Everybody's chilling, you know, taking their time, doing whatever they need to do. Um, so that was like a cool aspect of it. It definitely made you like slow down a little bit. And there's a lot more basketball practice than throughout the week. Yeah. What was it like as an athlete just having to do, not just not the way to say it, but you're doing one game a week. So how different is the mental focus, the physical focus? Do you feel like every time that game's coming up, you're kind of primed and ready to go? Yeah. So that, that's kind of like the routine that you kind of get into. It's very, I think, um, easier to do so you know you pretty much know exactly when you're playing all the time and you're gonna okay i play saturday or sunday every week and so basically you're gonna your weeks are gonna start looking very similar if that's what you're playing on every day so you know you know your monday you're gonna come in get your treatment kind of get your body back feeling where it's supposed to be um get whatever you need to do in terms of health and fatigue and stuff like that and then from there on you're just kind of trying to build yourself back to where you need to be for the game time so that process is uh sometimes you wish it came a little bit faster you know especially if it's yeah right and you're a basketball player why would you not want to play more than one game a week that's true you you you want but you understand that okay i gotta slow down make sure i'm properly ready to do everything I need to do. Yeah. Especially if you have like a performance that maybe wasn't your best. Oh, that sits there. That's right. You're like, man, you're like, yeah, it's not like I want to get back out there. I want to correct this right now, but you got to kind of, that kind of sucks. Yeah. I've got to imagine though, when it comes to game time, the intensity level is through the roof, right? Because you've been ready to go like a caged animal for a week. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So you're just, you're absolutely ready to go. So, It's a good feeling, but it's kind of a good balance, honestly. So I would prefer like five days, maybe. That would be kind of a nice balance. Kind of allows you an opportunity to get out and immerse yourself in the culture a little bit, though. Yeah. Maybe talk to us a little bit about what that experience has been like. You've now gone to a couple of different places. So that's probably the... coolest part of the whole thing is that you just see things that you would have never otherwise I think I said earlier like meet people that you would have never met but it's also like experiencing these places because it's like oh I would have never tried this food or I would have never seen this beach or I would have never like this past year I was in Israel and I got to be in the Dead Sea like I would have never been there if I wouldn't have been able to play basketball there so that's just like, to me, such a cool experience. I can sit there like, Oh yeah, I went there. I did. Yeah. If you want her to go crazy on Instagram, I mean, I'm sure the photos you can take of the places that you're at. Yeah. Well, he's endless. Yeah. He mentioned food. So I got a touch base on that one. What is the craziest thing you have tried in your time overseas? I didn't try this one, but the thing that threw me off the most was the, the, We'll serve you the whole fish, eyes, head, everything, bones. And that threw me off because I was like. Where's my filet? Right. I'm used to the salmon filet. I'm not used to the whole fish being there. But that one was. Eyes taste like Skittles, by the way. I've done it. I'll take your word for that. Okay. All right. But yeah, so some other good foods. There was like falafel. Falafel is awesome. Shawarma. Awesome. I forget what they, they have these little pastries in Portugal and it's like, oh man, it's like, think of like a mini pie, but it's like a cranberry in the little pie. Just awesome. Oh man. I know Bill's looking up flights. We're not going through this podcast. I'm forgetting the name of those, but they're, Oh man, those are to die for. Honestly. We had a little bakery right across the street from there too. So it was just bad news. How much are you enjoying this life? Oh man, I, I, I sit here and I like wake up every day. I'm like, man, it's, it's a good life. It's, it's a good life. I mean, we all dream it. Like, think about it. Like, every little kid, whatever sport you're playing, I don't care. I got a chance to go pro. Like, you're actually doing this right now. It's awesome, man. Like, good for you. And doing it in a space that is overseas and you're just exposing yourself to, like you said before, all these different people, different ways of life, different cultures. What has that done for you as kind of a young person kind of growing into yourself and from a maturity standpoint. Yeah, well, I feel like it, you know, makes you kind of more of a well-rounded person. You know, you kind of, like you're saying, you see all these different perspectives and, you know, you kind of bring those and take them with what you already know and take these experiences and mix them with everybody else's. And, you know, you just kind of get that human experience. So, you know, being able to speak on things. Oh, yeah, I've been here. I know this. Being able to, you know, make connections with people other people. And I think that's like the coolest part about it is I get to come and do stuff like this where I can sit and talk about it and not sound dumb. I never even entered my mind. Will Jake Van Tuberen sound dumb today? No, but I know you don't. Not at all. But yeah. So just being able to sit here and talk about it is one of the coolest parts. I think first year ends.

UNKNOWN: 44:41

Mm hmm.

SPEAKER_00: 44:41

And then you have a surgery on your left ankle, I believe. Yeah. What was going on with that? You had some, what, sprained ankles early in your career? Yeah. So I kind of family genetic or ankles are not very good. Oh, there's a negative with being 6'8". I don't know if I should spell that secret out there. But yeah, so I had some ankle sprains in it just kind of over time, just kind of wear and tear. And I ended up having some ligaments that were torn and kind of didn't even really know it. So, and it was, yeah, it was not, my ankle was not in good shape. So it was, it needed to be done probably a lot sooner than it did. But had it done, feels great now. And so. Well, it sure made a difference in year two. Yeah. So you're off, so you're off for about, you don't play the first third of that season. By the way, second team, some of the best uniforms I've seen, by the way, the red ones. Yeah. And on the chest of Bill Kennedy, it says immortal. How better? It does not get better than that. So you got that. This is a really cool story because I went through all this. You went MVP that year. You don't play the first third of the season, pretty much. Coming off surgery, you play 15 games out of, what, a 30, 35 game schedule? Yeah, I think it was 30. And you go off. Yeah. What happened, man? It was just a great balance of right timing, right place. I was just blessed with a great opportunity to come into a spot where I was allowed to do a lot of things and have a lot of freedom. I was just surrounded by a great group again. That team especially, I will say, was like... That felt like a college team. That felt like a high school team where you're sitting there doing stuff all the time together. That was a special group. That must have been real special because that's not a lot of actual time spent. I mean, sure, time of the day spent together, sure. But if we go over and talk about weeks and months, that's short. Yeah. I mean, it was December. Any few players stand out to you that... really made a difference? I mean, just a lot of guys, Trey Barnes, Derek Jackson, Ryan Weber, these guys who are fellow Americans, Brandon Ogburns, these guys are just come in, you know, and we weren't the best team, but we, you know, kind of were very aligned in how we saw. And my coach, Bernardo, he was amazing. awesome as well. I still have conversations with him every other week to this day. Like I said, you meet great people and being able to sit here and talk about that is exciting to me. Having those relationships to this day with these guys, I have a bunch of friends that I've one of my good friends that I played with in my first year. We've hung out and never hung out in the U.S., And he's one of my good friends. And so he was playing for a different team in Israel. We were in Portugal together. Saw him down in Mexico. We just happened to be kind of in the same area. So it's just like you get to carry on these relationships. And they just are special because you shared that time together. And that experience with that, not many people can sit there and say they did. So you can always share that with each other. And that second team is on the southern coast of Portugal. Yeah. Yeah, we saw that. We saw that, and I'm like, oh, that's probably not a terrible place to be. That is my recommended travel spot, if I'm being honest. That was a great time down there. Can you do the full name of the team and the place where you're at? The team was Immortelle Lusigas, and the town was Albufera, Portugal. Albufera. Yeah. Nice. I know a lot of... people will go. That's like a very touristy spot apparently for people in Europe is to go to kind of the Southern coast there. Thank you, agent. Nice job. I'll tell you. Hey, look, I got you up in a, it's cold up here. No, we're taking you to the Southern coast of Portugal. So it's a tourist destination. Yeah. Beautiful place. Plenty of stuff to do. So that was a, that was a great time playing with full tans every game. For sure. Yeah. That's really funny. Let's talk about your game a little bit, you know, at six, eight, uh, watching bill. We know we were just watching heights for the past few years. I love your game so much. Thank you. Like really it's, you know, sometimes when you watch a basketball player, you almost look for deficiencies. Like that's the natural. Oh, he's good at this. He's good at that, but he don't do that. I mean, I think, I think my funnest part, I love your spin moves, uh, I love your kind of like holding the ball at the side at the top and being on your guy. I love when you go down to the post. You bang down there. What is some of your favorite things that you love to do in the court? Maybe just two or three little things that, hey, this is who I am. This is what I love to do. And you ain't going to stop me. You know, that's, I don't know. I just, I think the whole thing is just, I love it. the game so much that it's just like every little part of it. I enjoy even the boring parts that people are like, I think a lot. Getting that rebound is fun, right? I love that. Yes. I don't know. It's just very hard for me to describe exactly why, but it's just like, I find joy in every single little part of it, whether it's playing defense or getting a rebound or getting a steal, making a pass, every single part of it. It's just like, I, I'm enjoying this. And the no looks. Yeah. How fun are those, right? Oh, man, they're the best. They're the best. I never saw you play in high school. I think I saw you play one time at Grand Valley. I've watched some highlights, but I'm just always amazed at kind of the vast array of your game, right? You can go down in the post. You can play on the outside. You're going to play defense. You're going to rebound. What is an area that you as a player maybe think to yourself, oh, that's a spot that I'm constantly chipping away at and trying to get better. Yeah, for me it was always kind of the physicalness and conditioning. So it was always me trying to be in better shape or get a little bit stronger so I can, like you said, go down the post a little bit easier, make that backside a little bit easier. So that was always kind of the focus that I've like, okay, you know, you got your skills. There's a good foundation that you have for that. So just making sure that you're on top of staying, making sure your skills are good. And then really just every time you are either trying to get in shape or in the weight room, just attack it. As much as it's going to suck, just attack it. You've done a nice job with that. I have a couple of fun things I want to do here real quick. One thing I was telling about this earlier, I grew up in Canada, so we would always get French television stations. And Gary Carter and Andre Dawson were the players back then. So it would be, and then Gary Carter. The same thing is happening with you when I was watching your highlights, is they're speaking in Portuguese. And I'm not going to do this in a disrespectful way. Have you ever seen any of that stuff? It's so much fun because... you know, it's, it's heightened energy, Portugal, Spain area. And they're, they're just going out and then there's the, it's so much fun. Yeah. That was really fun. Do you ever get mistaken for a Dutch player? Yeah. That's a, I've got that quite a bit, especially like being from Holland, Michigan, like that threw people off so much because I'd be like, Oh, I'm from Holland. And they're like, Oh, like Netherlands. And I'm like, no, what are you talking about? It's like, no, it's a town. I promise. It's a real place. Um, so that was always funny. Uh, having that conversation with people. I was gonna say that must've been happening all the time. Yeah. Let's go into some of the really cool things about playing in Europe. Let's go to the arenas first. Okay. Uh, tell us about, they're all what? Two to 6,000 ish. Um, what's the sizes normally? Or a little smaller. In Portugal, a little bit smaller. Israel, they, they got, uh, pretty big some of the kind of top level teams there are got some money and some fans so that was but yeah I would say generally between two I think the most would probably be like eight maybe yeah but yeah in that range all right and talk about the crowds the atmosphere during game time when those local crowds come out for those games it's like oh man it's the best you know that was like one of the cool things about this past year where I was playing is that the sense of community there was very strong as well. And it was a little bit of a, I'll say a little bit of an older crowd. No offense to them, but it just is what it is. So, but they would, you know, you felt that energy still, even though despite that. So it was, it's, you know, it's just kind of nothing like that. Yeah. And I see, I saw a lot of drums. They do that all game long? Yeah, they just sit there. The same beat. It doesn't matter where you go. It's the same beat in the same gym. You could go two hours away. They're doing the same beat. Oh, it's the same beat too? Yeah. Just everybody does it. I don't know. It was one of those things that kind of... it was one of those things that kind of stuck out to you at first. Cause I, for me, it was like a little bit annoying, but then you kind of like, okay, like everybody's into it. Like, all right. Like it was all going on during free throws too. They're just doing their thing. Yeah. Yeah. Just make the free throw. Yeah. Get over it. Get over it. What's the travel situation like you guys on buses? Yeah. Usually. Yeah. Usually just like a charter bus. So my experience is, I had to fly a few times, but a few long bus rides, but nothing like we did that in college, too. You know, you got to go up. You got to play tech and northern and stuff. Double digit hour rides in the same state. Yeah, right. And tell people that like, what?

UNKNOWN: 55:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 55:20

Favorite arenas, favorite towns you've been in? Maybe that were a little quirkier, like, oh, this is really cool. I love playing here. I loved Porto. Porto was really cool. Just that city in general, not even just the arena. What was about it? What about it did you like? It just is, it has everything. It has nightlife. It has stuff to do. It has touristy areas. It has beaches. It has busy areas. It has everything. everything and I know I'm not doing it justice. My niece has traveled a lot and she says that Porto is one of the very top on the list. I actually had an opportunity to go play there but didn't end up working out but had some fellow basketball players that were like You got a chance to go there and you didn't go? What is wrong with you? Hey, man, I'm sorry. All right, all right. So that's a great place. That's really sweet. So a lot of fun things that you're doing, a lot of good work. Year three, you head to Israel, Israeli Basketball League. Can you explain to us the levels of leagues in Europe, too? Because it's not all the same, right? Yeah. There's different levels. Can you explain that? So every country has its own league. Within that league, there's probably... a few teams in each league that will all go play in a different league or competition. It's very similar to Champions League soccer. It's very similar to where there's the Euro League, they have a Europe Cup, Euro Cup, and a FIBA Champions League. All of those four are higher levels than rather just playing in said domestic country. You sound very smart, by the way, right now. Well, I've had to answer this question quite a bit. When you say in said domestic country, you're bringing it. I've had to answer this question quite a few because I had to get good because, honestly, it took me a good two years to really understand how it worked. And so I haven't had an opportunity to go play in kind of those bigger– those leagues are– better. Like they have the better teams, the teams with the higher budgets, more talent, you know, you go and you're playing more games and more travel. So naturally it makes sense that they're a little bit kind of higher paying, more talent wise. So that's kind of how it works, you know, versus the European competition versus the in-house, I guess. And you have a, you have a, that was your just most recent season. Again, your stats are, Stats are, you're so consistent. So there you average for, you play 25 games. This is on here. This, this is just something I found. You're playing close to 30 minutes a game. So 30 out of 40 ish, you know, again, almost, almost 15 points a game field goal percentage, 33% three point percentages in the high, you know, mid forties. Like, so that's a level up and you still maintain that those levels as well. Yeah. And that, that, This past year was probably, basketball-wise, one of the more difficult ones I've had. Kind of had a lot of ups and downs. Kind of, I didn't start well. I think my first game out there, I didn't score, which I had never done that before. And so, yeah, kind of went through that a little bit. Had a stretch in the season where I wasn't playing because of that import limit we were talking about earlier. So they decided to go a different direction. And so... you know you're still doing everything like you're part of the team but you know that was the first time i ever was not playing because like i was chosen not to play so that was the first time that ever really happened for me so that was kind of how'd you get through that you know i leaned on my support a lot my fiance was very very helpful in that time my family my support system was awesome and then just leaning on my faith as well that was really big for me um that I've grown into as well. Right. There's a plan for you. Right. Right. Exactly. So that's, that's the, my support system, my faith. That's pretty much how I got through that. And then just realizing like, Hey, like you're, you're here for something. Might as well make the most of it, you know? So just, you know, got back to work and ended up working out. So, you know, anybody in life is going to have that time of adversity or where your question is. you know that's an identity question too right if you're all basketball not that you're not that you shouldn't be right but you like you said you have your faith and you have your fiance you have your support circle it's all that kind of stuff where you can weather those storms exactly exactly i'm always um very appreciative of you know being able to come and give those people credit because you know i i would say for myself for sure i wouldn't be where i am with All the people in my life, really. Just being able to give them the credit they deserve and make them feel appreciated for the things they've done for me because it means a lot. What's the size of your family? Is it just your two brothers? Do you have more than that? I've got two older brothers and an older sister as well. Who's been able to see you overseas? Have friends been able to come over? Family? Who's been able to come visit you? My parents have made it every single year. So shout out. That's fun. That's nice. Yeah. My fiance, my fiance has well as well been to every place I've been. So that's been awesome. And she lives in the U S yeah. Yeah. So doing that distance is tough, but we're we're making it work. So but, and then one of my brothers came and visited my first year in Portugal as well. So, you know, and then Nolan, Nolan Ecker, He came over. He did? Yeah, he came over and a few other friends came over my second year. Nolan Eckert has a really good story too, by the way. Yeah. Because he got cut as a junior. Yeah. Played in, what's the league? The Church League. Played in the Church League. Comes back in that regional final game. Guess who's guarding Xavier Tillman? Nolan. Guess who's sitting on his hip? Nolan. And whatever the differential is in weight, and that kid did a job that night. Yeah, he did. Yeah, to this day, that's one of my closest friends. So being able to share that bond and sit there. We get to go play again today together, which is the first time we've been able to do that. So I'm looking forward to that. You're going to have a good time today. We'll get to that in just a second. But yeah, you have a nice game that you're going to do today. For sure. You just signed with Peristeri? Yep, Peristeri. Peristeri Greek League. It was just on Instagram, I think yesterday. Yep. So you're going to be in Athens, Greece. So you talk about culture and life and meeting people. You're going to be in Athens, Greece. How did that come about? I mean, because that's another step up, correct? Or similar? Or very similar? They're pretty similar. So this will be the first time I'm able to kind of play in those European competitions I was talking about earlier. So in that sense, yes, in that sense, it is a little bit of the pretzel ball. Do they have the pretzel ball? No, I don't know. Oh, you know, like this, the ball that's, uh, I think you've had it in games where it's not like the, Oh yeah. Okay. Yeah. I call it the pretzel. Gotcha. Gotcha. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Um, but so, but yeah, other than that, it's, uh, pretty similar. I would say, is it always, is it always difficult to transition? Like this is your, uh, Third different country, your fourth different team in four years. I think, Bill, you were telling earlier that that's kind of the modus operandi, isn't it? Yeah, I mean, the only reason I have any connections with European basketball is I'm a diehard University of Maryland fan, and they always have dudes that go overseas, and you just see it's very transient. You're at one team, and the next year you're at another club, probably because there are so many, and then there's a leveling up opportunity, right? Right. You going to play in Greece is going to allow you to play in those bigger competitions. That's really fun. That's exciting. I enjoy that aspect of it, even though at times it can be a little unfamiliar. It comes with the territory of you don't really know where you're going to end up. But being able to sit there and like, okay, Greece, yeah, that sounds fun. You know what, though? That's like being human. Whenever there's something new, there's always some anxiety. How is it going to be? How is it going to turn out? And guess what happens most of the time, folks? Everything's all right. Everything's going to be just fine. And you really end up enjoying yourself. Yeah, and that process definitely makes you practice that. Otherwise, you're just going to sit there and you're going to be a mess. And nobody wants to be a mess. No. No, we all have that, too, for sure. For sure. One of the things we're really proud of here at West Ottawa is the kind of diverse environment that our school produces with so many kids from so many backgrounds and cultures. Do you think that your time here at West Ottawa in kind of that environment helped you as you went overseas? I think so, for sure. Because, I mean, like you said, this is a very diverse place to be. And it kind of allowed you to see things maybe you wouldn't normally see elsewhere. In other schools, like my fiancee, I was telling her about this. I was like, oh, yeah, no, our school is very diverse. And she's like, just kind of, you know, teasing me about it. But I was like, she was like, why do you care about that? I was like, because it's cool. I can sit here and I see a lot of different things. Yeah, it's that shared humanity. Like, you know, we don't know something. You kind of maybe stay away from it or scared of it. And all of a sudden you're like, oh. You're like that too. You know what I mean? Like the humanity just comes through. So that's really cool that you're able to do that. And West Donald does a really wonderful job with that for sure. Yeah. Yeah. No doubt. And I think like credit to everybody here, they make everybody, I feel like they do a great job of, you know, trying to make sure everybody's included, you know, that was a big thing. You know, you see everybody, it's very welcoming here. I feel, you know, in my experience, I can't speak for everybody, especially for as big as we are. You know, you got 2,300 kids. Yeah. I was meeting with some friends earlier this week. They're looking at possibly relocating and, you know, their concerns are like, are our kids going to be able to find themselves and kind of find their tribe within the group? And I'm like, that's what we excel at is there's something literally for everyone here. So, yeah, no, there's a great sense of culture. And I feel like you can see that kind of every point. And whether you're looking at the athletic department, whether you're looking at the administration, you know, you kind of get that sense of like, okay, we're here to, you know, come and bring people along with us. And that's, that's, it's important. So, I mean, you see, you walk around here, you see all the things that are different. Like the stadium's awesome. The new PAC, awesome. I see the pool being built. Awesome. Like, So for me, being an athlete, you get there and you see that. It's like, man, that's really cool. Yeah, it's so cool. There's so much great stuff going around here. Bill Kennedy gets to be the AD here. It's unreal. Did you ever pinch yourself there, buddy? That's his own little playground. I do. It's nuts. And you know what's fun about Bill, too? He wants to show you that new stuff, too. Hey, come over here. I'm so excited about it. We got this. Yeah, I remember when we toured the football stadium when it opened and I was like, man. If we had had this, I probably would have played my last two years. Yeah, you would have played first two years, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I was walking with some legends. Van Tubergen and Tyler Bosma for the stadium tour. Oh, yeah. It was a good tour. Good time. As we finish this up, we're getting close to the end. What are you looking forward to in this upcoming year in Greece? What can fans of Peristeri expect from you as a player as you join their club for the upcoming season? I mean, you're going to get somebody who... in myself who is fully committed. You know, I'm going to bring my full effort, my full emotion, my full everything I have to, you know, come and try and be the best I can. So, I mean, that's what I'm... That's what I try to strive for is being the best I can. And, you know, I'm just super excited to be able to go to a new place. A place I've always wanted to go as well. Yeah, now you're going to be living there. Yeah, so it's... get to say that. You're going to be living in Athens, Greece. That's really cool. That's exciting. That's really fun. I find that fun. Does it ever hit you? We'll just kind of slow it down just for a touch here. But being a professional athlete, any kids who are listening to this, young kids or high school athletes, at some point in their life we all think maybe that's us. Right? And then At some point, no one's asking you to do this anymore. No one's asking you to be on their college team. No one's asking you to be on the high school team. And it stops. For you, I'm sure it gets normalized because you do it every day. But if you had to talk to a 10-year-old or a 12-year-old Jake Van Tuber again. So just take a minute and think of yourself at that age. Go back a little bit. What in the world would that kid think about this right now? He'd think he's living his dream. So to sit there and be able to say that. From that age, I always knew I really loved sports. And to sit here, and like you said, not everybody's in there being able to do that every day. I get to go bounce a ball around for a few hours, and that's what I get to do for my job. A 10-year-old me would think that's awesome. And to this day, I still think that. Yeah, I think 26-year-old Jake Venturion thinks it's awesome, too. I thoroughly enjoy it. There's nothing else I'd rather do. All right, well, we're going to get out of here. You play in the Tulip City tip-off. Yes, sir. Game starts at 3 p.m., so we've got a little bit of warm-up time. Yep. So we want to thank you so much for coming in. You get to see all those guys, too. Let's go through who's going to be in this game. I mean, let's keep track of some of these guys, but you want to go through some of the players who are there today? Yeah, so Corriante DeBerry jumps out. I was the athletic director at Forest Hill Central when he was at Holland, and that was great. That was a grown man. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Demetrius Lake, he's one I hear about all the time from Coach Chapman because Chap had him chucking shots like crazy in the dome. I watched him drop 50 on our floor. Clayton Dykhaus is actually our JV boys coach right now, so it'll be fun to see him out. You've got Stegenga, who was at Holland Christian, Jalen Overway, who's still playing at Calvin right now. Yeah, I believe so. And these are all the guys you're playing with today. So it's going to be pretty fun. I'm super excited for it. So shout out to Corey for kind of putting this event together. Oh, he does that. Yeah. Really? I think this is the third or fourth year. Yeah. So they've had it now. Yeah. And this is the first time I'll be able to participate. So two years ago you were in the crowd with your boot on. Yeah. Yeah. I was there in that photo. Yeah. All right. Well, we want to thank you so much for coming in. It has been like a real pleasure to sit down and talk with you. We wish you the absolute best. and your upcoming year, everything else in your life and your engagement and all those things. Thank you. Just really proud to, like for us, it's just really nice to have somebody that's been away here for a while and come on back and sit down with you. It's special. Yeah, no, it's been great being able to come here and be able to share that with you guys. So thank you for being able, for having me and allowing me to ramble on. Yeah. No, when you're in pretty good rambles, no, when you're in Greece putting up shots, you've got a big group of people back here in Holland. Yeah. Uh, cheering for you. So thanks so much for coming in. Well, thank you. I appreciate it. All right. Remember everybody, we are West Ottawa. We are community and we are each other. Sweet. Awesome.