Last weekend I went to scout my first basketball game since relocating to Spain. To be totally honest, I hope I am not met with the same set of challenges on my next trip across the largest country in Southern Europe. I attended the Barcelona vs CSKA Moscow game earlier in the week, but outside of New York Knicks draft and stash playmaker, Rokas Jokubaitis, there was not much to scout from an NBA draft perspective. 

 

Barça’s Michael Caicedo is a potential NBA prospect, but he was a DNP-CD, and I didn’t arrive to the game early enough to watch individual workouts. Also, I’m not even sure Barça has NBA style intense pre game workouts for young players not in the 8 man rotation. 

 

Even though Caicedo and Agustin Ubal have been promoted from the B team to the senior team, I was excited to check out some of the other prospects in Barcelona’s youth program. I’ve been tracking Gael Bonilla and James Nnaji for the past 18 months, so this was my first opportunity to see them play live.

​

I was looking forward to a good game as first place Barça faced off against 2nd place Girona who came into the match with a 6-1 record. Since I don’t know much about Spain’s EBA league, which is basically the 4th division, I had no idea what to expect from a competition standpoint. 

 

I knew I wanted to see Gael Bonilla, a 6’8" versatile wing from Mexico, and James Nnaji who despite being only 17 years old has the body of an NFL linebacker. Nnaji looks like he's dedicated years of his life working in the weight room. The first thing you notice is this massive 6'10" hulking with wide shoulders and defined muscles bulging out of his arms. I've joking called Nnaji the EBA version of Memphis freshman Jalen Duren, as both are teenage physical specimens that do all their dirty work under the basket. 

 

Unfortunately my path to Girona was far from pleasant. I thought I had figured out the Barcelona metro system in my short time here, but boy was I wrong. 

 

I still don’t know where I messed up at, but I messed up. Big time. I was on a train that runs parallel to the train I was supposed to be on. Eventually the two trains were going to intersect, but the train I was on stopped every 5 minutes while the train I was supposed to take was more of a regional train that only stopped through smaller towns. 

 

So I had a tough decision to make. Should I stay on the local train and eventually get to Girona but possibly miss the game? Or should I get off and take a taxi for the remaining 56 miles? 

 

I chose to get off and  try my luck with a taxi. I found myself walking along this coastal town looking for a taxi for around 5 minutes. Taxis are everywhere in Barcelona, but nowhere to be found at this particular moment. After realizing I was not going to find a taxi, I asked a young lady if she could help me find a taxi to take me to Girona. She mentioned there were not any taxi's in the area and I would need to call and schedule a ride. Thankfully she was nice enough to call a taxi service and give the driver my location. 

 

15 minutes later I was in a taxi for a 1 hour ride. The problem is the game started in 47 minutes and I like to get there 30 minutes early to watch warmups. 

 

I sat in the taxi and watched the numbers on the meter increase every 30 seconds until we finally got to Girona. 

 

The price was 151 Euros which equals to around $178. For some odd reason I was not even upset.

 

I know I probably should’ve turned around and went back to my hotel, but Director of Scouting for Barcelona put me on the ticket list and the team manager from Girona gave me the green light to film and take pictures. I didn’t want to be a no show, even though I believe they would’ve understood my situation.

 

My taxi driver dropped me off in an alley that was a mixed with apartments above businesses. I was concerned I was in the wrong spot until I heard shoes squeaking, loud chanting and the crowd noise I’m used to hearing from basketball fans in Europe. It sounded like a competitive game or at least a rivalry game from where I was walking, so I knew the gym was close. 

 

When I walked in the gym it was standing room only with at least 30% of the crowd on its feet.  The gym was old and with a bright blue floor, similar to something you would see at a rec center in the states.

 

The game was pretty intense despite Girona being outmatched and outclassed. I don't know the size or the population of Girona, but I could tell the locals support their team.

 

Here are some scouting notes from the game