Check out the Dan's interview about life and basketball overseas in the latest Marquette Magazine!
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My teammate Hikaru and I did another television appearance, this time on a morning show in Sendai called TBC TV. We spent a day on Joji Mountain, a famous tourist attraction in Sendai. There is a big Japanese Buddhist temple called Johgi Nyorai Saihoji Temple on the mountain and host showed us some Japanese customs when visiting a temple. We stopped by two restaurants, where we tried the towns famous fried tofu as well as some sweet beans on a stick. I can't say they were too delicious to me, but it was fun to try some new things. We also did some shopping down main street, and then had an interview talking about my teammates and the whole Sendai 89ers organization. After the show taping concluded, we had a late lunch with the crew of the show, it was fun to talk with everyone involved. I've been in front of the camera a bunch at Marquette but this was a lot of fun and certainly a new experience that I will remember forever! Check out the video from the show below as well as some pictures my wife took throughout the taping. Check out the video!
Proud of my hubby! He was listed in the top ten former EuroBasket Summer League performers!
Click on the image below to read the full article. This is a little past due but Dan and his teammate Take Shimura received, The Japan Times' Offensive Players of the Month for February. Woohoo! Click on the image below to read the full article.
Last week, a few Japanese teammates and I had an event at a temporary housing complex in Sendai where people who lost their homes in the earthquake and tsunami live. It was a very eye-opening experience and I was happy to be involved. It basically looked like a trailer park with rows of small homes set up. We came to meet the people, sign autographs, take pictures, and give the families winter mittens. The 89ers cheerleaders also came to lead the people in stretching, because I was told that it is good for the older citizens to stay active. There were a bunch of media there to cover the event, and we presented the residents with some autographed memorabilia. I was pleased to see that everyone was very happy and upbeat. I admired their strength to continue on with their life and be positive. These people have lost everything, some of them even lost family members. But, they were all smiling, laughing, and so appreciative of us.
My teammate Hikaru and I went on NHK Sendai, Japan News for a live interview during the sports segment. It was a lot of fun and will be a great memory for me. It was interesting to see a Japanese TV show production from both in front of and behind the camera. Below is the link to the segment. It's obviously all in Japanese, so our translator was to my left translating everything for me. They spoke a little bit about both of us as players, and then a little bit about our personalities. They asked us to describe each other in one word and tell us why. Hikaru chose to describe me as a "gentleman." He was pretty complimentary of me, being the nice guy that he is! My word for Hik was "positive," explaining to them that he never has a bad day, as a player or as a person. He is always productive every practice trying to be the best player that he can be. I admire that about him, and he is the best kind of teammate I could ask for. They also asked him if I had any flaws...Hik responded saying that my "high five" is too hard! So, we had to demonstrate it for them. I told him I get a little intense right before and during games, sorry Hik! My motto for the rest of the season is to "Stick Together," making sure we can make a strong push for the playoffs. |