It's been a month since I arrived here in Israel and its been ups and downs, but I have to admit its been a great experience for me so far. We have played 5 games, we are (3-2) since I have arrived (1-2) in the Euroleague and (2-0) in the Israel league. The most minutes I have played was my first Euroleague game against ALBA Berlin (21 minutes).

Other than that I haven't played that much due to the great play of Carlos Arroyo and other factors. I can't lie I love playing basketball and hate watching from the bench, but I am learning to play under any circumstances. I love my teammates and the fans we have here in Israel I mean they love Maccabi. The organization has done a great job in providing me with everything I need and I love how I 'm living, my car, and the treatment while working.

I'm using this months over here to get better and gain more professional experience. People always wonder how it is over here i simply say its competitive, very different style of play, and very physical. As far as the city, Tel Aviv is very beautiful, the food is great, the weather is nice, everyone speaks english, and I'm on the best team. I'm adjusting very well because I have two brothers who moved to Israel 10 years ago and they speak Hebrew and know all the great spots to go to. Also my best friend Will Bynum (Detroit Pistons) played here for 2 years so he updated me on everything.

I really don't do much during the day, but watch movies, write music, eat, and sleep. It took me like a week to get use to the time difference, but after that I was fine. The only thing about the time difference is when I want to call home its night over here and I'm talking to people and they say why do you sound so down, I'm like its night time I'm about to go to sleep I have practice tomorrow while you are up traveling around wide awake.

My mind is wondering right now I know I'm just talking about a lot of different stuff, but I have a lot of different things on my mind at the time. When you not playing that much you have so much to think about and with me I don't think I can get use to that feeling. But I have great people in my corner who continues to tell me don't stop being Dee Brown...And that right there really hit me because I have realized sometimes I have been this different person, not myself which causes me to fall off just a little bit and I can't allow that to happen. I have many methods to make sure I stay on top of my game and make sure I'm always ME.

In this business you have to stay confident in yourself and what you bring to the table. I realize that and will continue to work and work more because I'm still young and I want to play this game for a long time. I know I'm capable of making a team better and I love the game of basketball too much. God has blessed me with so many opportunities and I promise d myself, my family, and now I'm promising my fans that I will always be ME, always love and respect this beautiful game we call basketball. This has been a great experience for me and I am blessed to be here and playing the game I love. I will continue to work hard and make sure this is what I'm doing for the next 15 years God willing. Its been ups and downs over here so far, but things will look up and get better they always do. I'm still positive and happy even though things get tough that only means I have to get tougher things could be a lot worse. Thanks for the love and support from my fans its been really busy with so many games, but as promised I will keep everyone updated much love from your boy GO ILLINI!!

Quote of the day: "LIfe is a daring adventure or nothing at all"

Dee Brown "Illini Prince"
One Man Fastbreak