Basketball without Borders

For May 2015 Cal Lutheran graduate Joshua Malone from Chandler, AZ, life after college quickly became a full-court press. Within a month of Commencement, he was on his way to Gran Canaria, Spain, to volunteer as a coach in Basketball Without Borders, an annual 10-day camp that brings together the top high school players in Europe with top NBA players and former players—names such as Ricky Rubio, Gerald Henderson and Cody Zeller. For its lucky young participants, it’s an opportunity to develop their skills and be noticed by NBA scouts and general managers.

Because American-style high school athletics do not exist in Europe, Joshua’s teen charges were a mixture of amateurs and professionals who currently play for basketball clubs. “They can be professionals in their teens, or they can opt not to be paid so they can retain their amateur status and possibly come to the U.S. later and play college basketball,” Joshua explained.

For Joshua, the coaching experience in Spain was very similar to his Cal Lutheran experience. “Basketball is pretty universal…basketball is basketball,” he said. At Cal Lutheran he played on the JV team his first year, took a break from basketball his sophomore year, and then spent his final two years acting as Coach Rider’s subordinate, helping out wherever he was needed.

“For me, Cal Lutheran was my number one choice, my dream school. Not many kids get to say they went to their dream school….I enjoyed every moment there, and I miss it already,” he reflected.

Now home and volunteering with his father’s basketball camps and leagues, he had been planning to job hunt over the summer. But he has just accepted a position as assistant coach and recruitment coordinator back at the Canarias Basketball Academy (CBA) in Spain, where he will serve as a liaison between the CBA and NCAA schools seeking players from the academy.

The coming year promises to be an exciting one for Josh. For even from his Cal Lutheran days, his path has always been clear—coaching and serving will be his life!