In the United States, today is a normal working day again and perhaps my Xmas mail to my mom will finally arrive something I sent more than 2 weeks ago from Germany. Man the mail service just seems to be getting worse and worse, but that story is for another time. In Germany it´s December 26th and it´s technically still Christmas. In Germany the 26th is celebrated as the second holiday day. A day many German folk gladly take on as it´s another free day in their life as work starts on the 27th again. For a guy like Alabama native Jeremy Ingram (183-G-1991, college: AAMU) an American basketball veteran who can score as easily and on some nights in his sleep as easily as Chet Holgrem can swat away balls is a guy that has very gladly accepted the ballers life overseas. I mean he isn´t a dude that has to go home every holiday just too swoon over momma´s home cooked meals, but is a person that has grooved into the Euro life. He is playing his 8th professional season and one can say his American passport is as colorful with country stamps as some floors are these days in NBA arena´s. If you were to ask him where he has been, he would blurt out famous locations like these. “I have been to places like Berlin, Greece, Barcelona Canary Islands, Rome, Paris (4x) London, Belgium, Zurich, Switzerland, and Luxembourg”, smiled Jeremy Ingram. That is a list that most average Americans couldn´t boast to list as destinations in their life, but he is just very blessed that his phenomenal basketball skills has allowed him to ball overseas. This holiday season, he has visited a new place again, but if you compare it to other places he has been to, one could say it´s very out of the ordinary as he is in Stuttgart. Stuttgart is a city known for the production of luxury car Mercedes, has like other cities nice landmarks, the well known soccer club VFB Stuttgart and the delectable food called Maultaschen. I personally have been to this city and enjoyed it. It is in a beautiful region and the city is in a valley as the area is hilly. But sometimes you visit a place not necessarily for the sites. “I have family in Stuttgart. I would not visit if they weren’t there because I´m not a big fan of the city”, stressed Jeremy Ingram. If you study his list, there isn´t much that would have palm trees, so what about going to a warmer destination? “Well I´m really into traveling so the perfect gift for me would be paying for my trip to somewhere warm during these cold German winter months”, smiled Jeremy Ingram. Euro-trotter Jeremy Ingram needs a Christmas trip to a warm country in Europe to escape the cold of Germany?

This season has been a roller coaster for Jeremy Ingram as he wasn´t treated well in Wusterhausen and had to depart, but caught on with SG Braunschweig, but the club has been struggling at 3-7 despite him putting up staggering stats as usual. “Our biggest problem was adjusting to each other at first. We have a young talented team but we just didn’t have any chemistry. But now things has changed drastically these past 3-4 games and I think we can beat anyone in the league”, warned Jeremy Ingram. A big problem is not being able to put up enough points as they average only 68 per game while still not finding an identity on the defensive end. Depth also is a big problem as there just doesn´t seem to be 1-2 other players that can add a 20 point game to accompany Ingram´s consistent scoring output. “That was the old “us” now we can score with any team and we can stop other teams also. We are clicking now on offense and defense”, stressed Jeremy Ingram. There obviously has to be a team turnaround in the second half of the season. “We want to win every game if possible so we can climb up in the rankings and if we can´t make to #4 at least make it to like #6. I think that´s would be a successful half of the season”, stated Jeremy Ingram. As for his own game, the explosive guard is still scoring the ball like crazy even if he thinks he doesn´t need to. His stats are still potent with 24/4/2/2/2. “ I have a different role on this team that doesn´t require me to score a lot like usual. So the fact that I´m averaging this just shows how good of a scorer I am because this is probably the least shots I have taken per game in my career”, commented Jeremy Ingram. A part of his game that the Kyrie like player as really lifted is his outside shooting which at 39% which is the highest he has had in years. “I think the unlimited access to the gym and shooting machine has helped tremendously. But also the other guys on my team attack a lot so I´m able to get some good catch and shoot situations more than I ever have before. Because usually I was the 1 creating most of the game and now I´m playing off the ball the whole game”, added Jeremy Ingram. He also knows that his game hasn´t reached it´s fullest potential yet this season and has taken it easy the last week. “I have played pickup basketball a couple times just to stay in some kind of shape but nothing serious. My body needs as much as rest as possible the older I get. I just want my team to have a great run this half of the season. I had a solid half of the season but I´m going to turn it up a little more and finish the season with a bang”, warned Jeremy Ingram.

Basketball is a massive part of Jeremy Ingram´s life, but how does he feel about the Christmas season in general? “Christmas to me is all about making my kids happy. I actually ask for people not to spend money on me because I´m older now and my joy comes from my kids being happy”, said Jeremy Ingram. His goal is to get as high up the basketball ladder overseas and is aware that goal also results in taking sacrifices like staying overseas during X-mas. “It gets hard sometimes, especially when you have no family in these different cities so sometimes I feel alone. Actually a lot of times I feel alone but I´m getting used to it and I know it´s all for a bigger purpose at the end of the day. So I get through it”, stressed Jeremy Ingram. He does take time to reflect on his childhood and how Christmas was celebrated at home. “My family always had a tradition that every Christmas eve me and my cousins all open 1 of our presents together. We kept this tradition our whole life and I also let my kids open 1 gift on Christmas eve. My favorite gift was my first basketball goal. I was the only kid in the neighborhood with one so everyone in the neighborhood would come hoop in my yard everyday after school. We would always let the rim down so we could be out there dunking on each other. Those were the good ole days”, remembered Jeremy Ingram. Despite having been in Germany the last years, he never really has experienced how Germans celebrate Christmas and has just one focus during this festive time. “I actually never celebrate around Germans so I guess I haven’t fully experienced a German Christmas. Well being a basketball player the thing I enjoy most is getting to be around family for a few days and getting to give my body a well deserved rest for a few weeks”, stated Jeremy Ingram. With Christmas almost around the corner, does he share a new year resolution? “I never do resolutions. As long as me and my family are healthy and doing fine and I´m playing the game I love then I´m satisfied”, warned Jeremy Ingram. Jeremy Ingram is a player like so many overseas that have been off the radar for many and playing in lower leagues and never losing that heavy chip on his shoulder. I have been pleading for years for this guy to get a shot in a higher league because he deserves it. If he played in the Pro A, he could easily afford a trip to Tenerife. I won´t stop giving Jeremy Ingram the needed love and press until he finally gets a shot in a higher league. Merry X-mas and happy holidays Jeremy Ingram.