When you have been around ballers for 20 + years, it sometimes becomes difficult to pinpoint how one came about having that first contact with someone. I can remember meeting Pascal Roller after a Skyliners practice in the fall of 2004 for the first time or meeting Tyrone Ellis for the first time after he helped Frankfurt win the BBL league title in 2004. The funny thing was, I had been doing telephone interviews with Ellis on a regular basis during the playoff run for American Forces network, but didn´t actually meet him until after they won the title. But there are many other players that I had dealings with more than 15 years ago where I had problems remembering how we ever came into contact. One of those guys is Sean McCaw (205-F-1973, college: SUU) who celebrated an illustrious 13 year pro career. I interviewed him after the first game of the 2007-2008 season as he was in Frankfurt for a game with Jena. He had helped them move up to the second Bundesliga the season before and had just suffered a tough 68-64 loss on the road and steered 8 points and 4 boards in the loss. I could of interviewed any player from Jena especially ex NCAA champion with Florida Adrian Moss who had had a monster game with 16 points and 16 rebounds. But I chose Mccaw. There was a reason why I chose him. We had had contact months before, and now looking back, almost 17 years ago, I couldn´t remember how we had met. He had sent me a manuscript of his new book Same Name Different Game and gave it to me after our interview. I had to ask him if he remembered how we got in contact back in the day. He told me that Ty had introduced us. At first I thought he meant Tyrone Ellis, but I quickly told him that can´t be. He wasn´t totally sure either, but he remembered having come to a Frankfurt game some time before that and had been introduced to me from his ex teammate and friend Tyrone Mccoy. I wasn´t totally sure, but after thinking about it for some time, I believe he was correct. I saw him play again in the return game in Jena that season, but after that our paths didn´t cross again for a while. Some time in between, I remember seeing him at a game in Braunschweig and then in 2022, we were reunited again as he invited me to his Eurostep Podcast. The ex baller is 50 years old now and has experienced so much in his basketball lifetime that has spanned more than 30 years. That vision of having to guide young ballers coming overseas almost 20 years ago has stayed with him to this day. Since he retired more than 14 years ago, he has been giving back coaching young kids and mentoring ballers and advising them what it takes to be a pro overseas. He is a former baller who is the ultimate definition of passion for the game as it has helped him give guidance to ballers overseas.

The New York native who lists Mike Coffin, Tyron McCoy, Elvir Ovcina, Hannes Lutz, and Damon Stoudamire as his 5 best teammates of all-time decided to come overseas after his NCAA career ended. It is common then and now that Americans will come overseas and country hop and go there where the best contracts are. But he actually played his first 5 seasons in Austria for 3 teams including Kafpenberg for 3 years. “At the time I really thought I would play in Austria my whole career. That’s how much I liked it there. My earning potential was the reason I ended up leaving after I got the Austrian citizenship but I still love that country”, said Sean McCaw. But how did he get his first jobs almost 20 years ago. The times were different as the agent shark tank wasn´t as crowded as today. “You are absolutely right. Fewer agents and different times. I was fortunate enough to have 7 agents trying to get me to sign with them. My coach cut the list down to 3 so that I could concentrate on my season and directly after they all flew in to meet me. I made the best decision that I could possibly make and my agent proved to be worth his weight in gold. These days the market is overflooded with not only agents, but also players. Back in ´95, playing overseas was not the dream for players after college as it is now. Now it is a viable dream. Back then, it was either NBA or bust. The amount of players allowed was limited because of foreigner rules which saw only 2 per team. I believe for this reason, the quality of foreign players were better back then. Now it is quantity over quality for both agents and players unfortunately”, warned Sean McCaw. In his last season in Austria, he won the league title with Arkadia Traiskirchen. But he was also the leagues best slam dunker from 1998-2000, but don´t ask him to unravel the highlight tape. “Oh thank goodness there is no video of that! I was a pretty athletic player back in the day, but what these guys are able to do these days is incredible. If there was video of those contests I won, my youth players would laugh at me”, laughed Sean McCaw. Another highlight in Austria was gaining the Austrian citizenship and then suiting up for the national team. “The thing I remember most about playing with the national team was getting to know the players on another level after competing with them. I wouldn’t even dare to say I was the best player on the team. Stjepan Stazic was drafted by the Orlando Magic if I am not mistaken a few years after that, and there were some other good Austrian players at that time. I was just happy to be on the team, to fit in, and get exposure”, remembered Sean McCaw.

The athletic player who lists his toughest opponent ever overseas as Bamberg heavy weight Jason Sasser ( It was not even a contest, I had zero chance against him in our matchups) then found new challenges in Portugal and France where he continued to show his scoring consistency averaging double figures in both places. “France was the most athletic and physically demanding league I ever played in. It is also the only place I got fired from haha. Because I got fired, I ended up in Portugal and there my biggest memory is having like 38 and making a buzzer beater to beat a strong Valladolid (Spanish) team in the European Cup”, remembered Sean McCaw. He finally got his first job in Germany in the 2002-2003 season with the EWE Baskets Oldenburg averaging 8,6ppg and 4,0rpg. He beat top team Alba Berlin 79-76 and was teammates with walking bucket Tyron “the cat” Mccoy. “You know what Miles, I did not even know that we beat Alba. For me the name of who we played was never important. Just the win or loss is what mattered. I am sure I had a beer or two after that one which is why I probably don’t remember. Ty and I go even further back. He and I played against each other my rookie season in Austria. We have been opponents, teammates, and opponents again during our career but friends since that season in Austria. Ty has one of the best basketball minds I have ever been around both as a player and as a coach and I look forward to when he gets another chance to prove that as a head coach in the BBL”, expressed Sean McCaw. After a season with the Leicester City Riders (United Kingdom-BBL) where he averaged 16.6ppg, 8.4rpg, 3.3apg, he then played with the Geneve Devils (Switzerland-LNA) from 2004-2006. I mean what more could a baller wish for then to live 2 years in one of the most beautiful places in Europe on Lake Geneva and have the Swiss alps in your view? “I had two great seasons there. I met people that are still in my life today so for that reason alone it was fantastic”, said Sean McCaw. He then returned back to Germany and played 2 seasons in Jena where he helped the team move up to the BBL in 2007 under the guidance of talented head coach Bjoern Harmsen and in his second season made the ¾ full court shot that can still be relived on you tube. “I only watch that shot against Bremerhaven when someone shows it to me. I only remember that we lost in double overtime. That is all that matters. Bjorn formed us to have a chip on our shoulders. At that time he was the youngest head coach in the league and we were underdogs, so we used that to our advantage. I was at the end of my career and brought experience and court savvy. Our other American Al Elliot was our emotional leader and point guard. We had really great Germans on that team as well. It was a perfect mix at the perfect time especially since no one believed in us”, stressed Sean McCaw. In those 2 years, he had so many great German teammates like Alexander Seggelkie, Lars Buss and Gregor Linke. Was there a player that had a big impact on him? “Alex Seggelke was probably the one player that I believe could still be a great player even today. He was hugely underrated”, commented Sean McCaw.

The explosive leaper who names Michael Jordan as his GOAT retired in 2008. In the next years he worked in the BBC Bayreuth organization with youth players and even had a come back as player for their Regionalliga 2 team. “I played a guest role at Bayreuth. I was already retired for a few years and was the head of the youth program there. I only played a few games to help out to make sure they stayed in the league. I was horrible but we stayed in the league”, said Sean McCaw. His basketball journey then continued on to Braunschweig where he was coaching in the youth ranks. This was another important step in his life after playing. “Youth basketball is not just about turning out pros. Basketball helps create leaders in other fields. A youth player that “only” plays Regionalliga is for me still a success because he is still doing what he loves to do and may not even get paid for it. If one of my players becomes a referee, I am just as proud as if he makes it to the Bundesliga as a player. The way to success should be judged differently in my opinion”, stressed Seam Mccaw. In 2013, he got a new job as professional educator at the International school Braunscwheig-Wolfsburg and even coaching is back in his life again. “I am coaching again but I decided to stop coaching 9 years ago to have more of a stable life for my family. I never lost the passion for the game, I was tired of the business of coaching and moving around so much. When I got the offer at my school, I took it and did not look back. It took me some years to get back into basketball again, but in the end, hoops is like a virus that never goes away. I was asked to help out last year and ended up now doing two youth teams. You give a finger to the game, and it takes your whole hand”, said Sean McCaw. But he does so much more than just giving young kids guidance in Braunschweig. It is amazing how time flies and that I got a rough copy of his book Same Name Different Game 17 years ago. “You got the OG copy back when I was printing it out and basically giving it away for free in case the information could help someone. We go way back Miles. I of course updated it since back then but now it has been released since 2021 and now I would write it differently because I have learned so much from advising players, and the demands of the overseas game changes at a rapid pace”, stated Sean McCaw. Young and naïve Americans coming from a Juco school and Dreaming of playing overseas can´t get enough awareness of how the real world is because there are way too many agent scammers out there. “You know, that is one of the biggest things that has changed since I played. The rise of the scammers. And let´s make a difference between agents and scammers. There are plenty really good agents out there and there are also plenty of scammers who take advantage of players. This is the reason I wrote my ebook, “Swish or Swindle” which can be found on Amazon. Many players just do not have access to information, even in this information age, and will fall for someone promising them jobs which are so far-fetched and have so many red flags, that once they take a step back, they see how incredulous these scammers really are. Without someone to guide them, however, they become easy victims”, warned Sean McCaw. If you haven´t read his book or have and still need some personal 1-1, you can get that through his mentoring service. Does any of his JUCO experience help him relate to what guys are going through looking for the dream overseas? “I think it goes back to my whole college experience first of all, and then also being a player for 13 seasons overseas, I understand what it takes. Plus, I coached for 9 years so I also know and understand the OTHER side of the business of overseas basketball as well. There are not too many people who have my pedigree that are willing to share information and advise players on the steps needed to be taken to have a successful career overseas”, added Sean McCaw.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber interviewing Sean Mccaw after a game in Frankfurt in 2007

Sean McCaw is simply a basketball workaholic. Another great thing he does is give people that are connected to the basketball world a platform to tell their story with the Eurostep. I´m very grateful that I also was a guest on his podcast. “I actually discontinued the Eurostep because it took too much time. I have since downsized and reintroduced a new one called “Let´s Talk” which has the same premise of the Eurostep but I do it less frequently and its shorter. Yes, I am pretty busy and a workaholic, but everything I do, I do it for the joy it brings me so it is not WORK. I love my job at the school and have found being a mentor and advisor to hoopers very satisfying as well. I wish I could do more of that actually. I almost forgot that I have gotten back into the coaching game as well. I assist a JBBL team in Braunschweig, and also am head coach of the U16-1 from the partner club SG Braunschweig”, said Sean McCaw. I love interviewing professional players and it isn´t any different with him learning new things about people. “The coolest thing about doing the Eurostep and now “Let´s Talk” is being able to connect with people I would not have ordinarily run into and them sharing their stories in able to hopefully help other hoopers. That will always be the main purpose of everything I do when it comes to what I do with basketball these days”, said Sean McCaw. He has done so many episodes in the last 2 years and learned so many fascinating stories and some are really special. “My second client proved to me that anything is possible and that I was on the right track with what I am doing by consulting and mentoring players. She was 36, had never played overseas because she had become a doctor, but she had never given up the thought of playing overseas. I wish I could say I helped her, but actually the amount of work she put in, and even taking a sabbatical from her job for one year to fully pursue her dream, was amazing. I just gave her guidance. She ended up getting a job in the 3rd Portuguese league halfway through, and then played the following season in the 2nd Portuguese league before she had to go back to her job. That showed me the dedication it is needed to pursue what you want”, expressed Sean McCaw. It is also difficult to believe that he was a rookie overseas almost 30 years ago. What does he miss most about playing and how would he do in today´s game? “I think I speak for most Oldheads and say that I miss the camaraderie of a team. I miss locker room talks, and even long bus rides. Just hanging out and being part of a team with all its ups and downs is what I miss. What I miss the most however, is gamedays. I lived for gamedays. The excitement and lead up to games was special for me. A lot has changed since I retired but I have always said that the overseas game is not just about basketball and I think two reasons helped me to last so long overseas. The first is that I could play more than one position. I was a Swiss Army knife. Whatever you needed, is what I could do. The other reason is that I was very good with off the court situations. I was great with sponsors, I never got into trouble, I was good with younger players and overall just professional. I think I still would have fared well now”, stressed Seam Mccaw. It has been a while since he played his last game, but he knows exactly how he wants fans to remember him as a player. “I would hope that people remember that I had a passion for the game. I also loved the connection to the fans. I think that is enough for me that people remember”, said Sean McCaw. After playing so many years in the pro ranks and seeing so much, he must have a special story about a basketball legend? “Just from that season at Arizona I think there were 5 or 6 players that played in the NBA. I was fortunate to play against Shaq on national TV although I got in after he fouled out. And the funny thing I, that game was what put me on my downward spiral at Arizona. I will never forget that. But there were many players who I was lucky enough to play against in my career that played in the NBA”, stated Sean McCaw. But all in all, I believe that if you ask Sean McCaw to tell the best stories, then it is those about those American ballers that have come overseas and not only survived but done well with his help just like he did back in the day. For a guy that has the ultimate basketball passion and wanting to see ballers do well, there is nothing better for him than to see that happen.