LostLettermen.com

Michigan State’s Adam Ballinger talks about what it’s like living in Australia, playing with other former Big Ten stars and how passionate Australian sports fans are (run time is 7:44; transcript below the jump).

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Lost Lettermen: This is Jim Weber from LostLettermen.com and I’m joined by Michigan State’s Adam Ballinger.

Adam, I appreciate you joining us all the way from the land down under in Australia. You’ve been there for seven years now. What’s it been like for you living in Australia?

Adam Ballinger: It’s been very well. I first came here from Michigan State and have been here for this long. My first year here I played in Melbourne. This is a beautiful place to play.

And now we have two kids and I’m an Australian citizen. And yeah, Australia has been really good to me.

LL: What’s required in becoming an Australian citizen and why did you decide to do that?

AB: There’s different ways of going about it. I think minimum you have to be here for five years before you can start the process. But having an Australian wife and two kids, they’re both citizens, this has helped with the process.

And that’s why I also wanted to become a citizen. It’s where my family is. Both my children were born here and it also helps I’m no longer an import; import status. So it’ll lengthen my career, too.

LL: I know a lot of people come back to the United States in the off season when they play overseas. D you stay in Australia year round now?

AB: I’m pretty much here year round, yeah. I try to come back once a year. Although the more the family grows, the harder it is to do. It’s such a long trip. I missed last year. I haven’t been back in a couple of years.

And that’s the tough part, being so far away. But other than that everything is great. I’m very happy here.

LL: Could you talk about your quest to make the 2012 Olympic team?

AB: Yeah, well becoming a citizen kind of opens up that opportunity, too. To play for the Australian National Team.

It’ll be a tough thing to do. They have a lot of good players here and they have good ones in the NBA now and overseas in Europe. But it’s a possibility. Hopefully I’ll get involved in the camps and make the team through that.

If it happens, it’ll be great.

LL: Are there any mixed emotions about playing for Australia when you’re an American born player or have you just forgotten about that at this point?

AB: Yeah, I haven’t forgotten about that but not really. I think it would’ve been if it had happened in the first year or two I was here but I’ve really gotten used to being in Australia and gotten used to having duel citizenship and I also don’t think America is going to be calling any time soon for the Dream Team.

So I think I’ll take my chances with Australia.

LL: What’s it like to have beautiful weather in February and the toilet flushing backwards and all the things that go on down there in Australia?

AB: (laughs) It is nice. The weather, like you said all year round it’s nice. It does get really hot in the summer but other than that … I kind of miss the snow. Being at Michigan State and growing up in Indiana, you get the seasons and I kind of actually miss that a little bit.

But yeah, you hear a lot of things. I didn’t know a whole lot about Australia except for the Crocodile Dundee stuff before I came over. But it’s a great place to live. It’s very Americanized. But it’s got its own culture, too.

It’s just an easy transition.

LL: You mention Crocodile Dundee. How many Australia jokes do you get about Fosters or “G-day mate,” “Auzzie, Auzzie, Auzzie,” all that stuff?

AB: Yeah well the jokes here are more about Americans then of jokes on themselves. But yeah, no one really drinks Fosters; you don’t see that much.

It’s not like anything you see in the movies. There’s no crocodiles and no kangaroos jumping across the street here. You have to go pretty far away to see that.

LL: I know a lot of players we talk to are in Europe and it makes it so hard for them to watch their former teams. Is the time difference so great for you that it actually works out well that you can watch Michigan State?

AB: Sometimes. We’re actually a whole day, half day ahead. So it’s Thursday here but it’s Wednesday back there so it’s still pretty difficult because you never know exactly what … it’s hard to keep track.

LL: Do they show a lot of Michigan State games on television over there?

AB: Yeah, I think they have a couple college games a week. They have ESPN here but it’s not the same one you get in the states. But there’s a couple college games a week.

I’d say there’s probably … Michigan State is probably on four-five times a year here.

LL: How often have you gotten to see them or was the last time the national championship game?

AB: Well I don’t get to see them that often, I’d say maybe twice a year. I try to catch Sportcenter and see them on there.

I did watch the whole Tournament last year so that was wonderful; I was actually in New Zealand and I was just like … it was awesome to be able to see. And my parents were at the game.

So yeah, it was really neat. So as long as they’re ranked the top 10 in the country, they’re on a lot more.

LL: People don’t seem to realize how many Americans are playing overseas. I mean guys from the Big Ten. A guy that isn’t American but is over there is Kirk Penney. Also Dusty Rychart and Rick Rickert.

Does it kind of blow your mind that you’re still playing against these guys?

AB: Yeah, well, especially a guy like Dusty. He’s a great story. He went to Minnesota and was a walk on and ended up being one of the best players.

Now he’s over here and he’s an Australian citizen too now and he’s just kind of found his niche and he’s made a career out of playing here in Australia. We went through college and everything together.

To still be playing against guys like that is enjoyable. You get to see them on the road and stuff like that. And you kind of feel a bit of camaraderie there.

LL: Are you closer friends with those guys because of the shared past you have or is it just another player?

AB: No I think there’s kind of a connection there and I know with Kirk, we had some great battles with him at Wisconsin. I remember him hitting big shots against us.

Yeah, I think there’s a shared respect there, especially before games, when you’re talking before games and it’s just … you kind of know where each guys is coming from and it just makes it that much more enjoyable.

LL: One last thing I wanted to ask you. Could you compare the passion of the NBL and college basketball? The most recent video I think most people have seen is Julius Hodge stomping on the court in Australia and almost inciting a riot.

It seemed pretty passionate down there.

AB: It is, especially in Australia. And he was stomping on the court, he was stomping on the … one of the guys that I played with had just retired the year before and had his jersey retired and he had been here for 16 years and he had signed the court, so the court was named after him.

(Hodge) was actually stomping on his signature and, yeah, like you said, the fans were just going nuts and they had to have security escort him out. Even escort him out of the parking lot. I mean it was really bad.

But yeah, they’re very passionate about sports in Australia. They’re huge on sports. I think the population is like 22 million but it’s like everyone knows what’s going on sports wise with Australian Rules Football and the rugby and the cricket.

Yeah, they’re passionate and it’s safe to say he’s not welcomed back here.

Got a question or comment? E-mail him here

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