The great B-ball challenge!!!

On Saturday February 7, Cristi arranged for all of us to tour the Zion Bank Basketball Center (ZBBC). We all met outside at 10:00AM, and it was pretty obvious that we were all excited it was the first time we were all early to anything! During the private tour we were shown the board room where they hold the NBA draft, the theater (which Jordan claims houses the BIGGEST TV ever), players lounge, coaches offices, and the conference room.

Somewhere in the mix we had the opportunity to hear from Jefferson Sweeney, the team video coordinator, who explained all the work that goes into getting ready for upcoming games and documenting college players as they prepare to enter the NBA draft. As we headed down to the locker room we hit an unexpected, but what turned out to be a rather welcome surprise. The team physical therapist was awaiting the arrival of Andrei Kirilenko!!! Fortunately we were ahead of his schedule- so we we were able to talk to the team therapist for a few minutes before Kirilenko arrived. During our chat we saw a 7ft deep hot tub! Since Kirilenko was on his way we moved into the Jazz locker room. Its not until you spend time in a room built for men of extraordinary size, that you really grasp how tall they truly are..... The showers and doors are all 12 feet high! Player had left shoes and various personal items in their locker so we were able to compare our "average" bodies to theirs. I have never seen shoes that big in my life!!!

After the locker room we moved on to the court. For most of us this was the first time we had been on an NBA court and it was an experience unlike any other. We shot hoops, played games, helped the little ones make baskets, and somewhere in there Andrei Kirilenko joined us on the court. He didn't play since he was there for treatments for his ankle, but he did wave and say hello. After we played basketball for awhile the last room we visited was the press room- which was a great picture opportunity. It was fun family activity for us and we are grateful for Cristi taking the time to set up the outing. I'm sure this was something we wont forget for a long time to come.