Name Surname: Brad Kanis

Height: 7’1” 216cm

Weight: 250 lbs – 120 kgs

Born: December 25^th 1983

Country: USA

Current profession: CEO of Europrobasket International Academy

Previous Teams:

• Southern Utah University NCAA DI
• Grand Canyon University NCAA DII
• Houston Rockets Summer League
• Welcome Uruguay
• Trouville Uruguay
• Capitol Uruguay
• Qatar Qatar
• Al Jalaa Syria
• Yulon Luxgen Taiwan
• Tochigi Japan
• KB Besa Kosovo
• CRA Al Hoceima Morocco
• CB Vic Spain
• CB Quart Spain

How you got into sports? When you started?

I started playing sports when I was very young, around the age of 5. My parents got me started playing basketball, baseball and soccer which I played every year throughout my childhood. My father was a collegiate basketball player and loved baseball so he is the one who motivated me to get started.

Who was your idol when you started?

I would have to say my father as he was my role model and the one who would work with me to improve. I would go to his amateur games and dream of playing like him. My favorite player growing up was MJ though.

Are there any special abilities which player needs in your sport? What would you refer to players so they could be successful?

I would say one of the most important things to posses to be an elite athlete is mental toughness. That means the ability to overcome difficult situations while performing well. The ability to push yourself to work harder than others. The desire to want to be better than everyone else. The confidence in yourself through good and poor performances. Physical and athletic ability are also necessary obviously but if you have all 3, you have an elite player.

What was a best moment in your sports life?

My wife was in labor with my daughter for two days in Montevideo, Uruguay during one my seasons. After a very long and stressful labor, she gave birth to my daughter Brianna. I didn’t sleep for 26 hours. I was standing for many of those hours. I held my daughter for about 10 mins after her birth and then jumped in a taxi and headed to my game that evening. I needed to play in this game as it was the last chance and deciding factor for my team to make it to playoffs. I arrived just in time to get suited up and warm up with my team. I had no legs and was exhausted due to lack of sleep. I was so motivated and excited due to the birth of my beautiful healthy baby girl that I had one of the best games of my career. We won the game on one of my shots and free throws, which sent my team to the playoffs. My game performance and daughters name were broadcast throughout Uruguay. That was definitely the highlight of my career.

What was your first experience abroad? What did you take from it or what it took from you when you were abroad?  What was the best you can remember from it? Can you name one bad and one good experience?

My first experience was in Club Athletico Welcome, which plays in the LUB, Uruguay’s 1^st division. I had a great experience as I was very open minded about everything. My club did their best to take care of me and make sure I was well sought after during my time there. The league was very physical and there was a lot of difficult moments. The seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere, so we played during summer. The heat and humidity made it very difficult to play. The courts were sometimes very hard and sometimes extremely slippery due to the humidity. You had to play, and perform, nevertheless. My team relied on me heavily to lead them to victory every night. We played games two to three times a week so your body would be very beat up and tired. I loved the experience and learned a lot from it.

You are running now basketball academy and helping players to grow and find them best possible places where they can continue their career. What criteria a player has to meet in order to be part of your academy? Where they can find you, where your academy is located?

I own and run Europrobasket International Academy which is located in Valencia, Spain in the facilities L’Alqueria del Basket, owned and operated by Valencia Basket. My program is open to all players, with some background in organized basketball. Our main focus is developing players, adjusting them to European basketball and offering them opportunities to start or continue their professional basketball careers. Any interested players can find us on our website: www.europrobasket.com, or our social media: www.instagram.com/europrobasket, www.facebook.com/europrobasket, www.twitter.com/europrobasket, as well as on youtube.

How many players usually are on camps? And how many players from your academy was succesful and found their dream job playing basketball professionaly?

The amount of players in the program at a certain time depends on the time of year. During busy months we can have 30+ players. We may also have tour teams from University Programs in the USA or Canada, professional European Teams or AAU programs from the USA. Other months we may have just one team of players. The amount of players is constantly changing as we receive players throughout the season on the players schedule, and we send players to teams and tryouts throughout the season as well. In one week we could have 10 new players and 5 players on tryouts in various parts of Europe for example. We have successfully place over 200 players on teams throughout Europe. Most of those players had no previous professional experience and many had no collegiate experience. Here you can find a list of many of the players we have signed to teams: https://europrobasket.com/players-signed/

Are you working with some agencies which helps you to searching appropriate places for players from your academy? Or your academy have good enough contacts?

We do work with agents and agencies but typically not to place our players. Our contacts are directly with teams, coaches, GM’s, sports directors, presidents, or board members. We work with agents more to get quality players to our programs. And many times, we help agents place their players on teams as our contact reach is very broad.

Is your academy working only during summer or also during whole year till the players find their team? How many months can be player in your academy? Does it cost something?

We offer programs throughout the season, as our players sign with teams throughout the season. The only periods we do not offer our program are periods where there are not many opportunities for players. We do charge for the program as we are located in a tourist destination, our players stay in a very nice hotel, train in the best basketball facilities in Europe and have a full professional staff at their service. Here you can find all of our programs and prices: www.europrobasket.com/programs.