Nearly a year away from the game of basketball and Trajan Langdon is hungry to return.

It was bound to happen.

Keep in mind we are talking about a player who won the Turkish Airlines Euroleague twice in six years with CSKA Moscow, walked away with the 2008 Final Four MVP, and called it a career after helping CSKA to their ninth-consecutive Russian League title.

The daily routine of being around teammates, at practice, in big game situations and the undying desire to compete at the highest level in Europe isn't something anyone -- especially someone of a star caliber like Langdon was overseas -- easily walks away from at the age of 35-years old.

The retirement decision probably wasn't easy last June, two days after winning another PBL title.

The desire to get back in the flow now appears stronger.

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Update: According to reports, Evan Fournier injured his ankle during a game on Wednesday against Orleans and had to use crutches to get around after the game. Fournier said he will not fly to the US on Friday for Nets combine and wants to see how his ankle develops first.

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It is a little under 4000 miles from France to New Jersey, but the trip west will be well worth the time and effort for Evan Fournier come this weekend.

That is where Fournier -- the 6-foot-7 swing guard for Poiters in the Pro-A French League -- will be one of 44 draft eligible players participating in the annual pre-draft workout camp put on by the Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets.

The two day camp (with two start times on Saturday and Sunday) features a wide variety of collegiate talent and NBA draft hopefuls, along with two international players. The first being Fournier, and the second Mindaugas Kupsas, a 7-foot center out of Lithuania.

Players will be divided into four groups of eleven players each, measured, undergo agility tests and will conduct both media and team interviews. As for the actual workout portion of the camp, the 60-minute workouts will entail skill-work and five-on-five scrimmages.

It's that time of the season. Time to impress NBA front offices around the league.

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Hope.

That's what Acie Law once banked on when contemplating the chance to compete for a Euroleague title against CSKA Moscow on Sunday.

On Friday, the Olympiacos point guard had to be helped off the court at the end of the game against FC Barcelona Regal after injuring his left ankle, and when the red and white stood victorious over Barcelona, 68-64, and celebrated on reaching the Final Four final, Law was seen leaving the arena on crutches.

From hobbled to hopeful, all signs now point to Law not being able to go.

While Law is determined to lace them up and be game ready, Olympiacos' coaching staff doesn't seem as confident. But looking back on the kind of season Law has had overseas, you really can't put anything past him.

Just when Law looks like he might be down and out for the count, he battles back.

It's been that way ever since he signed with Olympiacos -- maybe even longer.

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This story isn't about Andrei Kirilenko or Vassilis Spanoulis.

It's not even about Juan Carlos Navarro or Dimitris Diamantidis.

But when the 2012 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four begins Friday with the semi-finals between CSKA Moscow versus Panathinaikos, and FC Barcelona Regal against Olympiacos Piraeus in Istanbul, Turkey, those are probably the first four names that will be mentioned regarding their respective teams' chances at winning the prestigious Euroleague championship.

And for good reason too.

Kirilenko is "the man" in the Euroleague and best player in Europe for that matter. Spanoulis is MVP worthy and hard to handle. Navarro already has a Euroleague Final MVP on his mantle after leading Barcelona to a win over Olympiacos in 2010, and Diamantidis has the chance to be chosen as the Final Four MVP for the third time in his career.

But much like in the NBA playoffs, these Final Four games could easily come down to a bunch of role players stealing a superstars thunder when all is said and done.

Here are four players not named Kirilenko, Spanoulis, Navarro, or Diamantidis to keep an eye on in Istanbul:

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The 2002 McDonald's All-American basketball game roster was filled with a number of players destined for the NBA, some of whom are now keeping their teams' championship hopes alive this postseason.

Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, Chris Bosh and J.J. Redick have all come a long way since then. These days they are trying to make it beyond the first round of the NBA playoffs in the Eastern Conference.

And then there is Rashad McCants.

He was part of that 2002 squad. That's about the extent of his common bond with Anthony, Stoudemire, Bosh and Redick these days.

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After the way Kyle Singler played on Thursday night, Joe Dumars might be reconsidering being initially upset about the Detroit Pistons draftee opting to finish out the season in Spain.

Instead of Singler putting up numbers for Real Madrid like he did early last month against Unicaja Malaga when the 6-foot-8 forward went for a well-rounded 13 points and 6 rebounds in 23 minutes, the 2011 second-round pick fell into early foul trouble against Regal Barcelona and pretty much disappeared from there.

Not only did Real Madrid lose to Real, 86-83, but Singler only finished with three points.

Dumars had to feel like he was back in Detroit watching his own team struggle.

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Pops Mensah-Bonsu has had an on-off again relationship with the NBA and sticking around the league.

But if he keeps playing like he has this season for Besiktas Milangaz in the Turkish Basketball League and even today at the EuroChallenge 2012 Final Four Final, the 6-foot-9 forward just might end up back on the radar of some front offices in the NBA this offseason.

At this point in his career and 28-years old, it could be his last shot to make it count in the NBA.

The alternative?

Keep handling his business overseas like he has this season in Istanbul, Turkey.

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There are many uncertainties about the fast approaching 2012 NBA Draft in June aside from Anthony Davis being the undisputed projected first overall pick.

But when it comes to some of the other future first round selections, there is always a story down the road where the journey from college to the league just doesn't go according to plan. All the draft prep work on the players part, scouting reports from NBA teams and pre-draft workouts between the two parties suddenly turns into a crapshoot.

Throughout the history of the NBA draft it has become as constant as a walk across the stage to shake David Stern's hand.

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The Los Angeles Lakers are getting ready for another postseason run and will likely face the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs in the Western Conference.

Derrick Caracter, on the other hand, is bound for Puerto Rico.

It's not a vacation destination for the former Laker, but a stepping stone chance to get back in the NBA where he's spent the last two seasons. On Saturday, Mets de Guaynabo in Puerto Rico's BSN -- or National Superior Basketball League as its officially known -- signed Caracter for the remainder of the season.

Now instead of calling the Staples Center and its 19,000 seating capacity home, Caracter will be performing at Mario Morales Coliseum, which when sold out holds 5,500 fans.

That's just one of the adjustments on the way.

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The upcoming 2012 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four in Istanbul, Turkey tips off in three weeks with CSKA Moscow versus Panathinaikos and Olympiacos Piraeus facing FC Barcelona Regal in the semifinals and the Finals scheduled for May 13.

But leading up to those must-see games, the Euroleague is handing out their annual awards this week and has already recognized the league's top scorer, rising star and overall best defender.

For those back in the States not accustomed to following the Euroleague, two of the names will certainly sound familiar. The other is simply the best point guard not playing in the NBA and a name that should be on everyone's basketball radar, especially if you are a front office executive in the league.

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He's not going to be confused with Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall or Jared Sullinger, but while those three underclassman are just a number of college players who have already declared themselves as early entrants into the 2012 NBA Draft, Kyryl Natyazhko is making some early pro moves of his own.

Who?

Earlier this week, Natyazhko left the University of Arizona's basketball team and intends to play professionally in Europe after a three-year college career that was less than impressive.

The 6-11, 265 pound center averaged 1.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game in 22 games last season as a junior, and during his three-years at Arizona averaged 1.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.2 blocked shots per game in 91 appearances.

Aside from the sub-par numbers, is this another growing trend we will start to see with college basketball?

When times get tough on campus, jump to play ball overseas.

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Zoran Dragic leaned on the metal railing surrounding the mixed-media zone at the 2011 EuroBasket in Vilnius, Lithuania and flashed a quick smile when asked about playing alongside his big brother.

It was last September and for the first time in their lives, Zoran and Goran Dragic shared the honor and experience of playing together for the Slovenian National Team in what was described at the time by both brothers as simply, "a dream come true".

Growing up in Slovenia's capital of Ljubljana, Zoran used to follow Goran around to different soccer and basketball games, hoping for the chance to show what he could do.

Now all of these years later, Zoran (who just turned 23-years old) still has aspirations of following in Goran's (25-years old) footsteps to the NBA and dreams of becoming the first Slovenian brothers to play in the league.

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The 2011 NBA draft will come full circle during the 2012-2013 NBA season when former first round picks Jonas Valanciunas and Donatas Motiejunas make their respective debuts for the Toronto Raptors and Houston Rockets.

It's all part of the storied journey from the draft selection process last year to enduring the Europe grind. On Wednesday, Valanciunas, Motiejunas and Nikola Mirotic had their time.

But what about those international players (and the two Duke and Ohio State alums) who heard their name called in the second round by NBA Deputy Commissioner, Adam Silver?

In Part 2 of this round-by-round series, Ridiculous Upside looks back on the second-round hopefuls from 2011 who got a second chance at a first impression playing abroad this season...

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It happens every NBA draft.

Of the various international players selected in the first and second round, some will make an impact -- or at least make their NBA roster, while the others end up staying overseas and growing their respective global games in hopes of one day making the official move to the league. Some will make it. Some won't.

Take the 2011 NBA Draft for example.

Twelve international players without any college basketball experience but seasons of pro ball under their belt were drafted last June. Of those twelve, only three stuck on an NBA roster this season. The other nine -- along with two notable names from major college programs -- used this season to develop (well, some of them did) in multiple leagues around Europe.

In this two-part round-by-round series, Ridiculous Upside reviews the year-long journey from the 2011 NBA Draft to surviving the season overseas...

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Kyle Hines has heard it all before.

He's not big enough to bang down in the paint with the big boys.

He's too undersized to be a center.

Are you sure you're not a guard?

That's the same talk that's followed Hines from high school in South Jersey, during college down in North Carolina and every stop along the way overseas since turning pro.

But after collecting the Finals MVP trophy last season in Germany with Bamberg beating Alba Berlin and now pushing Olympiacos into the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four this past week, Hines is forcing the naysayers to take that noise elsewhere.

Consider it another blocked shot.

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In the 2006 NBA draft, the Toronto Raptors selected P.J. Tucker in the second round (35th overall) out of the University of Texas. The small forward and former Big-12 Player of the Year appeared in 17 games for Toronto in two seasons, and also spent 19 games with their D-League affiliate, the Colorado 14ers.

And like that, he was gone.

Waived by the Raptors in March 2007, Tucker ventured off on a basketball world tour that's included an Israeli League championship and MVP honors with Hapoel Holon, playing in the Ukraine, back to Israel, Greece, Italy and Puerto Rico before joining two-time defending Beko BBL champs Brose Baskets Bamberg in Germany this season.

An MVP candidate, Tucker (who goes by his birth name, Anthony Tucker in Germany) helped lead Bamberg to the German Cup this season and is averaging 14.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 28 games.

As another season overseas draws to a close, Tucker considers where he's been, where he wants to go, and how he's grown as a pro since leaving the NBA...

If I have a crazy story about my time playing overseas, there is no doubt it comes from my time in the Ukraine with BK Donetsk.

We were the top team in the Ukraine and we were playing on the road against a smaller team. We knew going into the game it was going to be nuts, a crazy scene -- a small gym with very passionate fans. The place was packed. People were standing on top of each other basically. It was unreal. Our owner was best friends with the owner of the other team and I can remember getting ready before the game. I'm standing in the locker room and our owner comes in with his security guys. It had to be like three or four guys, and I'm wondering what the hell is going on.

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There is a pretty good chance you're not that familiar with Josh Young.

What about Dominique Archie, Lance Thomas, Garrett Williamson, Marcus Hubbard, Vernon Hamilton, Shagari Alleyne and Scooter McFagdon?

Back in early November 2010, they were all players chosen by the Austin Toros in the D-League draft and reported to Austin days later to begin training camp for the 2010-2011 season, the first step in their individual journeys to the NBA. At least that was the hope for guys like Young.

The accolades certainly held weight coming out of college.

The 6-foot-1 point guard graduated from Drake University in 2010 as the programs' all-time leader in scoring, three-point baskets and free throws made, not to mention a three-time All-Missouri Valley Conference recipient. But something changed once training camp opened for the Toros.

Young lost his confidence.

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Update: Apparently four minutes of basketball was enough to decide Rashad McCants future in Puerto Rico. After joining Piratas de Quebradillas on Thursday, the team released him on Friday afternoon after McCants went scoreless in four minutes of play on Thursday night against Vaqueros de Bayamon.

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The way Rashad McCants sees things, he is staging the greatest NBA comeback story ever.

But there is an integral part missing from the grand scheme -- a front office willing to leave McCants' past in the past.

The one constant theme that's followed McCants since he was selected 14th overall out of North Carolina by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2005 -- aside from being athletically gifted -- has been the perceived bad reputation from his days at Minnesota, to Sacramento and his three-game showing for the Texas Legends two years ago before signing in China.

He failed to live up to that end of the bargain too and never made it to China.

Yet through it all, McCants has never been arrested, suspended by an organization or even benched for reasons deemed disruptive to a team.

So is this a case of a player being black-balled by the NBA?

Or the result of some admitted poor decisions on McCants' part?

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When No. 15 Lehigh pulled off the shocking win over No.2 Duke at the NCAA tournament on Thursday, the Blue Devils' loss was felt all the way in Tel Aviv, Israel where former Duke guard Jon Scheyer plays for Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv.

Or should we say, "played".

This morning team representatives for Maccabi announced that Scheyer would not make a team trip to Athens, Greece and has left the team to return home for "personal reasons".

It was that kind of first season overseas for Scheyer.

While Duke was in the game all the way to the end against Lehigh, Scheyer was really never in the game for Maccabi. An American-Israeli, Scheyer's stats this season showed he appeared in 23 games for Maccabi -- who competes in the Israeli Super League, Adriatic League and Turkish Airlines Euroleague -- but his 3 points and 1 rebound per game in roughly 12 minutes per game are tantamount to an emotional upset during March Madness.

If Scheyer helping Duke defeat Butler to capture the 2010 NCAA National Championship during his last year in college was the highest of highs, riding the pine in Tel Aviv this season was the lowest of lows.

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He was once called the "best foreign player ever" in a Chinese online sports poll for his scoring ability in the Chinese Basketball Association.

He now very easily could become the saving grace for a team once destined to drop down a complete professional division in Spain.

Quincy Douby just happens to be that guy.

Yes, that Quincy Douby -- the Brooklyn native out of Rutgers University who barely sniffed the floor in three NBA seasons with the Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors before finding fame and a following overseas.

On Wednesday, UCAM Murcia in Spain's famed ACB League announced they signed the 6-foot-3 guard for the remainder of the season after Douby started the season in the CBA with the Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers. But after helping lead the Flying Tigers to the CBA finals last season and inking a one-year contract (worth $2 million USD, at the time the richest contract in CBA history) over the summer, the unthinkable happened.

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Zabian Dowdell has finally found a team overseas after all, but the search to find his game is still a work in progress.

Waived by the Phoenix Suns in early December, Dowdell signed last week with Gran Canaria in the ACB Spanish League only to make a less than memorable impression going scoreless (0-1) in 11 minutes of play in a 77-63 loss to Assignia Manresa. The following game the 6-foot-3 point guard received a DNP - Coach's Decision against UCAM Murcia.

Maybe Dowdell will find his role on Sunday when Gran Canaria takes on FCB Regal in Spanish League play. But knowing the history of Dowdell's release from the Suns and failed attempt to first sign in Turkey in January, Dowdell's overall health could still be a concern.

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I can't exactly remember what day it was last week when I came across the documentary about Evan Fournier, but I do recall mumbling to myself how I wish I had taken a foreign language back in high school -- French in this case.

I stumbled across the film online while doing research for another story I was writing at the time. But being a sucker for basketball flicks and documentaries in general, I sat for 52-minutes watching Fournier's adventure and story unfold at the 2011 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Or., last April. Some of the film -- titled "D-Day" and shot by Benoit Dujardin -- was in English, but the majority was in French and paralleled the tale of the Portland Trail Blazers Nicolas Batum, who came on the American scene in the Hoop Summit back in 2007.

That's the beautiful thing about this game -- it transcends languages and cultures and takes on a universal lingo of its own between the lines.

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Maybe Patrick O'Bryant can find some hope in Gerald Green's story.

O'Bryant and Green's arrival and early NBA departure are intertwined along with their travels around the world for a little basketball soul searching.

They came into the league a year apart from each other as first round selections in 2005 (Green, 18th overall by Boston) and 2006 (O'Bryant, picked 9th by Golden State) and bounced around the league and D-League before taking their games overseas. And while Green officially made his return to the league this past week after signing a 10-day contract with the New Jersey Nets, O'Bryant was busy making moves of his own.

It's about 1,600 miles from Puerto Rico to New Jersey, but for O'Bryant this could be one more step closer to making his own NBA comeback.

Last week O'Bryant signed with Indios de Mayaguez in Puerto Rico's BSN (or National Superior Basketball League as it's also known) and became a bright spot in new additions to the league that have featured NBA vets Jerome James, Ricky Davis, Melvin Ely and Shavlik Randolph over the last month.

As players flock to Puerto Rico to collect another check and teams adjust their rosters bringing in out of work free agents, O'Bryant is one of a select few in the BSN who has a shot at signing back in the D-League by finishing out the season strong.

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The three-inch scar on the back of Chester Frazier's right hand stands out vividly as he autographs a team poster for a young fan after another win in Wurzburg.

The mark serves as a constant reminder of how tough it was to leave his playing days behind at Illinois.

During Frazier's senior year for the Fighting Illini, he fractured his hand during a March practice and was forced to miss the 2009 Big Ten Tournament and close out his college career on unfortunate terms, but at least he had plans in place for after school. Ever since his sophomore year, the 6-foot-2 point guard who followed in the backcourt footsteps of Deron Williams and Dee Brown for the Blue and Orange knew that someday he wanted to coach basketball.

That opportunity came after Frazier graduated when he was offered the position of a student-assistant coach on Bruce Weber's staff. But something happened on the way to becoming "Coach Frazier."

He left.

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This has to be the first time in the history of basketball that a player went from gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated to showing up on the side of a milk carton all within a four-month span.

Welcome to Reeves Nelson's world.

It's easy to get caught up in the plethora of tattoos and sad storied antics surrounding his dismissal from the UCLA Bruins earlier this season and forget that Nelson's basketball future is in a state of uncertainty that not even the NBA Draft on June 28 will solve.

He went from Los Angeles to Lithuania and back again in the course of five weeks; a taste of pro basketball overseas that the former Pac-12 star most likely will scoop up once again after this coming summer.

But how did it even get to this point where Nelson is M.I.A.?

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Kenyon Martin and JR Smith had their time. Wilson Chandler is next.

But when it comes to NBA players who spent their days filling it up in the Chinese Basketball Association only to make a jump back to the league, there is one free agent left out of sight and out of mind: Gani Lawal.

Wait. Wait?

That's right. The former Georgia Tech product who was waived by the Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs earlier this season may not hold the same mass appeal Martin, Smith or Chandler does around the NBA, but if you ask anyone around the Polish League they know exactly who Lawal is and what he is capable of.

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The last time Jeff Adrien had his name associated with Russia, it was back when he drove around the 6-foot-10 Moscow grown Yaroslav Korolev before dunking through Mark Tyndale during summer league a couple years back.

Now Adrien is hoping to throw up a few more of those posters in Russia.

On Friday, he signed with BC Khimki for the remainder of the season and will resume his overseas career after a quick stay in the NBA this season with the Houston Rockets.

Knocked for being an undersized big at 6-foot-6, Adrien's arrival couldn't come at a better time. Khimki competes in the Russian League, VTB United League and Eurocup and qualified for the Top 16 in January and that's where Adrien really comes into play for Khimki -- the final season push toward attempting to reach the Eurocup (3-1 in their four-team group) quarterfinals and finals, which takes place on April 14 and 15.

Not a bad insurance policy at all.

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It's gone from the walking wounded to an apparent contract extension for Joel Freeland over the last month, but the Portland Trail Blazers aren't giving up hope just yet on luring "the best big man in Europe" to Rip City.

In fact, they're not even sure there is a lot of validity to recent reports stating Freeland is set to sign a contract extension with Spanish club Unicaja Malaga.

"Joel is aware of how we feel about him and his future with us and we are aware of Joel and his interest in becoming a Trail Blazer," Blazers acting General Manager Chad Buchanan told Ridiculous Upside.

"When the season is over and we can begin to engage in more serious contract talks with Joel we will do so."

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This story isn't about "Linsanity".

This isn't about Jeremy Lin going undrafted out of Harvard, signing with the Golden State Warriors, being waived twice over by the Warriors and Houston Rockets, claimed by the New York Knicks and surviving another cut four days before transforming into the Messiah of Madison Square Garden.

This isn't about Lin becoming the Knicks' first player (along with center Jerome Jordan) to be assigned to their D-League affiliate, the Erie Bayhawks, last month or entering the league as the NBA's first American-born player of Taiwanese or Chinese descent or his open devout Christian faith.

This story isn't even about Lin blowing up this past week by scoring 89 points in his first three starts with the Knicks, featuring his latest miracle on Friday night in New York against the Los Angeles Lakers: a career-high 38 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and shooting 56.5% from the field.

Instead, the feel-good story of this NBA season is a testament to a young player's overall development in the D-League, deeply rooted in two stints during the 2010-11 season with the Reno Bighorns.

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Five questions.

That's how long it took before Michael Stockton was forced to talk about his old man.

Honestly, I hated to go there. You know he gets "that" all of the time.

When Germany's Pro-A second division -- a 15-team league also known as the "AG 2, Bundesliga" and perceived little brother to Germany's premiere Beko BBL -- season started and Stockton's name stood out on BG Karlsruhe's roster as a must-get interview, inquiring about anything other than his Hall of Fame dad and Utah Jazz legend John Stockton was part of the plan.

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