Former Georgia guard Gaines reflects on pro career

Published 6:04 pm Thursday, June 14, 2018

An overseas professional basketball career is not an easy one.

But former Georgia guard Kenny Gaines has learned a lot throughout his two seasons away from the United States, all while keeping a close eye on his alma mater’s program.

Gaines spent one season playing in Antibes, France, for the Antibes Sharks in the LNB Pro A league from 2016 to 2017. He spent the 2017-2018 season in Lithuania, playing for BC Juventus.

“Overseas, it can be kind of grinding,” Gaines said. “The teams are more for themselves rather than for the players, [so] you have to make sure you pay attention to detail.”

Last season featured highs and lows for Gaines. He was nominated into a league dunk contest that took place on Feb. 17. Despite not being known as a dunker in games, Gaines was successful, completing all his dunks to earn the title.

“I [just] came in with an ‘off the top of the dome’ mentality,” Gaines said. “It was an amazing feeling, the crowd loved the energy and everyone was eating it up.”

A second memorable moment for Gaines happened on Jan. 25 in a game against Prienu Vytautas, a team that was at the time coached by Lavar Ball, and featured two of his sons, LaMelo and LiAngelo.

Gaines dropped 23 points in the 86-78 victory, and got a chance to speak with Ball after the game. Despite his perception on social media and television, Gaines said that Ball was a “really down to earth” guy and that he gave him inspiration for his career.

“That was a big moment for me,” Gaines said. “It gave me a little bit of a spark, kind of gave me a little bit of life.”

On the flip side, Gaines’ career came to a bit of a halt when he suffered a torn achilles on March 21 in a playoff game against Avellino Sititas, a team from Italy. That forced him to have surgery and return back to his home in Atlanta.

So far, however, his recovery has been smooth. He works weekly with a rehabilitation coach, Mike Dew, and hopes to return to Lithuania for action in the fall.

His time off has given him time to focus on life after basketball. Specifically, with the start of his own organization, the Kenny Gaines Foundation, where he hopes to hold basketball tournaments, camps and mentorship programs for the youth.

He’s also had a chance to reconnect with the Georgia program. Despite being rooted with former head coach Mark Fox, Gaines sees a bright future for the Bulldogs under current head coach Tom Crean.

He’s met with the players, specifically sophomore guard Jordan Harris, on what to prepare for in the upcoming season. Harris came over to his place in Atlanta to talk life and about how he liked Crean, while Gaines hoped to ensure that Harris is in the right mindset heading into his third year.

“[I] love his energy and his spirit,” Gaines said of Crean. “I’m excited to see how this program is going to turn around.”

Printed with permission from The Red & Black independent student media organization based in Athens, Ga.; redandblack.com/sports.