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	<title>tai wesley Archives - The Utah Statesman</title>
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	<title>tai wesley Archives - The Utah Statesman</title>
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	<item>
		<title>Q&#038;A with Tai Wesley</title>
		<link>https://usustatesman.com/qa-with-tai-wesley/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jake Ellis]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Feb 2023 15:00:50 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Men's Basketball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aggie basketball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aggie men's basketball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jaycee carroll]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tai wesley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[USU basketball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[USU men's basketball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Utah State Basketball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Utah State men's basketball]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://usustatesman.com/?p=22123366</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Ahead of Jaycee Carroll&#8217;s jersey retirement, honoring Utah State Men&#8217;s Basketball&#8217;s all-time leading scorer who played from 2004 to 2008,&#8230;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/qa-with-tai-wesley/">Q&#038;A with Tai Wesley</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Ahead of Jaycee Carroll&#8217;s jersey retirement, honoring Utah State Men&#8217;s Basketball&#8217;s all-time leading scorer who played from 2004 to 2008, the Utah Statesman called Tai Wesley — an Aggie who played from 2004 to 2011 with a mission in between — to ask him about Carroll.</p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>Statesman:</strong> What was your first impression of Jaycee? </span></p>
<div id="attachment_17002355" style="width: 518px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-17002355" class=" wp-image-17002355" src="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/2474189-1019635334-300x243.jpg" alt="" width="508" height="412" srcset="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/2474189-1019635334-300x243.jpg 300w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/2474189-1019635334-1024x829.jpg 1024w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/2474189-1019635334.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 508px) 100vw, 508px" /><p id="caption-attachment-17002355" class="wp-caption-text">UTAH STATE FORWARD TAI WESLEY muscles toward the basket for two of his 20 points during Wednesday’s blowout win over Montana-Western. Wesley also added eight rebounds, three assists and a shattered backboard to his stat line. TODD JONES photo</p></div>
<p><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>Wesley:</strong> My first impression of Jaycee was, ‘Who is this goofy, visor-wearing cowboy from Wyoming? And is he really on the basketball team like he says he is?’</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}"> </span><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>Q:</strong> Did you think he would be as good as he was?</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>A:</strong> Absolutely not. When I first met Jaycee, he came up to me, and it was in Mountain View Towers. And he walked up to me. He was wearing a visor — upside down, backwards, sticking up in the front — cargo shorts, and I said, ‘Are you for reals? You&#8217;re on the basketball team?’ And then we went and played pickup at a church, and he was unreal. And I thought, ‘OK, this kid is the real deal.’</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}"> </span><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>Q:</strong> Jaycee told me that when you guys were freshmen on game days, when you were driving to the Spectrum, you guys would have the windows down and yell, ‘It&#8217;s game day.’ Can you confirm and tell what that was about?</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>A:</strong> Oh, man, we did a lot of dumb things when we were freshmen. But yeah, I can confirm that. It was funny because it was him, myself and Matt Formisano. We were the three freshmen on the team that would always have to carry extra bags. Matt and I would get so hyped for Jaycee because he was our fellow freshman, and he was playing, and he was playing really well as a freshman. So I definitely can confirm that we would stick our heads out — freezing cold — and just scream.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>Q:</strong> What was your favorite on-court memory with Jaycee?</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>A:</strong> Probably the night he broke the scoring record. I remember that one probably the most. I think he only needed like three or two points or something. But we were just waiting, waiting, holding our breath. And then he shot — I think it was a three — and it wasn&#8217;t a swish. It kind of went up, front rim, back rim and then went in. And then they kind of stopped the game, and I remember Gary and I lifting him up on our shoulders, carrying him around the gym.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>Q:</strong> What was your favorite off-court memory with Jaycee?</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>A:</strong> There&#8217;s a lot, but the one that comes to mind initially is he&#8217;s on a first date with a girl who ended up being his wife, Bailey, and it&#8217;s New Year’s. They&#8217;re doing some celebration and we have a snowball fight, and it was him and her against Matt and I. He kind of got real mad because we were throwing snowballs at her, and we went super hard. But that&#8217;s one of the fun ones that I remember — being on their first date on New Year&#8217;s.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>Q:</strong> How do you feel about USU retiring Jaycee’s number? </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>A:</strong> I feel great about it. I think it&#8217;s amazing. I think it&#8217;s well deserved. You know Jaycee Carroll is a legend in the history of Aggie Basketball. He&#8217;s the leading point-getter. And so I feel so proud of him, even though, you know, who am I to be proud of him? But I&#8217;m excited for him, and I think it&#8217;s so well deserved.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}"> </span></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/qa-with-tai-wesley/">Q&#038;A with Tai Wesley</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>USU Athletics HOF Class of 2022 headlined by Robert Turbin and Tai Wesley</title>
		<link>https://usustatesman.com/usu-athletics-hof-class-of-2022-ball-turbin-wesley-zahl-klein/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark Greenwood]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2022 23:29:11 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Basketball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cross Country]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gymnastics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Men's Basketball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Barb Zahl-Klein]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Robert Turbin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tai wesley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trever Ball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[USU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Utah State Basketball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Utah State Football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Utah State gymnastics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Utah State XC]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://usustatesman.com/?p=22120050</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Utah State inducted eight members into the USU athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday night. Of those eight, four were&#8230;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/usu-athletics-hof-class-of-2022-ball-turbin-wesley-zahl-klein/">USU Athletics HOF Class of 2022 headlined by Robert Turbin and Tai Wesley</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Utah State inducted eight members into the USU athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday night. Of those eight, four were recognized as the Hall of Fame class of 2022.</p>
<p>Those former Utah State student-athletes included Trever Ball, Robert Turbin, Tai Wesley and Barb Zahl-Klein. Saturday’s ceremony also recognized 17 current Hall of Fame members that were in attendance as a part of the largest audience turnout for any previous USU Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Here is a snapshot of each athlete inducted as a member of the 2022 class.</p>
<p><strong>Trever Ball</strong></p>
<p>Ball was a member of Utah State Men’s Cross Country from 2002-2006. Ball became the first USU men’s cross-country athlete to become an All-American, doing so in the 2005 season. During that same season Ball was named the WAC Cross Country Athlete of the Year while helping the Aggies win the WAC Championship.</p>
<p>Ball shared numerous stories of his time at Utah State, including his early time being injured and serving an mission before enrolling at the university. Ball qualified for Nationals once in his time at Utah State in 2005, running while having a severe case of strep throat during the competition.</p>
<p>“I am grateful for this university and the education it gave me and the great people in the athletic department,” Ball said during his induction. “This is a great place, wonderful people and I’m very grateful for my time here. I would say that we know if you work hard, you can get whatever you want.”</p>
<p><strong>Robert Turbin</strong></p>
<p>Turbin played for Utah State Football from 2008-2011. Turbin was named WAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2011 after rushing for 1,517 yards and a school record 19 touchdowns. Turbin is one of four USU players to win Offensive Player of the Year and one of five Aggies to rush for over 1,000 yards in multiple seasons. After his illustrious career in Logan, Turbin was drafted in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.</p>
<p>Turbin had other offers entering college but detailed his decision coming to Utah State being decided largely by where he felt he had the opportunity to make the biggest difference.</p>
<div id="attachment_16001575" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://usustatesman.com/statesman-sport-staff-pick-out-plays-players-teams-of-the-year/1-2256318/" rel="attachment wp-att-16001575"><img decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16001575" class="size-medium wp-image-16001575" src="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/2256318-2016695452-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" srcset="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/2256318-2016695452-300x199.jpg 300w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/2256318-2016695452.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-16001575" class="wp-caption-text">Robert Turbin looks back at the pack after a 96-yard run vs. Utah</p></div>
<p>“My father in the process would ask me ‘where do you feel like you can make the biggest impact, not only as a ballplayer, but as a community member, as a person, as an individual,’” Turbin said. “This community has been nothing but great to me.”</p>
<p>Turbin also said his proudest moment at Utah State wasn’t on a football field, but when he was awarded academic honors in both the 2010 and 2011 academic years.</p>
<p><strong>Tai Wesley</strong></p>
<p>Wesley played for USU Men’s Basketball as a forward from 2008-2011. Wesley was named the WAC Player of the Year in 2011 after averaging nearly 15 points per game, 8 rebounds per game and shooting nearly 60% from the field. Wesley was also named AP Honorable Mention All-American in the same year. During Wesley’s time on the team, Aggie basketball won four straight regular season WAC Championships, two WAC Tournament Championships and played in three NCAA Tournaments.</p>
<p>Wesley was very appreciative to his former head coach Stew Morrill, who was in attendance. Morrill is also in the USU Athletic Hall of Fame after his storied and legendary Aggie career. Wesley recounted stories of playing with Morrill and creating lifelong friendships and bonds with his teammates.</p>
<div id="attachment_14000402" style="width: 164px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://usustatesman.com/wesley-back-from-break/1-558857/" rel="attachment wp-att-14000402"><img decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-14000402" class="size-full wp-image-14000402" src="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/558857-2055053889.jpg" alt="" width="154" height="230" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-14000402" class="wp-caption-text">Tai Wesley poses as a freshman. </p></div>
<p>“Coach, I love you. I appreciate you. You took a chubby boy from Provo, Utah, and you turned him into a Hall of Famer,” Wesley said emotionally. “This will always be my home. And I have so many unforgettable memories here. These memories will last forever, and I would not have wanted to share them with anybody else. I love them.”</p>
<p><strong>Barb Zahl-Klein</strong></p>
<p>Zahl-Klein was a member of Utah State gymnastics during the 1988 and 1990-1992 seasons. Zahl-Klein claimed the Big West Championship for her floor routine during her senior season, receiving other awards in the all-around, vault and bars. Zahl-Klein also competed at the National Championships in 1990 and is tied for seventh in school history with 34 total titles. Zahl-Klein excelled in the classroom as well, being named USU’s Big West Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 1991 and recognized as a three-time High Country Athletic Conference All-Academic honoree.</p>
<p>Zahl-Klein’s speech was filled with emotion as she spoke of her former coach Ray Corn. Corn, a member of the USU Athletics HOF Class of 2015, was the first ever gymnastics coach at Utah State. Corn passed away last August at the age of 71.</p>
<p>“I want to thank Ray, who isn&#8217;t here tonight. I wish I could see him out there, but he&#8217;s the real reason why I&#8217;m standing here,” Zahl-Klein said with tears in her eyes. “Ray Corn had such a passion for gymnastics, and life and his family, and I miss him every day. He had so much excitement for what he did. He was loved and his passion for the sport was just infectious.”</p>
<p>The ceremony was closed by athletic director John Hartwell, who congratulated each Hall of Fame member and shared his thoughts on the evening.</p>
<p>“Nobody here was a five-star recruit. Nobody had every school in the country banging down the door to recruit them to have them come to play,” Hartwell said. “They had a passion. They had a chip on their shoulder. I believe that blue collar, roll up your sleeves, I am not going to be denied work ethic is what makes this place so special.”</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/usu-athletics-hof-class-of-2022-ball-turbin-wesley-zahl-klein/">USU Athletics HOF Class of 2022 headlined by Robert Turbin and Tai Wesley</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p>
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		<title>Tai Wesley returns home after long international career</title>
		<link>https://usustatesman.com/tai-wesley-returns-home-after-long-international-career/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jacob Nielson]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2020 14:03:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[All]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Basketball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Men's Basketball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anbl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[josh boone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nbdl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pro basketball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stew Morrill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tai wesley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[usu men's hooops]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Utah State Basketball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wac basketball]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://usustatesman.com/?p=22110152</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>While it’s hard to walk away from something you love, Tai Wesley’s retirement has given him the opportunity to reflect&#8230;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/tai-wesley-returns-home-after-long-international-career/">Tai Wesley returns home after long international career</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While it’s hard to walk away from something you love, Tai Wesley’s retirement has given him the opportunity to reflect on an outstanding career, the people who helped guide him through it and what he learned along the way. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A legend in Logan and on the campus of Utah State University, Wesley has retired from professional basketball after playing nine years internationally. According to Wesley, the current COVID-19 pandemic and his responsibility to take care of his wife and three children were a couple of the factors that led him to the decision to end his professional career.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I felt like right now is a good time for me to put my family first, put our well being first, and just put some roots in, dig down and call a place home and hang up the old basketball shoes,” Wesley said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Growing up, Wesley acknowledged his older brother Mikeli as someone who helped him develop an ambition to excel at basketball. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I wanted to follow in his footsteps,” Wesley said. “He was the Mountain West player of the year and then he played overseas for five or six years. I wanted to be just like him and emulated everything he did.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Follow in his brother’s footsteps he did, starting when Tai helped lead Provo High School to a state title in 2004, just like his brother had done in 1997. After high school, Tai served a mission with the Church of Jesus Chris of Latter Day Saints in Mexico before coming up to Logan and helping lead the Aggies to arguably their most successful run in program history. In total, <a href="https://usustatesman.com/former-utah-state-basketball-player-tai-wesley-seeing-success-after-one-season-in-europe/">Utah State won 111 games, 4 WAC Championships</a>, earning 3 NCAA tournament appearances along the way. And for his efforts, Wesley was named the 2010-11 WAC player of the year. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“That time was unreal, it just felt like we were living in a dream really,” he said. “We would never lose. I lost one game at home in four years of my whole career. I think my record was like 68-1 in the spectrum.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wesley credits Former head coach Stew Morrill for helping him have such an illustrious college career. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Coach Morrill was phenomenal for me. He got me in line, straightened me up, and helped me really focus my energy on basketball,” he said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-22110293 aligncenter" src="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/taiwesleyguam-600x403.png" alt="" width="649" height="436" srcset="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/taiwesleyguam-600x403.png 600w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/taiwesleyguam-1000x672.png 1000w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/taiwesleyguam-300x202.png 300w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/taiwesleyguam-335x225.png 335w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/taiwesleyguam-1050x705.png 1050w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/taiwesleyguam-150x101.png 150w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/taiwesleyguam-500x336.png 500w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/taiwesleyguam.png 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 649px) 100vw, 649px" /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">His resume overseas speaks volumes; a two-time Australian NBL champion — winning the championships in the 2014-15 season with the New Zealand Breakers and the 2017-18 season with Melbourne United while earning all-league 2nd team. Wesley also won back-to-back finals and finals MVPs in the New Zealand NBL in 2015 and 2016.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But one of Wesley’s proudest professional moments did not come until his final season. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Australian NBL — one of the most highly respected leagues in the world — has a rule that permits only three “import” or international players on each team every season. But thanks to a rule nicknamed the “Oceana rule,” Wesley was able to achieve local status in the NBL due to being a Guam citizen, where he lived from ages five to 11, and for whom he was able to represent in the FIBA Asia cup. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This exception meant he did not count as an import player, giving him greater job security in the league and more opportunities. But because of this, and despite his impressive resume, he faced criticism from players around the league. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“People would say ‘oh you’re only in this league because you have a passport’ and ‘you’re local,’” Wesley said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However in 2019, leading up to what would be his final season, the NBL changed the rule, and his Guam citizenship no longer gave him local status. Although he was now considered an import, he was still signed by ANBL club Melbourne Phoenix. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I always wanted to be considered an import, to be good enough to be one of the import spots,” Wesley said. “Last year I was an import and that was something that I was very proud of. To be brought not because I had a passport, but I was brought in because I was good enough to be an import in that league.”</span></p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Retirement Tribute | Tai Wesley" width="960" height="540" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qwhngyNsSGU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After all his years of playing basketball, Wesley said that the greatest life-lesson he learned from the game was sacrifice. “Sacrificing the things that don’t matter for what you actually want.” As he transitions into a new phase of life, having a “normal job,” he trusts that if he sticks to this sacrifice, hard-working mentality, he will be fine. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If you just do what you learn in basketball, which is work hard, outwork the next guy, you will be successful in anything you do,” he said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 34-year old Wesley displayed longevity and consistency throughout his career, which he credits to his continual desire to improve, particularly by developing a three point shot. Wesley managed to improve his three point percentage from 18% to 33% over his career, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/tai-wesley-1.html">with a high of 39% in 2017-18</a>. But his bread and butter was always his interior play. The six-foot-seven power forward’s post-play became highly regarded in the ANBL, with some calling him “The Grown Man” thanks to his strength in the paint and ability to break his defender down. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When you get to a high level of basketball you have to be able to do a little bit of everything,” Wesley said. “Throughout my career, I added different tools and different weapons to my game. Never stay the same. Continue to evolve as I progress in my career.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another underrated aspect that helped Wesley prolong his career was his ability to cultivate meaningful relationships with teammates.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“One thing that people don’t understand when you go overseas and play professional basketball is that your character speaks volumes, how you interact with teammates. If you get a bad rap over there that follows into your next job,” Wesley explained. “You want to make them feel like you’re integrating yourself with them and their culture.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">His former Melbourne United teammate Josh Boone had this to say about Tai in a post on Instagram: </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Most times in this business, guys that you play with become acquaintances, but not necessarily friends. This guy though is way more than that to me.”</span></p>
<p>https://www.instagram.com/p/CCV9Wnzhy8i/</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He’s proud of the accolades he’s received, but when it’s said and done that’s not what will stick with him. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You know raising trophies was always great, celebrating with teammates- but I’m sure those memories will fade, and what’s left is the relationship,” he said. “I had some of the best friends in the world overseas that live in Australia and New Zealand and Holland and Puerto Rico and so those are what last.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the summer of 2011, Wesley signed a deal with Dutch team Den Bosch, kicking off the journey that would take him to all corners of the earth to play ball, with stops in the Netherlands, France, Puerto Rico — and the majority of his career, New Zealand and Australia. In the great Pacific is where he played in the Australian National Basketball League fall to spring and the New Zealand National Basketball League from Spring until the end of summer.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“To experience all of the different cultures, the food, to meet and make relationships throughout the world, it’s such a fun life,” he said. “To have my wife by me for eight of the nine years, and our children for the last four years, it’s been so cool.” </span></p>
<hr />
<p>@jaconielson12</p>
<p>— jacobnielson12@yahoo.com</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/tai-wesley-returns-home-after-long-international-career/">Tai Wesley returns home after long international career</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p>
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