Haifa, Nov 9 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Jeremy Tyler was among the top ho shots in American high school basketball, and was widely tipped as a future first-round NBA draft pick. But he was too impatient to wait till 2011 when he would be able to play for NBA, as he was too young now, so he looked overseas and signed a one-year, $140,000 deal with Maccabi Haifa, which is a team in Israel’s top division.

He thought his life was set, but he isn’t too sure now. He is beginning to doubt his decision as he struggles with life in Israel. “I only make history if I succeed. I didn’t come here to fail,” Tyler, sounding both frustrated and determined, said after playing a scoreless 40 minutes in a Haifa victory this week.

He has major difficulties in adjusting to these surroundings, as he is just another player on a professional roster, living on his own in a foreign land. There is little or no social life at all, as competition is fierce with many players who are trying to carve out their niche in this land.

“You got to be a man about the situation, you know. You made a decision, stick with it,” he said. “Sometimes, of course, being in a country that I’ve never been in before, that I’m not familiar with, can be extremely hard.”