PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Former University of North Florida basketball star Beau Beech is back home in Ponte Vedra after the basketball season was postponed in Germany.
This was Beech’s third season playing professional basketball in Germany with the Hamburg Towers. But because of the coronavirus pandemic, this season has come to an abrupt halt.
“It was all because of the Rudy Gobert. Once he got sick, it was done, shut down immediately. It took us all by surprise,” said Beech.
Beech spent two weeks quarantined in Germany before he was able to make his way back home to Florida.
“The facilities in Hamburg had shut down, so you can’t go to the gym, can’t see coaches, and in Germany, I can’t even speak the language, so I don’t even know who I would go to or what I would do to get a workout in," he said.
Beech said he is glad he made the quick decision to come home because some of his teammates have had difficulties returning home because of travel restrictions.
“Hamburg didn’t have a lot of cases, but in south Germany, it happened quickly. They shut things down fast. People have to have notes to go to the grocery store with officers patrolling the streets kind of stuff. I left before that happened. I knew it was going to happen, but I left before it happened because I didn’t know if I would be able to get home and I didn’t want to get stuck in Germany. It is a great country, but living in Ponte Vedra is pretty nice, too," Beech said.
Right now, Beech said, he is just working out and trying to stay in shape anyway he can.