Sept. 12, 2007

There's an American playing in the Eurobasket tournament, and he's even wearing red, white and blue. But his passport is maroon with Cyrillic lettering, and he has spent more time recently in Red Square than he has in the land of red states and blue states.

It's time for America to hear the story of J.R. Holden, a former Bucknell guard and two-time First-Team All-Patriot League pick who is bound to be branded a traitor in his homeland next summer if Russia qualifies for the Beijing Olympics.

That's because Holden is connected to a few super-connected folks in Russia, and he plays for a professional team, CSKA Moscow, that counts Russian President Vladimir Putin as one of its biggest fans.

And four summers ago when Holden stopped by a gym to watch the Russian national team practice, he and the team's president noticed that the squad was lacking at point guard. A light bulb went off in the team president's head, and he asked Holden a question.

For Chris Sheridan's complete article from ESPN.com click here