You're currently living Texas, how did that come about?

My wife and I have been in Texas since December of 2015. I had always wanted to spend some time living/working abroad and the US had always topped my list of prospective destinations. I work for the UK Ministry of Defense and an opportunity arose, so we are over here for the next few years with my job.

Texas has three NBA teams, have you had the chance to see any games?

Living in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, I am only about 30 minutes away from the AT&T center so I have been to a number of Dallas Mavericks games. Unfortunately the Mavs have been pretty bad this season - I think at last count 6 of their key players have spent significant time out of the line-up through injury.

Last season I got to see Dirk Nowitzki score 40 points in an overtime win against the Trailblazers at 37 years of age, which was pretty special. I also travel to Washington DC on business several times a year so I have seen a handful of Wizards games including one of the best games of this season which saw them outlasted in overtime by the Cleveland Cavaliers thanks to a LeBron James buzzer beating fadeaway three-pointer. I also plan to get to Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs home fixtures at some point next season. Both cities are within 3 hours drive of Dallas, a day trip for the average American!

Is Basketball the most popular sport there or is it American Football/Baseball?

In Texas, American Football is a religion. Obviously over here it is just referred to as football (in the same way that a Mexican wave is presumably just referred to as a 'wave' in Mexico) and it is far and away the most popular sport in the US overall. It even has its own day of the week, 'Football Sunday'!

The hometown Dallas Cowboys are highly revered and fervently supported regardless of their win/loss record, and for the first time in years they were serious contenders to win the Super Bowl last season. The cheapest tickets available for a regular season home game at the 100,00 seater Cowboys AT&T Stadium regularly exceed a staggering $350 each.

After Football I would say that Baseball is comfortably the second biggest sport, followed by Basketball and Ice Hockey.

You've also been to some NCAA College games, who is your local team and what is the standard like?

I go to a lot of the home games of our local NCAA Div 1 Team, Texas Christian University (TCU). The Horned Frogs, as they are known, are a rapidly improving team. They play in the Big 12 Conference alongside more well-known schools like the Kansas Jayhawks, Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma Sooners and Baylor Bears — schools that have fielded many NBA players, past and present.

Up until this season TCU were fairly abysmal (their Big 12 Record stands at 8/60 since they joined the conference in 2012), but the introduction of a new head coach, Jamie Dixon who had previously spent 13 seasons at the University of Pittsburgh winning two Big East Championships, Naismith Coach of the year and a Gold medal as coach of the 2009 US FIBA Under-19 World Championship Squad has seen them improve dramatically.

Last season the talent level was not fantastic, with the vast majority of the roster was formed from players that were recruited from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Part of the problem had been that it was difficult to recruit top tier talent to a University with a poor pedigree for producing NBA caliber players. The appointment of Coach Dixon (and his $3.2 Million per year salary!!!) has seen this change somewhat as TCU have secured the services of two of the most heralded freshman in recent history this season.

What is the atmosphere like at College games?

The atmosphere at TCU basketball games has historically been non-existent, although this began to change this year as they won more games. The Team moved into a brand new 8,500 seater stadium last season and initially attendance was very poor (my Facebook friends will be familiar with the pictures that I posted at each game highlighting this fact). I don't have official numbers, but I would think that the average crowd turnout was around the 2,000 mark.

By comparison TCU's Football team were ranked 13th in the nation by ESPN in a pre-season poll and their 45,000 seater stadium is invariably close to capacity on game days. I should add that the atmosphere at many other College Basketball games is among some of the best in all American sports, particularly come the NCAA tournament in March. Hopefully with some more shrewd recruitment TCU can also provide this level of excitement in the near future.

TCU narrowly missed a call up to the NCAA tournament this season and went on to win the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) which is generally regarded as the second most prestigious award in the nation after 'The Big Dance', so I have high hopes for the atmosphere next season.

Have you played for a team since you've been there?

I play pick-up basketball a few days a week on average. The standard differs from day-to-day, but generally the individual skill level is reasonably high. Games often tend to descend into 5 games of 1 on 1 as each player takes it in turns to dribble the ball for an eternity in an attempt to break his man down, before settling for an ill-advised fadeaway three point shot. This aspect of the game is incredibly frustrating and is the single biggest difference I have found versus playing at home, where generally teammates are unselfish, play for one another and work to get a reasonable look at the basket.

Is there anything like the Somerset league/local leagues where you live?

I currently play in a local recreational league. We play twenty-minute halves and all games are held at a central venue. The overall standard is higher, although generally comparable to the Somerset League. As a comparison I think that the Bridgewater Bucs teams I used to play against would be very competitive in the average Rec league here.

Who do you like in the NBA at the moment?

As a local I am bound by Texan law to root for the Mavs, which has been painful this season. It has been interesting watching Harrison Barnes mature as the season progressed and Seth Curry and Yogi Ferrell have both been pleasant surprises in an otherwise dismal campaign. Karl Anthony-Towns, Kristaps Porzingis and Joel Embiid have all been fun to follow and I have enjoyed Mike D'Antoni's uptempo offence in Houston.

What are the facilities like where you play pickup/rec league? How do they compare to the UK?

In general, the facilities across Texas are far better than the average indoor court in the UK. With that said, I have seen pictures of the new facility at Richard Huish College which I think would compare favourably with the vast majority of courts over here.

Have you seen any College players you rate or might have a future in the NBA?

In late 2015 I got to see Buddy Hield play for the Oklahoma Sooners against TCU, he really stood out and has since carved a nice niche for himself with the Sacramento Kings. The players that I have been most impressed with this year in nationally televised games have been the likes of Jayson Tatum at Duke, Markelle Fultz at Washington, Lonzo Ball at UCLA and Malik Monk and De'Aaron Fox at Kentucky. I also like Lauri Markkanen at Arizona as it is fun to watch seven footers who can shoot the three.

What is the standard like in NCAA div 1? Does it compare to anything in the UK?

I do not really watch the BBL, although I do know that there are teams that have attracted NCAA division 1 level talent — even so, I would think those clubs would struggle to compete with the established NCAA div 1 schools based on what I have seen.

What is Fort Worth/Dallas and Texas in general like?

It is a fantastic area, and it is fair to say it has surpassed all expectations. I think my wife and I both had some preconceived notions that centered on outdated stereotypes that one might have, which thankfully all proved false. The locals are very welcoming and we live in a great neighborhood with bars, shops and restaurants a short walk from our apartment.

In terms of things to do there are three world class art museums on our doorstep, one of the best rated zoos in the US, The Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers both play their home fixtures 15 miles down the road in Arlington, alongside the Six Flags Over Texas amusement and water park.

There are also more great food and drink options than anyone could ever need and the capital of Texas, Austin is just a three hour drive away.

For sun worshippers the climate is ideal as it varies between hot and unbearably hot. Generally the summer months will hover around 32-35 degrees, but we haven't found this to be too much of a problem due to the prevalence of air conditioning, cold beer and swimming pools!

Sounds fantastic! Thank you for taking the time to tell us about Basketball in Texas and your life out there. All the best for the rest of your stay and good luck in the rec league!