When three future basketball players, Earl Rowland, Marquez Haynes and Steve Burtt were grewing up in three different parts of the United States -- California, Texas and New York -- they never imagined that one day they would have to be far away from their homeland to represend and fight for other country than the United States.

But what just few a decades ago seemed to be impossible -- U.S. basketball players playing for the pride of former Soviet Union countries --  is now a reality.

All three point guards hold European passports and they all had a chance to face each other on the court in this year’s European Championship in Lithuania, where they all played in Group D.

The youngest of three, the 24-year-old Haynes, was a teammate with Zaza Pachulia and a backup point guard of the Georgian national team. The 27-year-old Rowland had a bigger role and was the one and only leader of Bulgaria, while 28-year-old Burtt was the starting point guard for the Ukrainian national team.

However, this summer was special for all of them. The three playmakers with three different stories left their footprints in European basketball history and they will remember this 2011 EuroBasket forever.

Unexpected chance

Differently than another American, Chris Kaman, who acquired his German passport due to his great-grandparents being from the country, Rowland, Haynes and Burtt didn’t have any relatives in Europe. Despite that fact, Bulgaria, Georgia and Ukraine were looking for Americans who could be ready to play at the highest level and contribute right away, and all three athletes were on their shortlists for point guard positions.

And they all started pretty much the same - they received a call.

“It was really simple,” Burtt said. “They asked me if I would like to play. I said ‘yes’ and it just happened, that simple. I already played in Ukraine for three or four years. That was a honor for me.”

“My agent contact me and asked if I would be interested,” Haynes remembered his start of playing for Georgia. “He told me [Georgia] showed interest in me. That’s all I know and I told them ‘yes’, I want to do that.”

Rowland had to compete with a former NBA player, Andrew Owens, who also wanted to play for Bulgarian national team.

“When Pini Gershon was with the national team, they were looking for a guard. Me and Andrew Owens went, we both tried to get our passports. They liked me so they kept me,” Rowland said.

Haynes and Rowland didn’t expect to be playing for European countries’ national teams and were surprised by receiving the opportunity.

“I never would though about that,” Rowland addmited. “When I got to Europe I started hearing about people getting passports, but I thought they got married and I don’t really understand.”

“It was definitely a big suprise for me, I wasn’t expecting that,” said Haynes. “Just being able to be here and be a part of this, and do something that means so much for this people is great. I’m blessed to be a part of this.”

And then the journey began.

Where is...?

As could be expected, the players received different reactions from their families and friends. An avalanche of questions were their daily routine.

“Where is Ukraine?” Burtt laughingly remembers the first question he received. “I had to show that to my friends, but my family already knew where I was playing (professionally) before. They were happy for me, just to be on that stage. They knew I’ll be playing against other countries, even NBA players. When they heard Mike Fratello and other guys will be coaching, they were just happy and proud of me.”

Even though it is not the first summer where Rowland has played for the Bulgarian nationl team, people around him still have many questions to ask.

“I still get crazy reactions. First of all, they started calling me Bulgarian. They don’t understand that is not my team. It’s like you would play for Team USA, but it’s Bulgaria,” Rowland said. “Everyday I get these qustions. People don’t see the world, they stay in the States and they don’t understand what’s going on.”

Haynes’ family was simply excited to hear he is going to play for the Georgian national team.

“They were excited about it. I have a chance to see other things and be a part of something special. Georgia had never been in [EuroBasket] before and it’s a big deal for them and they were happy,” Haynes told RealGM.

Bulgarian hero, Burttchenko and the darkest Georgian

Playing basketball on an Eastern European country’s national team sounds exotic for the majority of Americans, therefore the family members and friends of these ‘New Europenas’ didn’t miss a chance to joke.

“They were saying now I’m an Ukrainian. They were giving me all kind of silly Ukrainian names. I think they called me like “Burttchenko” and crazy names like this,” Burtt shared the nicknames he was given since he started playing for Ukraine.

“Some people, mostly my friends and teammates, they are saying I’m the darkest Georgian they have ever seen,” Haynes laughs. “My former teammates from Chalon (France) always say that.”

Rowland has also heard some funny things about him. “They’re calling me nicknames like ‘Bulgarian hero’,” said Rowland.

Rewriting the history

No one doubted Earl Rowland would be the key player of Bulgaria, but only few believed that this one-man team would be strong enought to fight for a ticket to the second round of EuroBasket 2011. Rowland, who has been simply unstoppable in this tournament, averaging 18 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, led Bulgaria to their first EuroBasket win in 24 years. Firstly, they beat Belgium and later they grabbed another win against Georgia, and Bulgaria sensationally was just one win away from making to the next round.

Rowland, who signed a new contract with Euroleague team Unicaja Malaga of Spain, admits that his role with the club and national team is different.

“It’s a little bit different world to me. I’m more of a scorer when I’m on the national team than I’m on my club team,” said Rowland.

Steve Burtt, starting point guard of the Ukrainian national team, was also a part of European basketball history. He helped Ukraine record their first EuroBasket win in 10 years. Burtt was not quite as outstanding as Rowland, but he led Ukraine in scoring (11.6 PPG), assists (4.8 RPG) and steals (1.6 SPG).

Moreover, Burtt was fortunate to play under former NBA coach Mike Fratello and six other coaches, scouts and trainers with NBA experience.

“At the time [I got the offer], I didn’t know they were going to bring seven NBA coaches. I found out later,” Burtt told RealGM. “Of course, I was surprised and excited at the same time. Just to play for guys who know the game. They deal with the best players in the world. I was just excited to get their knowlege and learn from them.

“Of course, it’s way easier [for me] because you don’t have to deal with the language barrier. We have normal conversations, you know what they want and you brought there and do it,” Burtt said.

New York native Burtt helped Ukraine record two wins and like Bulgaria, they were just one step away from the second round of EuroBasket. Ukraine had a lot of close games and Burtt admited that controlling the game in a high tempo style is not easy because of language differences.

“It’s a little bit difficult to control the game when the game is fast because you have to talk fast. Sometimes they don’t understand when you speak quickly. But for the most part, 88 percent of the time it’s easy to understand,” said Burtt.

However, Marquez Haynes was the only naturalized American who survived Group D and will play in the secound round of EuroBasket. Haynes, a backup point guard on Georgia, averaged 7.8 points in 19 minutes and helped his team to win two games in their first-ever EuroBasket appereance.

The Georgian national team was not alone in Klaipeda, where Group D games were played. More than 1,500 Georgian fans came to support their national team. Even Mikheil Saakashvili, president of Georgia, was togehter with his team and that meant the world to Haynes.

“Sometimes things like that don’t even hit you until later you say ‘the president spoke to me’. It’s crazy. When I’ll get older, I’ll tell that to my kids and they are not going to believe me. It’s amazing and I’m very excited about that,” Haynes said.

Springboard to higher level

All three players agree that playing for national team helps to develop their game and it’s good for their careers. For example, Rowland signed a new deal with Unicaja, which will also play in the ACB of Spain, Europe’s strong domestic league.

“I think playing for a national team does help your career,” Rowland agrees. “But it’s not like I signed [with Unicaja] straight away. I still paid my dues, my career goes up every year. I had to prove I can handle high level basketball.”

Burtt also says playing for Ukraine national team helped him learn a lot.

“When you play for national team, you represent your country, it forces you to play together and forces you and your teammates to come together. It definitely helps you to work on different aspects,” Burtt says.

Gran Canaria newcomer Haynes thinks that helping Georgian national team is a win-win situation for both sides. Like Unicaja, Gran Canaria plays in the ACB.

“When they asked me to do it, I felt like it was a win for both sides,” said Haynes. “I help the country and the team and they give me more exposure. I definitely think it’s going to help my career and the country.”

Those three men accomplished what seemed impossible as U.S. basketball players representung former Soviet Union countries few decades ago.

Far away from their homeland U.S., Haynes, Rowland and Burtt, they were a big part of putting Georgia, Bulgaria and Ukraine back on European basketball map.