Former Harvard star Brian Cusworth, the rookie center for Tartu Rock in Estonia, is living in Europe for the first time in his life.

While there are adjustments to be made, in some ways his new life hasn't been that difficult.

		Cusworth's Georgian team-mate George Tsintsadze has led the team in scoring and assists.

For starters, he's still doing what he does best and that's playing basketball.

The 23-year-old just helped fire Tartu into the EuroCup Qualifying Round, averaging 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in their two-legged victory over BK Prostejov.

Then there's the rain.

"The weather is similar to Boston, a lot of precipitation," he says to FIBA Europe.

"But the lifestyle's fine here. It's just getting used to the life of a lonely European basketball player, being so far from home.

"I'm just trying to get along. But every American who plays in Europe has been through this."

Cusworth did not envision this happening several years ago, when he left high school in St. Louis for Cambridge.

After all, how many students graduate from Harvard and then pursue a career in basketball in Europe?

"Academics is a top priority in my family," he says. "We've never been known for the athletes - my parents are both doctors.

"I studied biology, I was pre-med, preparing possibly for the road to medical school, I was a late bloomer and just became the player I am today."

After the long hours at the library and the tough exams in his four years at Harvard, the academic-minded Cusworth decided to go down a different road. 

"It was a difficult experience. The biggest part of the (Harvard) experience was balancing the athletics and the academics. I felt it helped me mature, though."

And why turn his back, at least for now, on becoming a doctor?

"If anything, my parents tried to warn me about how difficult it is to go through medical school, the training," he says.

"They almost tried to push me away. Well, not push me away. They just wanted me to know what I was getting into.

"With the pro basketball thing, they thought it was an amazing opportunity and interesting adventure."

And there will be many adventures in this one big European adventure, that's for sure.

One of them was last week's journey to BK Prostejov, a team in the Czech Republic but not one in downtown Prague.

"It was a long road trip, flying and then several hours drive to their place," Cusworth says.

It didn't seem possible that Tartu, who won the first leg in front of their own fans on November 20, 94-69, could encounter any problems in the second leg.

But they had a nervous start, with Prostejov leading 48-38 at half-time.

Because the aggregate score is what mattered, Tartu still led by 15 points overall but there were some nervous moments.

"It was difficult to find ourselves in the first half but once we got that out of our system and settled down, we played our game," Cusworth says.

Indeed they did, outscoring their hosts 19-3 over the next 10 minutes to put the game out of reach.

Cusworth admits there are plenty of unknowns about playing in the EuroCup.

Tartu also play in Estonia league games, and in the Baltic League.

"I don't know too much about the (EuroCup) competition and the teams," he says. "It's my first year - I know Barons Riga, they're in it, the Russian teams are in it, it should be a good competition."

Most important for him right now is that he's having an experience in Europe that most young university graduates would probably love to have.

"I get a chance to be paid to see a new part of the world and who knows, maybe another part of the world," he says.