Troy Barnies, left, battles for a rebound on Nov. 14, 2010, against Maryland. Barnies is currently in Auburn, waiting for to return to his pro team in Russia. Nick Wass/Associated Press
The coronavirus-caused suspension of the NBA season is difficult for all its players. But with the minimum salary at $898,310 for rookies not drafted in the first round and the average take for all around $7.7 million, it’s fair to say the blow is, to a large degree, cushioned.
At the other end of the professional basketball spectrum, you can find Troy Barnies, who went to Edward Little High and finished his career at UMaine in 2011. Right now, the 31-year-old overseas veteran can be found residing on the couch at his twin brother’s place in Auburn.
“On the couch riding it out, man. I live out of two bags,” said Barnies, a 6-foot-7 power forward for Kupol-Rodniki Izhevsk in Russia. “I’m living out of two big bags, and I’m in my hometown. It’s so weird.”
He approaches the situation with a smile and a shrug, keeping the larger pandemic picture and suffering of others in mind. But Barnies’ case is even more complicated: His wife, a med school student in Hungary, is back in her Norwegian hometown studying for a major exam and working at a hospital during the crisis. They last saw each other in December for a week in Latvia, where Barnies was playing before moving on to a better deal in Russia.
The two met online when Barnies was playing in Hungary, spoke for three months, then met in person. “We went on a date in Budapest, and we haven’t looked back since, basically,” said Barnies.
The MD-to-be became Sandra Steffensen-Barnies at their wedding last July in Maine, and now they are kept apart by travel restrictions.
Troy Barnies averaged 14.1 points and 7.6 rebounds in his senior year at UMaine. Joe Raymond/Associated Press
Upon the advice of his coach, Barnies beat it out of Russia before he got stuck there without a job. He had 14 points in 23 minutes as his club posted a 107-73 victory over Surgut on March 18. “We were actually one of the only teams in the world playing that day, because Russia still was a little behind in suspending the league,” he said. “So we played in one of the last games in the world.”
Now, Barnies doesn’t know when he will play again.
“This is tough,” he said. “I’m not going to lie. What I’m good at and what I love to do, I can’t do any of that right now.
“I understand there are people going through way more difficult times, but in my situation, it’s tough, because I was supposed to finish the season in Russia for another two months. So that’s two months of salary, as well as bonuses that would be provided for making the playoffs or going far in the playoffs. I would get good money from that, which now is not the case because our season is canceled. So I missed out on maybe four or five months’ worth of salary, and I only work about nine to 10 months a year as it is.”
Basketball has taken him around the world. Even with sitting out the 2018-19 season to rehab a knee injury, he’s played for eight teams. How many people love the game enough to put themselves through the physical toll of staying ready while dealing with the uncertainty that comes with an overseas career so far from the NBA treasure chest? Honor, indeed.
“I had a really great senior year (14.1 points, 7.6 rebounds), and I had a bunch of good looks from agents telling me, ‘Hey, your talent can definitely be used in Europe. You can play at a high competitive level there,'” said Barnies. “And I’m like, I wanted to still play. I was very much invested into this game. So that first year I went to Turkey, and I kind of haven’t looked back from there. I’ve had really good jobs overseas. I’ve been all over.
Troy Barnies, right, has played for eight pro teams, including Szolnoki Olaj of Hungary in 2016. Janos Meszaros/MTI via AP
“For me, I completely invested into this. My wife understands that. We talked about it when we met. Like, hey, I’m a professional basketball player. The stability of my job is not always there. Say I don’t play well for an extended period of time, I can lose my job. That’s just how it is at my level. It’s a business. I could be bouncing around from country to country for God knows how long. She understands that. She’s grinding for med school, and we’re 100 percent supporting each other’s dreams right now. We know it’s going to become stable down the road, but right now we’re both kind of grinding it out.”
As for what stability will look like, well, that’s kind of a moving target.
“She has her plan; she’s going to be a doctor,” Barnies said. “And the great thing about that is that when she gets her MD and becomes one, she can work basically anywhere where she can speak the language – and she can speak, like, six languages. Now, the problem for me is that when I retire I want to continue in the basketball world. I want to coach. So I’m going to find a job, I don’t know where, at some point. We’re going to talk about that when the time comes, when I stop playing. But right now we really haven’t thought about it because I want to play at least four or five more years if I can.”
Where they land will basically depend on “whoever gets the better job or the better situation, but obviously coaching basketball in the United States at a collegiate level or professional is the better salary and better job for me,” he said. “So if a job opportunity like that comes up in America, then we will try to settle down here. If my wife gets a good job in Norway, say, or a different country, then maybe I’ll look for a coaching job there. We just kind of have to wing it when that time comes.”
Sandra has one year of med school left, and she’s considering being an orthopedist. Which could work out quite well for her husband.
“I’m not against it, I’ll tell you that,” Barnies said with a laugh. “God knows when I retire, my body’s going to need some extra help.”
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