This is where pro basketball players in Milwaukee play pickup games in the summer

BROWN DEER - Bryquis "Bree" Perine had a lot of time to think during his professional basketball career that spanned 11 countries over the last decade.

The former Vincent High School standout would find himself many time zones away from Milwaukee, often the only American player on his team. Perine would ponder why he was able to carve out a solid career overseas while many others couldn't.

"You learn if you are built for this or not," Perine said. "You’ll know. Trust me, you’ll know. When you’re eight hours ahead and people don’t pick up the phone. You lose touch with people. You’ll know if you’re built for this because your whole life changes.

"It’s all about being respectful, too. You got to have patience over there. Be respectful towards people. At the end of the day, if you go out and you work, work, work and you put the correct work in, the sky is the limit. You can make a living. Everybody can’t make it to the NBA. Damn near impossible to make the NBA."

The 34-year-old's playing days came to an end in France with a knee injury. Back in his hometown last summer, Perine started thinking about how to use his accrued hoops knowledge and contacts.

Perine and his cousin, former Pius High School star Korie Lucious, noticed that there was something missing in Milwaukee. With so many pro basketball players hanging around in the summer, there weren't any high-level pickup games. If they wanted to keep getting contracts like Perine did, they needed to keep in top shape.

Perine works as a teacher at Brown Deer High School, so he had access to several gyms. So Lucious and Perine founded what they called the Stay Paranoid Open Runs.

'Stay paranoid. Stay working.'

The name came out a philosophy shared by Perine and Lucious, who has also put together a nomadic pro career.

"Stay paranoid because the moment you’re not, it’s over," Perine said. "Like the moment you relax in this game, oh, it can be over if you feel comfortable.

"So the easiest thing is to stay paranoid. Stay working. If I don’t produce, I am going home. Nine times out of ten, that’s how it is. If you don’t produce, you’re going home."

The hunger for quality games was strong among the local pro players. They needed to stay sharp in June and July before heading off to their respective leagues in August.

"It was rare to get gym access unless you knew somebody," said James Batemon, the former Milwaukee Riverside standout who signed to play in Israel next season. "And now they open up the gym for all the pros and each guy is sharpening each other’s iron."

There are five-on-five games several times a week. Perine and Lucious handle the logistics of getting enough players together and then dividing up the teams. Perine will also have individual skill workouts.

"We got so much talent in the city," said Duane Wilson, the former Whitefish Bay Dominican and Marquette University player who is looking for his next pro opportunity. "As far as NBA players, overseas guys as well as college and high school guys. Bree and K-Lu been doing a good job making sure everybody is getting in the gym. Whether it’s workouts or five-on-five.

"You get to play against the other top pros. Playing against James. Monte (former Germantown star Lamonte Bearden). All the other guys. You can’t beat that. It’s better to get those type of reps. That’s what you need to keep on making that next step overseas or whatever your career path is."

That's what separates these runs from those at the local YMCA or at the playground. There's no senseless hard fouls on fast breaks or an overzealous weekend warrior who wants to block a pro's shot. The next contract could be at stake, so mitigating the injury risk is a must.

"Guys will compete to the fullest," Wilson said. "Everybody got that edge and that chip on their shoulder. Guys want to come in and want to be the best one in the gym.

"I know that’s my mind-set when I come into the gym. I want to be the best player in the open gym or this workout today. I know those guys are the same way. So every time you step on, you got to give everything you got. There’s cameras in here. Spectators."

It's also a place where the players can work on their games while sharing notes about their travels and travails around the globe.

“I thank Bree and I thank K-Lu, Korie Lucious, a lot for the opportunity," Batemon said. "Because they’re giving back to the younger guys that’s coming up after them.

"They were before us, so they were playing overseas but they really didn’t have too many guys above them that had opened up opportunities."

Kevon Looney and other NBA players stop by the gym

Walk into the Brown Deer gym on a random day in the summer and it's possible to see several generations of Milwaukee talent on the same court.

Perine, Diante Garrett, Dwight Buycks and Jerry Smith are the players that Wilson and Batemon looked up to when they were younger. Deonte Burton and Alondes Williams are guys with NBA experience like Garrett and Buycks. High-school stars like Yusef Gray Jr. of West Allis Central and Jamarion Batemon of Milwaukee Academy of Science also can get their first glimpses of what a pro player looks like.

"The game is faster, they might get their shot off as easy as they did in high school," said James Batemon, Jamarion's older brother. "It gives them experience and it also gives them a chance to work on their game against bigger, stronger guys. Because eventually they will touch this level and hopefully they’ll be ready and prepared for it.”

There's extra buzz in the gym when a NBA player drops by. Perine said that the Miami Heat's Tyler Herro played in a few games last summer.

A few weeks ago, while Golden State Warriors center Kevon Looney was back in Milwaukee, he stopped in for several days worth of action.

"The runs was really competitive," Wilson said. "Usually in Milwaukee it’s hard for us to get bigs to come down. We had (former Pewaukee star) Grant Basile and (ex-Stoughton standout) Nick McGlynn and we had a few other guys pop in.

"It was great because you could really simulate game situations. Ball screens. Dumping into the post. Moving without the ball. Even with Looney coming in. Looney played with Steph (Curry), he knows how to find shooters and make the extra pass and rebound. The talking on defense. Really, it’s been a great summer for the runs."

Perine said he doesn't charge the players any money. He might not be chasing the game around the world anymore, but he loves to pass on all that hard-won hoops wisdom.

"Just seeing the players now elevate," Perine said. "Watching Duane Wilson since he been younger. Watching James Batemon since he been younger.

"Just watching them grow into the people they are now. The family men they are now. Great fathers. Doing stuff in the community. It’s good to see and I’m glad to see that basketball is in good hands with the guys we have."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kevon Looney Tyler Herro and other Milwaukee pros play pickup games