Walk into a social studies classroom at a school, any school.

Chances are there will be a globe and if you look at it, spanning the vast expanse of places documented on that sphere, there might not be two places more opposite than Wilkinsburg and Moscow.

Culturally, demographically, climate-wise, topographically and about a trillion other ways, Wilkinsburg and Moscow are light years apart.

That said, it takes a special person not just to function in both places, but to thrive.

Meet J.R. Holden, a figurative bridge-builder -- through basketball -- between this eastern suburb that abuts the City of Pittsburgh and the most populous city in Europe that rests along the Moskva River.

Holden, a Wilkinsburg native and Linsly School (Wheeling, W.Va.) graduate who will turn 30 later this month, is fresh off his eighth season playing basketball overseas, where he's substantiated himself as one of the preeminent point guards.

His club team, CSKA, recently won the Euroleague championship. Perhaps the biggest accomplishment for this former Bucknell star is that he's become a Russian citizen and is the first black player on the Russian National Team roster.

How that came to be is a story in and of itself.

"At first, we were kind of joking about it," Holden said of his inclusion on the Russian National Team. "I was at one of the [national team] games with my agent, and afterward we were talking to the coach.

"He said, 'I think we're OK, but we could use a point guard.' Jokingly I said that I could play for them and then, the next thing I knew, I was on the team and it was a great decision I've made."

Holden, who said he makes, "about triple what I would make with the NBA's minimum salary" of $398,762, has seen all sides of Moscow and he knows the spoils that come with being a professional athlete with a lofty reputation.

"Honestly, I don't feel that I'm the right study in how the Russian people treat Americans and, especially African-Americans or, for that matter, Africans," said Holden. "Let's face it, I'm a professional athlete and as much as some athletes might not like to admit it, they are treated better, mostly everywhere in the world. So, when an African man in Moscow says to me, 'Don't ride the subway at night,' I really can't relate because I have a car, where most do not.

"So, the short answer is that there is racism everywhere and there are also great people everywhere. Moscow is no different; there is good and bad."

And for one night a few weeks ago, Holden got to enjoy a night devoid of working out and the rigors that come with being one of Europe's finest players. He was in Pittsburgh, at a hotel ballroom, where scores of friends and family held a banquet in his honor. The evening, he said, was one of the most memorable of his life.

"There have been very few times when I have felt overwhelmed in my life," Holden said.

"The surprise party was one of them. All the people there, every one of them, have seen me grow from a kid in Wilkinsburg to what I am today.

"To see people come to that party not just from the Pittsburgh area, but from D.C. and North Carolina and Virginia and other places was special.

"Those were the people who were always telling me to keep working hard and were the people who motivated me."

Now he wants to stay on the short list of the best players in Europe -- a place he said has comparable talent to the NBA.

"I don't think many people understand the level of talent overseas," Holden said. "Who is to say some of the best guys in the world aren't playing there? There are many, many guys who could play a role in the NBA playing in leagues overseas."

And he backed up his claim with the following argument:

"Of course, the first six or seven guys on an NBA team are exceptional and they are the best players out there," Holden said. "But then, look at the other guys on an NBA roster, maybe the seventh and eighth guy and so on.

"Are they better than Tyus Edney, who is playing in Europe? Or Travis Best or Kenny Anderson? Of course guys such as Kobe [Bryant] and LeBron [James] are the best talents in the world, but as you go down an NBA bench, there is no difference with that talent and the talent overseas."