Wally Szczerbiak

By Allyson Turner

As Miami of Ohio co-captain, Wally Szczerbiak led the 10th-seeded RedHawks into the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16. Szczerbiak scored a career-high 43 points in a first-round upset over seventh-seeded Washington and blocked a last-second shot that would have won the game for the Huskies. In the second-round matchup against No. 2 seed Utah, Szczerbiak scored 24 points and helped the RedHawks advance to St. Louis, where they will face defending national champion Kentucky in the Midwest Regional semifinals.

A 6-foot-8, 243-pound senior, Szczerbiak is a contender for All-America honors and is one of 10 preseason Naismith College Player of the Year candidates. Szczerbiak was the first player from Miami of Ohio to be selected for a U.S. international team when he earned a berth on the 1998 Goodwill Games roster. As the team's leading scorer, he led the U.S. to a gold medal.

Wally is the son of Walt Szczerbiak, who starred at George Washington University before playing for the ABA's Pittsburgh Condors and for Real Madrid in Spain, where he won three European championships. Wally credits his dad with teaching him the most about basketball.

 

Wally Szczerbiak was named MAC Player of the Year. (Allsport)

Does this team feel like a Cinderella team?
Not really. I think as a team, we've worked toward this for all of our college careers. I know a lot of people haven't expected us to do this, but we've come in with the mindset that we can play with anyone. We've proven that throughout the season. We've had the opportunity to play some big-time teams, in big-time situations, and we've taken advantage of it.

How far can this team go?
We'll just have to see. We're taking it one game at a time, and the games just get tougher from here on in. We've stepped up our game to whatever level we have to play against. Hopefully we can continue that and keep moving on.

What are your expectations against Kentucky?
They are the defending national champions. I don't think much more has to be said. It should be a big big challenge for us. They are a very deep team. They like to dictate the tempo so it's gonna be up to us to play our game. We feel like we match up as long as we can stay fresh and rested.

How is it for you having your dad in the stands?
He's going crazy. He was screaming, getting our fans going during the first round of the tournament. He's just really enjoying himself. It's kind of rejuvenation from his old career, so he's having a great time following me.

When was the first time you beat your dad one-on-one?
The summer going into my freshman year of college. I was pretty happy, but it ended in an argument, so it took the victory away. It was a victory nonetheless, and we haven't played since. We tend to stay away from that because we end up arguing.

What has your father given you?
He has taught me everything I know about basketball. I've grown up watching him play and working out in different gyms. He has always given me different tips and pointers on what to do in different situations and how to become a better player. That has really helped me out a lot.

If you had your choice, what team in the NBA would you most like to play for?
Being up here in Ohio with all this snow around, I want to be somewhere warm. New Orleans was a great city. I want to go somewhere I can enjoy playing with my teammates, enjoy the organization, the fans and there is a winning tradition.

Who is the toughest player you ever faced?
Playing against Chris Mullin was pretty tough. I played against him a lot during the summers. I worked out against him about twice a week the past two years, so he's taught me a lot. He's probably the toughest guy I've gone up against.

What has he taught you?
Just different things on how to get open and how to become more of a complete player. How to get your shot up whenever you need to. Those are different things that I needed to learn how to do.

Which player do you most admire?
Larry Bird has always been my idol. I really have a lot of respect for what he's accomplished. He's been a player that a lot of people have looked up to and I'm just another one.

Whose game in the NBA would you most like to emulate?
Tom Gugliotta. I have a lot of respect for what he has accomplished in the league so far. He's a player that I'd like to become and play like even though I'm not quite as tall. I'd like to develop his type of game and hopefully have the success he has had in the NBA.

What is your pet peeve?
I get annoyed when some reporters are in the locker room as the team's getting ready to get on the bus, and they want me to hang around for another hour and wait for them. I don't enjoy when the attention gets to be too much.

Before a game, what do you always do?
I always try not to psyche myself out and make myself not play a bad game. I think that is really important because if you do anything differently before a game that you've done previously then you think you're not gonna play as well for some odd reason. I try to do everything the same as I always do, eat the same, sleep the same and then, hopefully, play as well as I normally do.

What is one word or phrase that best describes you?
I try to be charismatic on the court. I try to smile a lot and enjoy myself and have a good time playing because I really enjoy the game of basketball.

What would you say to someone that wanted to go directly to the pros, about your college experience?
If you stay four years, you get an education which is irreplaceable. It's very important to have that. It's also very important to be coached for four years and learn the importance of hard work while you're in school.

If you could have anyone over your house for dinner, whom would you invite?
Michael Jordan would be kind of cool.

What is a perfect day?
Get up around noon. Play some basketball in a pick-up game with my friends. Hang out, play some video games and watch some wrestling at night.

Wrestling, WCW?
Yeah. Watching WCW is something that I really enjoy doing.

Who's your guy?
Bill Goldberg.