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USF goes international for women's basketball talent

 
USF starting point guard Laura Marcos Canedo, near right, driving on Connecticut guard Saniya Chong, is a native of Spain and one of six scholarship players on the Bulls from Europe.
USF starting point guard Laura Marcos Canedo, near right, driving on Connecticut guard Saniya Chong, is a native of Spain and one of six scholarship players on the Bulls from Europe.
Published March 2, 2015

TAMPA — The disparity between Connecticut and its league counterparts remains profound. Closing the gap requires broadening horizons. It doesn't suffice to merely think outside the box; one must think outside the borders.

Hence, USF women's basketball coach Jose Fernandez has gone to great lengths — upward of 5,000 miles — to try to narrow that chasm.

"We're going to try to get the players here in our program. It doesn't matter where they're from," said Fernandez, whose NCAA Tournament-bound team hosts the top-ranked Huskies tonight. "If they're right down the road or you've got to go across the country or across the world to get them, that's what we'll do."

For years, Fernandez has done just that.

While his best players — shooting guard Courtney Williams and power forward Alisia Jenkins — hail from Georgia, six of his remaining 13 scholarship athletes are from Europe. Starting small forward Laura Ferreira? Portugal. Starting point guard Laura Marcos Canedo? Spain. No. 4 rebounder Maria Jespersen? Denmark. The European contingent is averaging 19.5 points for USF.

These are just the latest imports. Ukraine native Inga Orekhova, who completed her career last season, was drafted by the WNBA's Atlanta Dream in April. A half-decade ago, Fernandez landed a center from Finland named Salla Eckstrom.

"They play different," Williams said. "I don't want to say it's smarter, but it's creative. They all have a creative way of playing."

A table in Fernandez's second-floor office inside the Muma Basketball Center is littered with programs from International Basketball Federation, or FIBA, European tournaments. Through the years, he has attended FIBA events in the Czech Republic, Portugal, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Italy in search of talent.

Once he identifies the kids in whom he's interested, he collaborates with assistants Michele Woods-Baxter and Desma Thomas Bateast then remains in touch with the prospects via email, Skype and Facebook.

"They don't get caught up, I think, in the name. They don't have travel-team coaches or AAU coaches or handlers telling them where they should go," Fernandez said.

"I think if you get the right ones and the ones that fit into your system, their mentality and work ethic also are very good. They live in the gym and they're also good students."

The European players, in turn, get a package deal — hoops and an education — practically unavailable in their home countries.

In lieu of high school and college basketball, players compete for clubs, with the elite ones playing for their respective national teams. Once their secondary education is complete, they face a choice: pro ball or school.

"Back in Europe, if I wanted to play pro, I couldn't study," said Ferreira, who played in 86 games for the Portuguese national team and scored a career-high 24 in Saturday's 99-71 win at UCF. "They didn't help a lot (educationally)."

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These days, she's among a skyrocketing number of European players enjoying the best of both worlds. Ninth-ranked FSU has two European players. No. 7 Oregon State has one from Europe and two from Canada.

Fernandez has simply taken the philosophy an extra mile, give or take 5,000.

"For us, it's a niche," he said. "It's worked out well for us."