It starts out like any recruiting story.
“When you’re a coach, you’re trying to put together the best team,” University of Hartford basketball coach, John Gallagher said.
But it’s where Gallagher found that team where his playbook starts to look a little foreign.
“I started to go to the world championships and other events,” Gallagher said. “The first international student was Corbin Rowe from Australia.”
Then one player turned to two players and now seven seasons later, the Hawks roster boasts players from eight different countries.
“It’s kind of crazy because the overseas guys outweigh the guys from the states,” said junior Jason Dunne. “You think about playing college basketball with a few guys from the west coast maybe here or there.”
So when “around the world” means more than just a drill on the court, it can put things in perspective.
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“Nowadays, four hours to New Jersey isn’t anything,” said Dunne about his own trip home.
Dunne quickly became part of the welcome committee.
“He talked kind of fast but I got used to it,” said Hassan Attia, the senior from Egypt, about learning to be roommates with Dunne.
After all, when they’re on the court, there’s only one language.
“We all speak Hartford basketball,” Attia said.
The Hawks 2017-18 season came to an end in the semifinals of the America East Tournament, falling to UMBC.
