Daily Pilot College Athlete of the Month ... Stanislav Zuzak

Amara Aguilar

Communication isn’t a problem for UC Irvine men’s basketball player

Stanislav Zuzak, who grew up in the Czech Republic.

At least, not anymore. The 6-foot-10 sophomore forward had some

difficulty with English when he joined the Anteaters last season, even

though he attended classes to learn the language in the Czech Republic.

“It was hard,” Zuzak said. “It was really different when I came here.

The first month was really hard. In the classes I understood 50 or 60

percent. After two months it was okay.”

Things were not so difficult on the basketball court. In fact, Zuzak

understood almost everything.

“A lot of the words used in basketball are the same in many

countries,” Zuzak said. “I didn’t have that much problems on the court as

in the classroom. The Czech coaches used English words. It became so

common, I became used to it.”

Hints of Zuzak’s homeland are present when he speaks. He has a strong

accent and still says, “How do you say it?” every now and then when

searching for words in English. He also has adopted some American slang,

such as, “My bad.”

He seems to be quite comfortable with English now and with playing for

the Anteaters (12-4, 5-0 in the Big West). Zuzak has adjusted to a new

country, new language and a new school.

As a freshman, Zuzak averaged 4.9 points per game and 3.3 rebounds. He

was also named to the Big West Conference All-Freshman team.

This season, the Daily Pilot College Athlete of the Month for December

is averaging 9.4 points per game.

He had a career-high 22 points in the Anteaters’ dramatic 75-74 loss

to UCLA at Pauley Pavilion on Dec. 15.

“To play against UCLA is always exciting,” Zuzak said. “It’s really

big to go there and play ... I was doing well in the practices. I hope

that some things are going to come in games like that. It just came at

UCLA.”

Confidence has been a major factor in Zuzak’s success this season. In

addition to increasing his points per game average from last season,

Zuzak has shot well from three-point range.

He has made 24 of 45 three-point attempts (53%).

“I’m definitely much more confident because I played really bad in the

first few games, then I started making shots and now I’m really confident

in my shots,” he said.

Zuzak got some extra basketball experience during the off season. He

played for the Czech Republic in the World University Games in Beijing,

China last summer.

“It was a great experience,” Zuzak said. “It’s kind of a poor country.

I saw a lot of poor people around the University Village ... The overall

experience was really good. The competition was really good.”

Before attending UCI, Zuzak played for the Czech Under-20 National

Team. He began playing basketball when he was seven years old.

Early on, Zuzak’s father helped coach his son on various club teams.

“It was always my dream to play in the U.S.” Zuzak said. “I wanted to

try it here because it is a different style of basketball.”

Zuzak got his chance to play in Southern California when UCI assistant

coach Len Stevens recruited him. Zuzak, 21, hopes to continue his

basketball career after college.

“I want to keep playing basketball,” Zuzak said. “Really, I think it’s

too early to talk about it. It’s not here, but I’d like to play somewhere

in Europe ... This is the most exciting game.”

Stanislav Zuzak

Born: Feb. 6, 1980

Hometown: Chodov, Czech Republic

Height: 6-foot-10

Weight: 230

Sport: Basketball

Position: Forward

Coach: Pat Douglass

Favorite food: Chicken tenders

Favorite movie: “The Sixth Sense”

Best athletic moment: Playing in the European Championships for the

Czech Under-20 National Team, playing for the Czech Republic in the World

University Games last summer in Beijing, China and winning the Big West

championship with the Anteaters last season.

Athlete of the Week: He scored a career-high 22 points in UCI’s narrow

75-74 loss to UCLA on Dec. 15. He has made 24 of 45 three-point attempts.