Szendrei's Story

by Mike Houck

Nov. 27, 2001

NORMAN, Okla. - Jozsef Szendrei has traveled a long way to play basketball, a very long way. He has endured unordinary hardships and has faced challenge after challenge, all so he could keep alive his dream of playing his favorite sport.

Early in life, Szendrei, who is 6-9 and weighs 240 pounds, seemed more destined for a life of soccer than the American version of roundball. Born in the Hungarian plains in 1979, the son of a professional soccer goalkeeper bounced around Europe as his father moved from team to team. Szendrei's family returned to Hungary in 1992 when his father retired. It was in 1990, though, while living in Spain that Szendrei became hooked on hoops in the soccer-crazed country.

"My dad took me to see San Fernando, a Spanish pro team in Cadiz, play against a Yugoslavian team," recalls Szendrei. "The Yugoslavians dominated and then I saw them in the airport the next day. My dad seemed so little to them. I wanted to be as tall as them and that's when I decided I was going to play basketball."

Soon, at the age of 12, Szendrei was practicing on a basketball club team in Cadiz. Despite his lack of coordination - he was already 5-10 - Szendrei enjoyed his time on the court.

In high school, in Hungary's capital city of Budapest, Szendrei squeezed basketball into a busy schedule as a freshman and sophomore. Because of school, practice with his club team and long rides to and from both, there was little time for studying. His grades took a major hit. He thought another change of scenery might benefit his education, as well as his basketball career.

"I started planning to be an exchange student in October 1995. I wanted to go to the United States," says Szendrei. "I didn't speak English so I started seeing a tutor on the weekends so I could learn the language."

He was cleared for the exchange program in the spring of 1996 and found out in June that he'd be leaving for the U.S. - in a mere three days.

"I told my parents and my mom broke down," said Szendrei. "I was fine until we got to the Budapest airport, and then I broke down too."

Nonetheless, Szendrei and 140 pounds of his belongings that were crammed into a pair of travel bags boarded a plane bound for New York.

Said Szendrei about heading to the U.S., "It would be like if you were going to the moon. You've heard about it, but you really don't know what it's going to be like."

Szendrei switched planes in New York, headed to Salt Lake City and then to Seattle. From there he headed to Tumwater, Wash., about 70 miles south of Seattle, to live with a host family that consisted of a mother, father, 16-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son. The stay was short-lived, however, as Szendrei decided to switch host families within two months. He hooked up with a family that was already hosting a Swedish exchange student whom he befriended at school.

That first year in Tumwater, Szendrei started for the junior varsity team. The following year he helped the Tumwater varsity squad to a 27-4 record and fifth-place state tournament finish by averaging 17.0 points and 11.0 rebounds. Despite earning first-team All-State honors, he wasn't heavily recruited. In fact, he was offered a basketball scholarship by just one school. And it was a junior college.

Szendrei wasn't upset. Surprisingly, he was elated.

"It was like the stars were shining down on me," he remembers. "I looked at it like this: I was going up! I got better. I was taking the next step. At first, I didn't even know what a junior college was. But I knew I was going to the next level."

So Szendrei packed his bags again and headed to Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo. The populations of the cities in which he lived were dwindling fast. He went from 2 million people in Budapest to 80,000 residents in Tumwater to about 15,000 in Sterling. Northeastern was a small school in a small town.

"If I wasn't in the gym I was at Wal-Mart," jokes Szendrei. "Because there was nothing else to do."

It didn't take Szendrei long to form a bond with Northeastern coach Lowell Roumph. The Hungarian scored points with the longtime NJC mentor by being physical. He did the basics, he competed hard and he rebounded. It was a simple formula, but it was effective.

"We'd run a play, I'd set a screen and then go get the rebound. I wasn't physically gifted so I did what I had to do."

Szendrei started as a freshman and averaged 8.7 points and 9.2 rebounds. He registered 26 boards in a game versus McCook Community College. Following the season he flew home to Budapest. When he returned in August, Roumph delivered some 225 recruiting letters that had accumulated while Szendrei was at home. Suddenly he was a hot commodity among Division I schools and he says he didn't know how to deal with it. He didn't enjoy listening to 18 phone messages when he returned from class, but he did it. Like so many things, recruiting was new to him and he thought he was going to go crazy. At the advice of Roumph, he decided to wait until spring to sign a letter of intent.

Szendrei dealt with the onslaught of calls and letters and was off to a great sophomore season by averaging 15.3 points and 14.5 rebounds by the end of the fall semester. He traveled to Budapest for Christmas and sustained a stress fracture in his left foot while playing indoor soccer. It was the first of several physical setbacks for Szendrei recently. The injury forced him to miss the remainder of the season, but he still found himself being heavily recruited.

He had narrowed his choice of schools to Oklahoma, Louisville and Purdue, plus a few others. He visited Louisville in March 2000 and Norman was his next stop. He told himself he was going to make up his mind based solely on people - the programs' coaches and players. His decision ended up being an easy one.

"OU put effort into it," says Szendrei. "And I could see myself with those guys. I could see myself on the court with (Michael) Cano, (Tim) Heskett, Nolan (Johnson) and everybody. It was over. I knew it before I left Norman that I was going to be a Sooner."

Szendrei signed with Oklahoma and went back to Hungary following the school year. He suffered another injury while home, this time to his right knee. He tore his anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments while engaging in a game of pickup basketball. He returned to Norman and underwent surgery that summer. He longed for the support and care of his family, but his relatives were half a world away.

Says Szendrei, "I was never so scared in my life. I was ready to say 'I'm going home.' I needed my family, the grass in our garden, the sound of our dog barking. It was horrible."

But Szendrei pulled through with the help of OU's medical staff and his new teammates and coaches. He battled through rehab in an attempt to play the 2000-01 season. He suited up for a pair of games in December but his knee was still recovering. Then he was the recipient of an elbow during practice. The result was a hematoma in his throat and more pain. He couldn't talk. Szendrei didn't play the rest of the season and wound up redshirting. He spent the remainder of the season focusing on regaining his health. Just when things were looking bright, he had another setback.

Playing in a pickup game with then-roommate Blake Johnston in Johnston's hometown of Midland, Texas, late last March, Szendrei felt a pop in his left knee while playing defense. He knew he was hurt but didn't think it was serious. A team doctor told him otherwise, though, and the diagnosis was a torn ACL. Szendrei couldn't believe it.

"I had to smile," he says. "If I didn't, I would have cried."

The experience of the first knee injury meant Szendrei was better equipped psychologically to handle the latest setback. He approached rehab with vigor and was cleared medically by the start of practice in mid-October. While he still feels soreness, he is anxious to be a major contributor for the Sooners this year. He has stood out in practice with his trademarks of hustle and rebounding. In OU's first exhibition game, Szendrei grabbed 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes of action.

"I feel good. I'm a good healer. I believe in healing well," Szendrei says with a smile.

As for the 2001-02 Sooners, Szendrei likes what he sees.

"We've got a good group. I like all my teammates and our coaching staff will do a great job of preparing us. This is a great rebounding team and we're ready to go.

"This is where I want to be," says Szendrei of OU. "There's no better place for me while I'm in the U.S."

It's obvious Szendrei is happy. If he maintains his health, the Sooners will be happy, too.

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