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HOLT – Szymon Zapala knew what lay ahead when looking for a new school.
The 2.13m Polish centre-back spent just a year on the transfer market before coming back in. He didn’t go in for a second spell with huge confidence as to where he would end up.
“The portal is very mysterious and creates a lot of stress, so it’s not a great place to be,” Zapala recalled. “I had no idea what was going to happen. “I was hoping for something good.”
After having been relegated the last time, Zapala rose significantly. He spent three years at Utah State before transferring to lower-league Longwood University in Virginia last season. Coming soon: Zapala transferred to Michigan State for his final season of eligibility.
“It’s the prospect of playing for something more … playing for a national championship,” Zapala said Thursday after playing in the annual Moneyball Pro-Am at Holt High School. “That’s the mentality they have here and that’s something I was looking for.”
Zapala played for the Polish national team during the 2019 FIBA U18 European Championship before signing with Utah State. The pandemic-related recruiting dead period meant he didn’t step foot on campus until he enrolled in a new environment in a “blind shot.” He studied English in school while growing up in Poland, but there was a steep learning curve in Utah.
“When I first came here, I had no idea what people were saying to me,” Zapala said, laughing. “I just smiled.”
Zapala played a limited role in three seasons at Utah State, averaging just 1.2 points and 1.3 rebounds in 4.6 minutes per game. He transferred to Longwood last year and was much more productive, putting up 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in an efficient 16.8 minutes per game with 24 starts in 35 games. The Lancers won the Big South tournament title before losing to No. 1 seed Houston in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Zapala’s growth during one season was followed by a second stage in the portal. Around the same time that Michigan State center Mady Sissoko announced that he was looking to transfer before ultimately landing at Cal, Zapala heard from the Spartans.
“I feel like we connected really well from the first phone call and everything went well from that moment on,” Zapala said. “Then I came to visit here… and I loved everything about this place. “I love the culture, I love the people around the program… I fell in love with this place and I wanted to be here.”
Zapala is one of two transfer additions the Spartans made this offseason, along with high-scoring forward Frankie Fidler from Omaha. Last year, looking for a difference-making center was an obvious possibility, but Izzo didn’t budge. He stuck with a three-man primary rotation in the middle with Sissoko, Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler. It didn’t work out the way Izzo hoped, and he stuck with Zapala to fill the 13th and final scholarship spot for this season.
“He brings size, he brings some things that we think are just emerging and that sounds strange at the end of his career,” Izzo said recently, “but we felt like we needed some things.”
Zapala said he followed Michigan State basketball before moving to the United States and spending his first season at the university. He also knew Izzo and the two seem to share a common belief system.
“I think I know what it takes to win,” Zapala said. “Not everyone likes how hard it is to win, and if you’ve been around programs that win, I think you learn a lot about what kind of culture you have to have and what kind of relationships within the team and how hard you have to work to be able to win.”
Zapala moves well at 7-foot, 240 pounds and is expected to move into the middle competition with Cooper and Kohler. Former five-star recruit Xavier Booker had a rough freshman season but will likely settle in at power forward with increased playing time. Zapala deferred when asked about his projected role.
“I leave it to the coaches,” he said. “They know exactly what they’re doing… I’m not here to say what’s going to happen. From my standpoint, I just know I’m going to play hard, I’m going to do the dirty work and I’m going to do everything I can to put the team in a winning situation.”
On Thursday, Zapala played on opposite teams from Booker during Moneyball, a free-flowing game with little defense. He missed a few shots from the rim early in the game, but finished better with numerous dunks and a 3-pointer.
“Offensively, I think I bring a lot to the table,” Zapala said, noting his presence in the paint. “I’m still working on my shot, so that’s something we want to include in my game next year. Obviously, defensively, I bring a lot of the size that is needed to play at a higher level.”
Zapala is only four years away from moving around the world and is now in his third school in as many seasons. She has been on campus for over a month working with a new team and said the transition has been very smooth.
“Especially when you join a new team, sometimes it can be difficult to adapt and be around your teammates,” Zapala said. “That’s why it was so important to be in a place where culture is so important. Here, there is nothing better than that.”
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