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FELICIAN GRADUATE LEARNING REALITIES OF NON-U.S. PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL

January 31, 2008

Courtesy of Mark Mentone, Felician SID

RUTHERFORD, N.J.-In the last four months, 2007 Felician College graduate Michael Pierrot (Melville, NY/Half Hollow Hills East) has gotten paid to play a game he loves, in places he otherwise might never have seen. In the process, the business administration major has learned some harsh real-world lessons about international business and politics.

After earning all-Northeast Region honors for the Felician men's basketball team in 2006-07, Pierrot made his professional debut in Mexico last September. The 6-foot-10 center signed with Matamoros-based Los Algodoneros of La Liga Nacional de Balconcesto (LNBP) (www.lnbp.com.mx), and quickly realized he had moved to a higher level in basketball and in life.

"It wasn't easy at first; the game was much more physical and demanding," said Pierrot, believed to be the third Felician graduate to play pro men's basketball. "People didn't know me or my school and I had to prove myself every day. In the community, I learned really fast to carry myself like a representative of the team. Everywhere I went, I felt like a professional. Members of the league are definitely noticed in public."

The Mexican experience was short-lived. Six games into the season, Pierrot's team was sold, and his contract was bought out. But not long after returning to his parents' Long Island home, his representative informed him of another opportunity, this time in the South American republic of Bolivia.

"I was very excited," he said. "I left Mexico on good terms. The team was 1-5, there were less than 50 people at our home games, and sponsorship was low, so I understood what happened. I was ready for another challenge and anxious to experience another culture."

In Pierrot's new league, La Liga Superior del Basquet Boliviano en Tarija (www.latinbasket.com/bol/bol.asp), the champion is decided in a tournament format. He got off to a hot start in late November, averaging 27.3 points in leading Meta La Salle to a 2-1 record and past the first round. But then the outside world intervened once again. Pierrot was sent home and the tournament postponed due to political unrest and the threat of a civil war in the country.

Instead of leaving him bitter, his two brief pro stints have only made Pierrot hungrier to succeed. Only a part-time starter in his first three seasons at Felician, he broke through to average a school-record 20.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks last year, before joining Julius David (Philippines) and Bilal Rodgers (Sweden) as ex-Golden Falcons to sign pro contracts. Being a frontcourt player who worked hard to develop low post skills, Felician's all-time blocked-shot and field-goal percentage leader still feels his best basketball is ahead of him.

"They changed the (Bolivian) tournament to February, and hopefully I can go back," Pierrot said. "I just want another opportunity to play and show the world what I can do."