PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
The definitive source for all PirateCrew news.
By Colin Rajala
Basketball started out as nothing more than a hobby for Patrik Auda, but the sport has since served as a means for him to gain a college education and travel the world.
Auda’s time and effort on the hardwood over the last two decades will culminate this weekend as he suits up to represent his homeland, the Czech Republic, on the world’s largest stage – the 2020 Summer Olympics.
“My parents used to play and as a kid I would go watch my dad play, so it was obvious for me that I was going to play as well. When I was playing it was like a hobby, I had friends who played, so it was really more just for fun. I never really thought I was going to go play professionally or dreamed that I could play for the national team at the Olympics. That all came later to me,” Auda said, in an interview with Piratecrew.com.
What started out as just fun and games burgeoned into something more when Auda was playing in the second division in his hometown of Brno as the first division team’s season was cancelled because the club was unable to come up with funding.
Auda’s blend of size, skill and untapped potential caught the eye of Canarias Basketball Academy Founder and Director Rob Orellana, who recruited the 6-foot-9-inch forward to play for the senior team at the basketball institute, located in Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands off the Northwest coast of Africa.
“Leaving was the best decision in my life, for sure. If I stayed in the Czech Republic, I wasn’t going to get too much better as a player,” Auda said.
CBA, which has sent more than 65 student athletes to play at the NCAA Division I level, played at the National Prep Showcase in Rhode Island and Auda’s performance piqued the interest of Seton Hall Head Coach Kevin Willard, which ultimately led to him extending a scholarship offer that Auda gladly accepted.
“When I went to the states for college, those four years being abroad across the ocean in a totally new environment experiencing a new culture and all that really opened my eyes. It helped me to see things from different perspectives, it helped me to see the world differently”
One of the biggest differences Auda saw between the U.S. and Europe was the dedication by Seton Hall’s student athletes as they sought to be the best at their respective sports.
“The mindset of people there was just different. If you want to be the best at the sport you play, you have to put in a lot of extra work and they were all doing it automatically. I [had] never seen that before when I was back home, and that really changed my thinking and I kind of started to realize that if I want to work hard, maybe I can play professionally. That was the most important thing that I learned in the states – if you want to be good at something you have to really work hard for it,” Auda said.
Auda’s game progressed each year he donned the Pirate Blue going from 3.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game as a freshman to averaging 9.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game during his redshirt junior campaign, while being named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches honor roll.
“The practicing was a little bit different than what I was used to because most of the practices as a kid were like full scrimmages or something similar, we would play three on three, four on four or five on five. At Seton Hall, we had so many individual workouts and even when it was a team practice, some of the time was for individual work. Then after practice we would work out more, so I was working on my individual skills a lot more and I liked it. It definitely helped me to develop as a player,” Auda added.
During Auda’s redshirt junior season , the lefty scorer helped Seton Hall defeat number one seed and nationally third ranked Villanova in the Big East Tournament quarterfinal, tallying 13 points while shooting 6-8 from the field and notching four rebounds. The Pirates would later fall in the tournament semi-finals to eventual champion Providence.
Auda’s Seton Hall career was not without its trials and tribulations – he would miss time due to various injuries, including missing the final 28 games of the 2012-2013 season due to a broken fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot.
“All four years I had really great care. The facilities were on such a high level and even if you had a minor injury the coaches and trainers would look out for you,” Auda said. “[Director of Sports Medicine] Tony [Testa] and [Team] Doctor [Anthony] Festa were really taking care of me in a way I can’t describe. They put in so much work with me at the rehabilitations and after every injury I became better. I really appreciate all the work they did with me over there. You know there wasn’t any time that they wouldn’t help me or do something half-way, everything was very professional.”
Last edited:
