In My Words | David Swedura
11/25/2018 | 5:34:00 | Men's Basketball
I consider myself the team underdog.Â
I'm the only one in my family born in the United State. My parents are from Poland and won a lottery for visas, and just because of that, they decided to make a new life in America when my older brother was 1 year old. They moved to Des Plaines and had me four years later. We moved to Mt. Prospect when I was in middle school.Â
Growing up, I really don't know if I learned Polish or English first. Even today, my parents and I talk in this combination where we speak in English and throw in a few Polish words, or the other way around.Â
My brother is an engineering major at Ohio State, and I was crazy about basketball. I got the athleticism, and he got the smarts. My parents would turn on cartoons, and I would get really upset because I knew my dad had Michael Jordan highlights somewhere. They would just play those highlights on a loop to get me to calm down. My mom would get so upset when I played on the mini-hoop in the kitchen, and I would have to go back to Michael Jordan highlights just so she could calm down.Â
I matured early, so I was one of the taller players in middle school. But everyone else kept growing, and I'm still 5-11. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about that affecting my goal of playing college basketball. But that's part of who I am: that gives me my underdog mentality. When people doubt me, I work harder.Â
When I was a junior, I went to the Evan Turner Showcase, and everyone else was dunking before the game was about to start. One of the kids made a comment about me. I've never dunked in a game, but I can get up there on a good day. I got this big adrenaline rush, went out there and threw one down.Â
That fall, SIU offered me a preferred walk-on spot. I always had that in the back of my mind. In the spring of 2017, I broke my foot. It was a Jones fracture, like what Kawhi Leonard had. I was devastated. Going into the summer before my senior year, when all the recruiters were looking at me, I wasn't back to 100 percent. Even some of the Division II schools backed off.Â
I visited SIU and saw them blow out San Jose State last year. They scored 47 points in the second half; that was impressive. I met with Coach Hinson and the staff, and I remember thinking that they wouldn't treat me like a walk-on, and they don't. I trusted them immediately. They would give me an opportunity to play high-level basketball. But the decision wasn't all about basketball. I loved the campus and the facilities, and I could see myself in the sport administration program.Â
When I got here, I was intimidated. In high school, the other team maybe has one guy who is athletic and can really play. Here, it's everyone. One of my first scrimmages, I shot a floater, like I did all the time in high school. Kavion threw it back to half court. You have to attack, and you have to play loose, and I'm starting to get more comfortable.Â
Cuba was an amazing experience. I never thought I would go to Cuba, especially to play basketball. It didn't even feel real at first. You see what the Cubans live with every day, and you can't help but realize what you have in America. It was good for all of us. I remember taking a video of these kids playing soccer on top of a house. Even with all the struggle they're going through, they were having so much fun playing soccer on the roof. That's the power of sports.Â
I think that helped us all get ready for this year. Our goal is to win an MVC championship. I'm going to be whatever I can to help the team. I'm the energy on the bench. Whatever the team needs, I'll be there. They picked us third, so I guess that makes us the underdogs. People are doubting us; just work harder. We've grown as a team all summer and fall, and we're ready to make a run at it.
Thanks for everything, Saluki Nation.
David
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