Men's Basketball: Buczak the Big Ballin’ Brainiac

Standing at least four inches taller than the other starters on the men’s basketball team at 6’11”, senior center Pawel Buczak is a force to be reckoned with. He leads the Tigers in blocks, and he boasts the second-highest number of assists. In their recent win over UNC-Greensboro, Buczak managed a season-high of six assists.

According to his teammates, however, he is not so intimidating when he steps off the court.

“He is a funny guy who is always fun to be around,” senior guard and co-captain Marcus Schroeder said in an e-mail. “Our team has a great time together and he just adds to that.”

Connor Diemand-Yauman ’10, Buczak’s roommate from freshman and sophomore years, agreed.

“While he may be a beast on the court, Pawel is actually a gentle giant,” Diemand-Yauman said in an e-mail, “except in Mario Kart, where he can actually be quite ruthless.”

There are many sides to Buczak. He was born in Krakow, Poland, and though he moved to the United States when he was just a toddler, he continued to return to Poland during his summers. He still speaks to his parents in Polish, to the constant entertainment of his teammates. Buczak began playing travel basketball when he was in fourth grade.

“I played a little bit of everything, but I stuck with basketball,” Buczak said. “I am pretty tall, so that works out, but I feel like I would have been playing some sport, even if it wasn’t basketball.”

He played tennis and basketball for Moorestown High School in southern New Jersey, earning all-state recognition for his prowess on the tennis court, and was named first-team all-division in basketball. He was also a National Merit Commended Scholar and was named by his high school as a scholar-athlete in his senior year.

Yet when college applications rolled around, academics trumped basketball as his primary concern, Buczak said.

“I didn’t think I was going to play basketball in college,” Buczak said. “I applied to all the schools I was applying to, and I had the chance to play basketball for Princeton after I had already applied … Princeton was my number one choice in terms of academics, and ... with the option to play basketball, it was definitely number one.”

As a Tiger, Buczak has made huge improvements from season to season. As a freshman, he appeared in five games, making his most impressive showing with five points in the season finale against Penn. After recovering from a broken foot to play in 15 games his sophomore year, he broke his other foot during the summer before junior year. Rehab went well, however, and he became the only player to start all 27 games in the 2008-09 season. He co-led the team in rebounds and was second on the team in assists, blocks and steals. At the end of the season, Buczak earned a spot as an Ivy League honorable mention.

Buczak largely credited his coaches with his improvement.

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“I didn’t play AAU [Amateur Athletic Union] basketball in high school,” Buczak said. “I didn’t really focus that much on basketball. [As a freshman,] I was far behind in terms of hours on the court, and I didn’t have all the skills. It’s been a testament to how much I can learn from the coaches.”

This season, Buczak has seen more time on the court than ever. He is one of three players to have started all eight games so far, and he averages a solid 5.3 points per game. His main contributions as a center are his ability to pass the ball and shoot from multiple spots around the court.

“Pawel’s playing style is unique in that he plays inside mostly and posts up, but he can also play on the perimeter,” Schroeder said. “He can be tough to guard for an opposing big man because they are not used to guarding other big men on the perimeter. In the post, he can finish with both hands, which keeps the defender guessing.”

“On most teams, the center does not handle the ball that much or make too many passing decisions,” Buczak said. “I do a lot of that here. I really enjoy that. I’m a big fan of passing and teamwork.”

His teammates have noticed and appreciated this ability to work well with others. As a senior, Buczak has impressed his fellow players with his quiet leadership.

“The younger guys on our team look up to him because of his experience on the court and his success in the classroom,” Schroeder said.

His academic successes have been similarly notable. Buczak is concentrating in operations research and finance engineering and is working for a certificate from the Woodrow Wilson School. He is currently researching his thesis on the Smart Electric Grid, a project that would combine internet and the electric grid to increase reliability and efficiency.

When asked about post-graduation plans, Buczak echoed the indecision of many seniors. Between graduate school, jobs and the opportunity to keep playing basketball in Europe, he said he is unsure what next year will bring.

But first, Buczak wants to finish his senior season on a high note.

“I’m hoping by the end of March,” Buczak said, “I can say that my proudest moment has been what we’ve been able to accomplish this year and how much the seniors have been able to improve on what we started.”