PORT TOWNSEND — He’s a made a long journey from Poland to Port Townsend to spend a school year as a Rotary exchange student and Kuba Krol has made his presence felt with the Redhawks boys basketball team.
Hailing from Poland’s fourth-largest city, Wroclaw (population 640,000), Krol said it has been a change to adapt to life in the Key City (population 9,500).
“But its a very good change,” Krol said. “The school is very good because it is small and Port Townsend people are very open to exchange students. It has helped me to make many friends.
“Teachers, students, coaches all have been nice to me.”
Port Townsend head coach Tom Webster has enjoyed having Krol on the team and has noticed others take in interest in the Polish point guard.
“It’s been neat to watch because a lot of our fans have embraced him,” Webster said. “They see the good basketball he’s playing. And he’s popular in school, too. Being on a new team in a new country could be overwhelming but he’s having success. And he’s not just on the squad, he’s definitely a contributor.”
Krol said he initially picked Canada as his exchange location, but was told the USA would be a better spot to attend school and play basketball.
He grew up playing for Wroclaw WKK, a basketball club with different team
“In Poland basketball is not a very popular sport,” Krol said. “Football [soccer], volleyball, handball and then basketball.
It’s always scoring, a lot of 3-point shots,” Krol said.
“A faster-paced game and more scoring. For high school [in Port Townsend] there is more focus on defense.”
And Krol has adjusted and adapted well to playing defense for the Redhawks.
He had seven steals in a recent game against rival Chimacum.
“Kuba has shown a real knack for stealing the ball and making good passes,” Webster said.
“He got most of those steals in the second half when we were playing man [defense]. And [Chimacum guard] Issac Purser is a good ball-handler. Those weren’t cheap steals.”
Webster said Krol and senior Kavi Baabahar have been sharing time at the point guard spot.
“Kavi and him have been kind of sharing the point guard duties, they can both play hard for four minutes and get a break without us missing a beat,” Webster said.
“He can impact a game without scoring a bunch of points, but he can score and he can shoot. He has that kind of European flair to his game, not a Eurostep, but he’s practiced and smooth. It’s obvious he’s played a lot of basketball. His basketball IQ is very high and he adds a lot to our team.”
Krol said he has enjoyed playing defense and distributing the ball offensively.
“My role on team is a good role, I play very strong defense and I try to make my teammates in position to get good shots. Play with the team, very encouraging. [To bring] a positive and smart energy for the team.”
Webster said he didn’t know if Krol would even make the team during tryouts.
“I didn’t even know if he could make our squad,” Webster said. “But I thought, I’ll keep him and see if he can play. It turns out he has some serious game.
“I think its been a really good experience for him. He’s made a lot of friends, There been no issue with communication and he’s been reliable and coachable.”
Krol’s host parents are Cindy and Mike Kunz of Port Townsend.
He’s visited Southern California, including a trip to Disneyland, along with Seattle, Tacoma and Bellingham.
Krol said he has an aunt living in the Washington D.C. area, so a visit to our nation’s capital is possible before he returns home to his family.
Before then, he has a few more games remaining as a Redhawk — a group he now considers close.
“We always play 100 percent,” Krol said. “We work hard to rebound, score points or [play] good defense. In this team, and in the game and after practices, I feel like it’s a very big family.”
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
