Imagine a life where you are identified not by your name, but by a number, and all a person knows about you is how many points you have, how many games you've won and your free throw percentage. How can it be that, after a player finishes her four years of eligibility, all we know about her are her statistics?
If you travel through six time zones to the city of Ceska Lipa, in the Czech Republic, there you will find the birthplace of Bulls senior center, Barbora Homolova.
Barbora, or "Barb" as some may call her, is six feet, three inches tall, with great speed, skill and agility, making her a coveted prospect in America right out of high school. Colleges such as Tulane, Portland, New Mexico, Siena, and Texas Christian all participated in the recruitment process.
"I chose UB because I liked the coaches and the people here were friendly," Homolova said. "I also chose the University at Buffalo because they were the first school to offer me a scholarship."
Homolova has been in this situation before, having to go away from home to attend school. She attended high school in Strakonice, a town in the southern region of the Czech Republic, considerably far from her hometown
"I've kind of got used to being far away from family," Homolova said. "I miss them a lot, but I e-mail them often, and I get to see them in the summer."
Comfort foods always help to bring back fun memories, and it creates a sense of being back at home around family and friends. The food of choice for Homolova is Czech-style dumplings.
"It's hard to describe... it's dumplings made with flour and potatoes, with different meats and sauces, such as fruit sauces," Homolova said. "As for American foods, chicken wings might be my favorite."
Another activity that Homolova enjoys is listening to music. Before a game, you can probably find her listening to anything from India Arie to Sting to the Beatles. She added that one of her favorite movies is "Little Miss Sunshine."
Along with all of the responsibilities of being an athlete, Homolova also has to perform well in the classroom. She is currently a business major, with an interest in finance and international business. For the last three years, Homolova has been recognized as one of UB's Scholar Athletes, and seeks to receive that award again this year.
Homolova's career plans after graduation are still up in the air. She doesn't know exactly what type of field she wants to work in, so she hopes to get plenty of work experience in order to choose the right job. One thing she knows for sure is that she wants to attend graduate school and receive her MBA.
From her time on the court to her time in the classroom, Homolova has learned life lessons to carry with her after her career at Buffalo is over.
"I learned to be more confident and how to raise my self-esteem," Homolova said. "That is a lesson I've learned here in America. [Confidence] is a big thing here, compared to other countries."
Head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald agrees with Homolova's assessment that she has grown as an individual.
"Barb as a person is honest, hard working, has a high level of integrity, and is very smart and overall a pleasant person to be around," Hill-MacDonald said. "She's really matured as a player, as well as an individual."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
