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Notes, Quotes and Slants
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Pirate Notebook No. 170 Saturday, January 17, 2004 By Denny O'Brien Staff Writer and Columnist

Wounded star focusing on present, future

©2004 Bonesville.net

Even though his career was cut short by injury, Gabriel Mikulas may need a UHaul to transport all his awards out of Greenville.

As a freshman in 2000-01, the lightly-recruited native of Argentina was the CAA Rookie of the Year and a second team all-conference member. Later that summer, the East Carolina power forward carried Argentina to a bronze-medal finish at the FIBA World Championships, just one year after winning the gold over the United States in the 2000 Pan American Games.

That doesn't begin to include all the records he broke at ECU.

But when asked to identify his fondest memories in purple and gold, Mikulas didn't cite the evening on which he scored his 1,000th point or snared his 500th rebound. It was the precious moments shared with teammates, coaches, and fans that stand above the rest.

"Beating teams like Marquette and Louisville, those games were awesome," Mikulas said. "I had great teammates. It's been really fun playing for the coaches, for the people at ECU. If I had to pick a moment, I think it would be maybe those three wins that we had against Marquette and Louisville."

Before his East Carolina career was brought to a premature conclusion by a broken arm, senior power forward Gabriel Mikulas etched his name among the Pirates' career leaders in a number of categories. (Photo: ECU)

It hasn't been the smoothest of rides, though.

Were it not for Pirates coach Bill Herrion, Mikulas may not have received the opportunity to play at the major-college level. Despite the huge influx of overseas players in college basketball, Mikulas fell below the radar and was considered a mid-major talent at best.

After he arrived and proved his doubters wrong, Mikulas was forced to serve a 13-game suspension at the beginning of his sophomore year for playing in overseas games in which some of his teammates were paid. Now he must sit and watch for the the final 13 games of his decorated career after breaking his right arm in practice Wednesday.

"It's been weird," Mikulas said. "First coming in and playing in the Colonial conference and having a good season, and then suddenly going to Conference USA and having to sit out my first 13 games. So, it was a rough start to my sophomore year.

"Now, to finish my career with an injury is not very good. I think I had a nice four years, but I wish it could have happened in a better way, playing and finishing with my teammates and leaving ECU playing my last game. That's not going to happen, so I've got to keep moving on."

Though not happy about his situation, Mikulas is prepared to do whatever necessary to help his teammates rebound from their fourth-straight loss Thursday night. Whether it be as a leader in the locker room or cheerleader on the bench, he says he will continue to play a big role in the Pirates' day-to-day activities.

That's the type of attitude Herrion has come to expect.

"As good a player as Gabriel Mikulas is, he's a better person," Herrion said. "The fans and the administration at East Carolina should be extremely proud of Gabe.

"When you have a kid who has a 3.6-3.7 grade-point average, and is going to graduate in four years on time, and has been a very good basketball player... we're very proud of him. It was a very unfortunate, tragic injury that happened to him (Wednesday). Unfortunately his career is over. But you know what? He's a great kid, a great person. I'm very, very happy and very proud to have coached him for four years."

On the court, Mikulas will go down as one of the most consistent performers in school history. Before his career got derailed, he already had climbed to 15th on the all-time scoring list and is the all-time leader in free throws made.

Mikulas also ranks in the top four in both field goal and free throw percentage, and those numbers could be higher had he not been so generous with the basketball.

"Gabe is one of the most unselfish guys I've ever met," Pirates forward Derrick Wiley said. "With his scoring ability, if he takes the ball and shoots it every time, you can't say anything. Normally he's going to make his shots.

"He just gives the ball up. He's very free-hearted. (Wednesday) night when that happened, I was really hurt."

So hurt that the Pirates are dedicating the remainder of the season to their injured star.

"Speaking on Gabe, he's a big part of our team," guard Belton Rivers said. "We really, really need Gabe.

"For the rest of the season, we're going to play this out for Gabe. That's how we feel. We're going to play hard every night. We're not going to ever give up. This whole season is dedicated to Gabe."

Never quitting and a blue-collar work ethic paved the road from Argentina to Greenville for Mikulas, and it also will define the next segment of his life. Doctors say it could be at least six months before he can return to basketball, but Mikulas says there will be a return to the hardwood once his fractured harm has healed.

"I want to keep playing," Mikulas said. "That's been in my mind, to play basketball for as long as I can.

"I was not really thinking what I was going to do after the season. I was trying to focus on this season. Now that it's over for me, I think I'm going to have to start thinking about what I want to do next year."

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02/23/2007 01:56:04 AM