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Far from 'Finnished'

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Photo provided by KYLE SWANSTON

Hernando grad Kyle Swanston, seen here in a Finnish gym, currently plays for Finland's Lapuan Korikobrat.

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: December 5, 2009

Kyle Swanston will be home for Christmas. That has hardly been a guarantee since he left Brooksville following his 2004 graduation from Hernando High.

Basketball has taken the lanky 6-foot-7 23-year-old to Worcester Academy in Massachusetts, to James Madison University in Virginia and now across the Atlantic Ocean.

Swanston, who left JMU after four seasons just two classes short of his degree in finance, currently plays for Lapuan Korikobrat in Finland.

"I ended up in Finland because right when my senior season in college ended they contacted my agent and offered me a contract," Swanston said. "But at the time I was not sure if I wanted to finish up my schooling or go straight into professional basketball.

"I decided to go back to school but after being back at school for a couple of weeks they contacted my agent with a new contract and I couldn't turn it down at the time, so I went home and headed to Europe."

So the former Leopard must spend the holiday season in a foreign land, though he said the team is buying him a plane ticket home for Christmas.

There are plenty of other reasons to feel good for Swanston as he continues his hoops career on another continent.

Easy adjustment

For one, he has adjusted to life in Finland with relative ease. He said he actually experienced more of a culture shock when he went to Spain with the JMU team last summer.

"Here in Finland they speak Finnish, but unlike Spain and the U.S., they are teaching at a young age here to speak English, too," Swanston said. "So it's not too bad of a language barrier.

"…I've started to get used to some of the little things that go on here, like everybody waves to each other whether they're on a bike or in a car, and when you walk into somebody's house or apartment, you have to take your shoes off out of respect.

"When I came over here it was pretty easy to get comfortable because everybody welcomed me with open arms and people were so helpful. So it was easy for me to adapt to the new circumstances."

He does share a house with some American teammates, which has also helped him adapt. Plus the Internet helps him stay in touch with family and friends.

"I talk to a lot of people from Spring Hill, Tampa and Virginia through Skype and it's very helpful to keeping the sanity over here," Swanston said. "There is a seven-hour difference from Florida to Finland, though, so it's kind of tough to find a good time to talk to people back in the States.

"I talk to a lot of players that I know from college that play over here on Skype because there's only a one- or two-hours time difference over here and they're in pretty much the same situation as me with their first years out of college."

Additionally, Swanston noted that, "It's also easier when you're winning games and performing on the court."

Through seven games, Swanston leads the Finnish 1st Division in scoring at 24.4 points per game and three-pointers made with 28.

He ranks third on his club in rebounds at 7.6 per contest, while hitting 46.7 percent of his shots from beyond the arc and 84.6 percent from the foul line, both team bests.

Lapuan Korikobrat has gone 7-2 thus far, having played its last game on Nov. 27. The team only has three games in December, the last on the 19th.

"European basketball is much different than the conventional basketball of college in the sense that there is a lot more movement and freedom on the court," Swanston said. "Goaltending is allowed and they have different traveling rules.

"Also I have learned that it is much more of a finesse game over here and contact will end up in a foul situation."

Swanston starts at shooting guard, where he uses his size to play in the post, yet has also spent some time at both forward spots. At power forward, he stretches the defense with his shooting and slashing ability.

"I have just been using my advantages to score and rebound and I think that it is helping my team be more successful," Swanston said.

"I feel as if we have been shaky in one or two games and we need to be able to finish games off better. But on the other hand our average age on our team is about 20 or 21. There are a lot of young players on our team. The youngest in the league actually, so I feel that as the season goes on we will only get better."

Swanston only has a contract through April, but believes if Lapuan Korikobrat wins the league, he'll have a 99 percent chance of receiving another offer.

However, that doesn't mean he won't try to latch onto an NBA team in some form down the road.

"Professional basketball is the ultimate goal," Swanston said. "But I feel like I'm only standing on a steppingstone on the way to something bigger and better.

"I knew that I would like the European style of basketball and I knew I could perform at a high level, but I have been very happy with the way I've been performing and hope to make it further every year that I play.

"I'm hoping to have a great, long career and play until I can't walk anymore."

BY THE NUMBERS: KYLE SWANSTON (THRU 11-27)
GP FG 3PT FTA FTM FT% TP AVG
07 66 28 13 11 84.6% 171 24.4

Sports writer Chris Bernhardt Jr. can be reached at 352-544-5288 or cbernhardt@hernandotoday.com.

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