January 4, 2007

South Orange, NJ (CSTV U-WIRE) -- Nikole Sullivan hasn't seen her home in over a year. Neither has Ela Mukosiej.

To be more precise, they haven't even seen their home country in over a year.

Sullivan, from Australia, and Mukosiej, from Poland, are two of the four internationally born players on the women's basketball team. Joining them are Annick Labadie from Canada and Heta Korpivaara of Finland.

The four make Seton Hall the most internationally diverse team in the Big East conference.

"You might not get a top five kid in the country, but you can get an international kid who's got experience in the European leagues," head coach Phyllis Mangina said.

More importantly, the women join the Pirates having faced top European competition.

"Some of them are on their national teams," Mangina said. "They're at the same age, but have played a different level of basketball."

Mangina said that the program really took their cue following the success of Joe Mckeown's teams at George Washington, which has their share of international talent.

It was in 1998 that the Hall first brought a player in from outside of the United States.

That player was Arminda Moreno of Spain, who is now remembered as one of only 17 players in the program's history to score over 1,000 career points.

Her success helped pave the way for a new flow of foreign talent at the Hall, leading up to this year's quartet, all of whom have their own roles with the team.

The senior Korpivaara, of course, is one of the team's captains and offensive leaders.

Mukosiej, meanwhile, has quickly begun a breakout campaign.

Recruited out of junior college, this is her first year as a Pirate.

She has wasted no time, though, and has firmly established herself as the third leading scorer on the team.

She led the team with 19 points in their victory over Hartford last month.

"Ela has just been a tremendous addition to the team," Mangina said. "She brings toughness to the guard spot, and she can really score out of the backcourt. She brings maturity to the backcourt, and she's come through in many, many clutch situations already for us."

Sullivan has spent much of her Seton Hall career battling injuries and would fill the role of forward or center for the team. Labadie is the team's backup guard, playing both backcourt positions. Both are juniors.

What is sometimes forgotten about these athletes, however, is the lifestyle changes that come with being hundreds, if not thousands of miles away from their home and families.

Both Sullivan and Mukosiej have remained in the United States for their entire college run.

Korpivaara can only make it home to Finland in the summer, and Labadie's native Quebec is no short trip either.

"It's very difficult," Sullivan said. "I don't even know how to describe it, because you've just kind of got to do it for yourself, but it's hard. I don't get to speak to my family often because they're 14 hours ahead in Australia, and my mom and dad work."

The players do work things out though.

Sullivan and Korpivaara stay with their teammates during most school breaks.

Labadie catches a flight home, and Mukosiej has an aunt in Chicago.

It is the ability to manage such situations that impresses coach Mangina the most.

She senses a focus and maturity in the international players that she says sometimes takes longer to develop for students from the States.

Along with the culture shock, the girls must also deal with the alternate style of play that makes American basketball what it is.

Finesse and shooting are emphasized more outside of the United States, where the physical game rules.

"It's completely different. International basketball is more kind of shooting wise, where it's a power game here," Sullivan said. "I've had to get a lot bigger and stronger, but I still have my jump shot and stuff like that. We play with different sized balls too."

The adjustments and strain do not stop Sullivan, Labadie, Mukosiej, or Korpivaara from competing though. Korpivaara credits the team and coaches for help in that regard.

"The whole program is kind of like a family atmosphere," she said. "They really take care of you and you don't have to worry about a lot of stuff."

The Hall's current presence in the international community stands to grow as new recruiting pipelines open up.

After all, they remain one of the very few teams that can put five different nations on the floor at once.

(C) 2007 The Setonian via CSTV U-WIRE