Hailing all the way from his hometown in Brno, Czech Republic, forward-center Prokop Slanina is a sophomore basketball player currently attending Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ‘19. This is Prokop’s first year playing for Fordham, since he is a recent transfer from ASA College in Brooklyn, NY.

He decided to come to the United States because it was easier to pursue both an education and his love for basketball here. According to Slanina, the mentality in the United States is very different from the Czech Republic.

As for basketball, he believes that in the U.S. there is more of an emphasis on individual skills, while in the Czech Republic it is more about a team’s skills as a whole.

“I like when both are combined, which is something Fordham has because all the players are extremely skilled, and [we] have great team skills together,” Slanina said.

Slanina will certainly not be alone when it comes to joining other international recruits on Fordham’s basketball team. Slanina will join Sinana Saglam, FCRH ’20, and Cavit Havsa, FCRH ’20, both of who are joining Fordham from Turkey.

“I like when both are combined, which is something Fordham has because all the players are extremely skilled, and [we] have great team skills together”

Slanina grew up playing many different sports, including tennis and soccer, but at the age of 12 he decided to focus on basketball.

It was always between soccer and basketball for him, but given his height of six feet 10 inches, which he said is a big advantage, he decided that basketball was the best option to give all his time.

Both Slanina’s mother and older sister played basketball as well. After playing in the Czech Republic, Slanina moved to Italy and played basketball for three years, which he said was a great experience for him.

In Italy, he did a long distance program with his high school that allowed him to play in Italy while still studying and staying on track for graduation.

Despite his travels, he said that the Czech Republic will always be his home and that he misses his family and friends the most.

Slanina holds many different basketball awards, including being on the second place Under-16 and Under-18 teams at the European Championships to competing in the All-Stars 5 in World Championship of High Schools in China.

To go with this, he was also named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the national championship of high schools in the Czech Republic, where he graduated from Gymnazium Matyase Lercha.

In the future, Slanina said he hopes to have a happy, and fulfilling life and be successful in what he does, but that he does not have any specific goals. For him, a comfortable life would be having fun, traveling the world, doing what he loves, learning new languages and meeting new people. Slanina received offers from other schools, such as Albany, but once he visited the campus and spoke to the coaching staff, the choice to come to Fordham was obvious.

His favorite part about Fordham is the hospitality from the students and staff alike.

“It makes me feel like I’m at home. There are so many people that I can talk to and have fun with,” Slanina said.

When asked about his favorite part about Fordham basketball, Slanina couldn’t pick just one thing.

He said he loves everything, and that he cannot wait till the season starts and he can start competing.

He believes that there is a great group of people in the locker room that can achieve a lot, and he is most excited to be on a team that is a part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I basketball.