If you've ever felt there's no hope you'll ever make a college team, that the odds are stacked against you, imagine how surprised Aida Sarajlija (pronounced Ida Sar-a-jil-ia) was when she received a call from Xavier University.

A native of Zenica, Bosnia--a town only 45 minutes outside of the now infamous Sarejevo in the former Yugoslavia--Sarajlija spent the better part of her teens surviving a civil war in her home country. Sadly, she lost many family members to the war, but not her dream to live in the United States.

A relative newcomer to basketball, the 6'3" Xavier University freshman forward has played as a starter for both the Bosnian Junior and Senior National Teams as well as Bosnian and Croatian club teams. According to Xavier's Coach Melanie Balcomb, her athleticism in the front court stands out, as does her speed, leaping ability, and long shot. Not bad for a woman who only began playing pick-up games in her neighborhood when she was 15 years old.

Today she's embracing the opportunity she's been given to play in the U.S. and is looking forward to contributing to the Musketeers' (who currently stand at 9-1) program. And although right now she's spending a lot of minutes observing from the bench, Sarajlija is adjusting to America, athletically and culturally, with inspired enthusiasm.

In this interview Aida talks about how she was discovered by coaches an ocean away from her home, why she chose to attend Xavier, and why she still has much to learn about the game.

How long have you been playing competitively?
Not for long. Maybe four or five years.

Were you an athlete before then?
Yeah. I used to run and compete in the high jump. [At the Junior Balkan Games in Greece, she placed 6th in the high jump]. But at Xavier, basketball is my number one sport.

Is basketball a popular sport in Bosnia?
Soccer is the primary sport people watch. But basketball is second. Men's basketball is especially popular. But women's basketball is popular if your town's team is good.

Why did you start playing?
I started playing because I loved basketball. Then a coach saw me play and invited me to play competitively. I pursued it so I could succeed and come to the U.S.

How did you end up at Xavier, ultimately?
If you want the truth, I didn't think any U.S. coaches would ever call me, because I didn't have anyone in America to send them tapes. So in my mind, the possibility was 0.01 percent. I barely dared dream about it. But my friend's father was president of my team in Bosnia, and he sent tapes featuring his daughter. Some U.S. college coaches saw me playing in the background on those tapes, and they called me. So I was lucky.

Was it a surprise, then, when coaches started contacting you in Bosnia?
I first told everyone, "Someone's playing a joke on me!" And my mom also thought some of my friends were having fun with me. So when the first couple calls from coaches came, she actually hung up on them--because we just couldn't believe that somebody from America would call a Bosnian player to come over here. It sounds really nuts.

Do Bosnian universities recruit athletes?
No. There's no situation like here in the U.S. where you can compete and go to school at the same time. We only have professional teams, where players are paid to play. So I never learned to play basketball in high school because there wasn't a team. [If you were athletic] you could play for a professional club team like K.K. Zenica. But the clubs don't care about school. Just basketball. Yet that's the only place you can learn the game.

Well no wonder your mother was skeptical when you began getting recruiting calls from the U.S.
Yeah! I mean we wondered why, because America is such a big country. And you have so many really good players and great athletes. So it was really strange to be getting those calls. I mean we didn't have anything to eat or wear, so it was funny and unexpected. But I don't care that it was unusual. I'm just glad to be here.

Did some of your family come to the U.S. with you?
No, I'm alone.

Which programs contacted you?
I went to Virginia Commonwealth for a visit, and I was supposed to visit Siena in upstate New York. But I had already signed with Xavier, so I never made my visit. And my mom also received papers from two more colleges, but we didn't even talk to those schools.

Was it hard to go through that recruiting process, with so many people trying to win you over?
It was hard. But even though we were in a war, we had computers. So I went on the Internet, and I saw that Xavier was ranked 24th, which impressed me. All the other schools were ranked below them. The other factor was that Xavier didn't call anybody else on my Bosnian team. For instance, VCU showed interest in one of my friends as well. I thought Xavier must be special if they recruited only me.

In the end, what attracted you to Xavier most?
It's a small campus, it has small classes, and it's a little bit like at home--as far as everyone is like family. And I liked the coaches and staff.

Also, I know that I'm making a lot of mistakes--that's for sure. Because I've never been taught basketball. I always played behind my building with guys, but I never had somebody to show me how to play, moves, or anything. Yet no matter what schools I spoke with, coaches were saying, "Don't worry. You'll be a starter. You'll definitely be on the team. You'll have lots of playing time." But Coach Balcomb, she didn't make those promises. She said I'd have earn it. And I liked that. I hope I won't still be earning my chance to play four years from now--I hope I earn it as soon as possible--but I respected that.

Has being on your own, in a new country, and away from your family, been a challenge?
Yeah, it's a bit hard, but I like it. I mean my wish was to come to the United States, and since I've had my wish come true, it's not too hard to deal with.

The hardest thing has been the language, because I've never studied English in my life. But at home I listened to rap a lot. So I know slang English, but I don't know real English. So that was a little bit of a problem.

But I don't find school here difficult, because I had much harder schooling in Bosnia. All our professors were much more rigorous. For example, for one test, I would have to read two books and study five lessons in one day. But here, the professors understand students and they will help you when you need it. And they spread the assignment load a little bit more.

Are you adjusting to the new team well?
Yes. I still feel like I'm making big mistakes, but I think Coach will help me to learn stuff. And I've gotten very close to all the players. They're all cool. They're like a family, which is good since I don't have anybody else but them here.

Has having two other European players on the team helped at all?
Yes. Especially Taru Tuukkanen. Because in the past, she felt just like I did. She came over here from Finland. Her parents are here, but it's almost the same situation.

Your outside shot is strong. How did you develop that?
I couldn't shoot from anywhere else in the very beginning. When I began playing in 1995, a grenade hit the court outside my home. So there was a huge hole under the basket. I guess when you don't have a chance to shoot from any other place but threes, you get good. Then, when I played on the national team, we played on an indoor court and I saw that my shots were good. So I thought, why shouldn't I keep shooting them?

What areas of your game are you working on this season?
Really fundamental things. Really small things that I never learned in my life--like swing the ball, or stay low. But now I have to correct and perfect those because I never knew of them before.

Is basketball very different here compared to Bosnia?
Yes. It's different compared to Europe, not just Bosnia. There everybody moves so slow. It's more aggressive here, and I like that.

How do you gear up for games?
Rap, rap, rap!

And who are your favorite artists?
Everybody. LL Cool J. Jay Z. Whatever you have for me I'll listen to it.

The U.S. is kind of sports crazy. Have you adopted a favorite team or athlete?
Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant.

Now that you've been here a while, what do you like best about living in the U.S.?
Well, I like the lifestyle. I like how people treat other people. There's not as much racism between nationalities. If you mention an unfamiliar [first or last name] in Bosnia, somebody will look at you like you are an alien. Here there is no such thing. You have all kinds of people, and I like that most.

Is there anything about the US that you didn't expect?
I expected to see more of the American style of life that's depicted on television. But it's not like that. You have to work just like everybody else. It's not like Beverly Hills 90210.

Will you ever return to Bosnia?
I don't want to, but it all depends on how basketball goes. If it goes well, then I have a chance to stay in the U.S., but if not, then it's a problem because of the U.S. immigration office's rules.

Photo courtesy of Xavier University Sports Information.

Interview conducted by Gball Assistant Editor Shelly Wilson.


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