Patrik Auda decides to play professionally in Poland instead of returning to school

Seton Hall Pirates forward Patrik Auda announced today, and later acknowledged on Twitter, that he would be forgoing his redshirt senior season to play for AZS Polfarmex Kutno, a Polish team in the Tauron Basketball League.

In Auda’s post on Twitter he wanted to thank his school and community by saying, "Just wanted to take a minute and say Thank You to everybody who supported me on a way to my dream!!"

This decision makes sense for Auda, and should come as no surprise for the young man who graduated from Seton Hall with honors after last year and was not on any team’s radar going into next year’s NBA Draft. Now, if Auda chooses he can play overseas, get paid and if he performs at a high level could at some point play in the NBA if his game develops. However, that does not seem to be that important to him at this time.

Auda is close to home, playing the game he loves and getting paid for it, which as a mentioned in my last article about Auda, would be the major factor in this decision.

In my last piece on Auda called, "A Big Decision for a ‘Big Man:’ Meet Patrik Auda," I mentioned how big of a loss this would be for the Pirates this upcoming season and it is worth reiterating. Without Auda, The Hall become a guard and wing team that does not have many established options in the front court. At this point in time, the big men on the roster include Brandon Mobley, who has not been the same player since sustaining serious injuries earlier in his career and then Chier Ajou who transferred over from Northwestern during the regular season. Angel Delgado is going to be given much of the burden at the power forward position because of his athleticism and ability to rebound the basketball. With all of these options the Pirates will be able to make it work, but none of them can provide what Auda brought to this program.

His defense was never stellar, but he showed flashes offensively. Auda is always a threat to shoot from the perimeter and if he so chooses, he will drive at will into the paint and take defenders to the rim. He really began to show his worth during last year’s Big East Tournament that saw the Pirates reach the semifinals for first time in over a decade. Fans and coaches will not see the best of what Auda can do, which is a shame, but that is how it has played out.

Auda joins former teammate and fellow Seton Hall graduate Fuquan Edwin in signing overseas as Edwin signed a one-year deal with the Pistoia Basket in Serie A, the top Italian league. This continues a trend of Pirate players forgoing their NBA dreams to play in Europe. Next year, with all of the young talent, we may start to see more Pirates playing the league once again.

As far as Auda is concerned the future is bright. For the Hall community, they saw the development of a young European talent. The results of all of that hard work will be savored by the people and the country that mean the most to Auda.