AU alumnus Monteiro shines in professional debut
Rafael Monteiro goes up for two of his 20 points in his professional basketball debut. (photo by Ricardo Bufolin, special to the Bell Ringer)
By Carlos Rodriguez |
Sports editor
Augusta University alumnus Rafael Monteiro made his professional basketball debut on Sunday, Oct. 4, for the E.C. Pinheiros São Paulo basketball team. Despite suffering a 78-68 loss to rival São Paulo FC, Monteiro had an all-around dominant performance, scoring a team-high 20 points, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out four assists.
After graduating from AU this past spring, Monteiro, the São Paulo, Brazil, native, signed with his hometown team back in August.
“My first game went very well, I was able to play well both on offense and defense,” said Monteiro. “We played against a team that is considered a contender for a national championship.”
After a couple of weeks of practice and finally playing his first game back in Brazil, Monteiro has noticed a difference between the transition from college to the pros.
“I believe the biggest challenge has been physicality,” said Monteiro. “I felt like more physical plays are allowed and many players know when to be more aggressive without the refs noticing it.”
With the COVID-19 pandemic still occurring, like most professional sports, no fans were allowed at the Pinheiros’ first game, and things will stay that way until further notice. As of now, The Pinheiros games will be live streamed on the GCS Sports Youtube channel.
“It was a little weird to play in an empty gym,” he said. “It almost looked like it was practice. But the game itself felt like a real game just with much less noise.”
The team also has to follow safety protocols to ensure no member of the team contracts the virus.
“We are tested the week before every single game and we answer a questionnaire every day to make sure any of us don’t have symptoms,” said Monteiro. “We are advised to go straight home from practices and games.”
The 6-foot-4 forward had a stellar career for the Jaguars from 2018-2020. He transfered to the AU program after making stops at the University of Wisconsin-Superior and Utah State University Eastern. At Augusta, Monteiro accumulated more than 1000 career points and 400 rebounds.
“AU basketball helped me develop my game a whole lot in two years,” said Monteiro. “I feel like I was very well prepared to play at the pro level when I left the university. The way the program works is very close to the pros.”
Contact Carlos Rodriguez at carlosjr521@gmail.com.
