3 Swedes take European style to UAlbany women’s basketball
A group of crows is called a murder. A group of ferrets is called a company. And a group of Swedish basketball players can be called the UAlbany women’s basketball team.
With the addition of beginner Freja Werth to senior guard Ellen Hahne and junior forward Helene Haegerstrand, the big Danes now adorn three Swedes on their 13-person list.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing how they play together, what it will look like,” said coach Colleen Mullen. “It will be like the Swedish attack.”
The trend started with Amanda Kantzy, another Swede who graduated in 2020 after three seasons with the big Danes.
“She talked loudly about us and then she said: ‘Well, I know a player in Sweden who is very good, who would fit well here, and I would like to recommend her to come here,” said Mullen.
That player was Haegerstrand.
“And then Helene said, ‘I have a friend, her name is Ellen (Hahne),'” Mullen continued. “That’s the pipeline you get to start.”
Knowing that other Swedish players were successful at UAlbany took into account Werth’s decision to play for the big Danes.
“I did not know if I really wanted to go to the United States, and when I heard that they really liked this and they had to play a lot and everything, it made me feel more comfortable going here,” Werth said.
“We talked a lot with her (Werth) last year. Since we are all from the same country, we have had similar experiences before, with the same team, says Hahne. “So nice to be able to connect that way and make sure she knew what she agreed to come here, and so that she would feel comfortable coming here.”
Werth currently handles long-term issues from last season, but Mullen is convinced that she will be a dangerous addition to the team.
“She’s a really dynamic player and it’s just about keeping her healthy and really adapting to the physicality of the American game,” she said.
Haegerstrand and Hahne also had to make that adjustment.
American basketball is much more focused on one-on-one matches and individual athletics, Hahne said.
This means that instead of focusing on creating opportunities for teammates, Werth must take advantage of the opportunities she gets herself.
“It will increase your self-confidence over time, that if you are open enough, it is your shot and you must take it,” said Haegerstrand. Werth can score anywhere on the court, so “she just needs to get in her head that that shot is hers, that the drive is hers.”
“It’s tougher here, it’s more physical, but on the other hand it’s much faster in Europe,” Werth said.
Having three players who all grew up with European style is an advantage for the team, Mullen said.
“They just have a great chemistry together,” she said. “They just give a different dynamic to how they can create images for each other.”
International students also have off-track adjustments to make.
“Finding the balance with school, studying in English, while you go to training and there is a new basketball term that you think you may need to know or that you thought you knew, there are just many new things,” said Haegerstrand.
“It’s a big adaptation, bigger than you might think, and when I see (Werth) go through it now, I’m reminded myself of how I was,” she added.
So having some compatriots in the team has helped Werth immensely.
“Only with similar, small things and to speak Swedish sometimes and like to explain things that I do not know, so it has been so nice to have them here,” she said.
Despite the necessary adjustments required of them, games in the US give Swedish players the chance to mix school with basketball in a way they could not take home.
“If you get the opportunity, it’s so cool to experience the university’s experience, because we do not have a university in the same way, where you can balance basketball with the school,” said Haegerstrand.