Freshman forward Gyorgy Goloman makes smooth transition from Hungary to UCLA

The town of Körmend, Hungary is about 145 miles away from Budapest, the nation’s capital. It’s about 5,235 miles away from Weston, Fla. And, as far as Gyorgy Goloman was concerned, it was about a world away from UCLA.

About 12,000 people call Körmend home, including Goloman – who goes by “G.G.” – a freshman forward for UCLA. With less than a tenth of the population and a still-standing castle, one wouldn’t mistake this for Springfield, Mass. or “the birthplace of basketball.” It does do a pretty good impression, though.

“The history of basketball is pretty big in (Körmend). Every little kid tries basketball at a young age,” Goloman said.

Goloman was one of them. And, like a lot of European youths, he also played soccer. He swam for eight years. But when you’re tall, lanky and 6 feet 10 inches, a certain sport in particular stands out.

“When you’re 6-foot-10, it’s always basketball,” Goloman said.

As it turns out a particular place – and a particular school – do as well.

***

Prior to the introduction of the NBA’s “one-and-done” rule stipulating that a player must be at least 19 years of age and one year removed from graduating high school to be eligible for the NBA draft, it was common to see high school basketball players grappling with the decision to go pro or go to school.

That’s still the reality in Europe, and this was the decision sitting before Goloman.

Goloman said that he began debating during his sophomore year of high school whether to join one of Europe’s professional leagues or go to the United States for college.

He spent months wrestling with the decision.

The former was appealing.

His mother – Maria Belovai – wanted the latter.

Guess who won out?

“My mom always wanted me to study. She always pushed me to study. Study first and then basketball,” Goloman said. “After a while I realized that I had to study first, too. And then that the U.S. might be a better choice.”

As for just where he would play, that decision came a little easier.

The Sagemont School – a private prep school in Weston – had an opening for a big man. It also had a number of things – palm trees, humidity, the beach – that Goloman had never experienced.

“What’s there not to like? I knew that it was like 20 miles away from Miami beach, so I was like, ‘Why not?,’” Goloman said with a laugh. “It wasn’t hard to get used to.”

When Goloman first stepped off the plane in Florida he was overwhelmed by the new.

He came alone on his first ever visit to the United States, no family greeting party awaited him. Instead, his coaches found him a new home with a host family – Alfredo and Gabriela Sanchez – to stay with during his year at the school.

“I was kind of nervous when I first got there, an unknown family, and then I was going to have to live with them for a year,” Goloman said. “But the day I got there, they were so nice to me and we completely got along well. … I still keep in touch with them.”

As for his new school, Goloman said that the coursework was actually easier than in Hungary.

The hardest part of the move to Florida was basketball.

Goloman was accustomed to the more rigid design characteristic of the European style of play, where play calls dictated more of the action. The free-flowing, up-tempo, physical nature of American basketball took some getting used to, he said.

It still does.

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College basketball is relatively unknown in Körmend, though a couple of programs have left their mark.

“People don’t know that much about it, but big schools, like Kentucky, UCLA, they usually know,” Goloman said. “So when I got (to the U.S.), especially, I started catching up on college basketball.”

The Bruins quickly did the same with Goloman, though the fact that he even suits up for UCLA is a bit of an accident.

UCLA assistant coach Ed Schilling came to Sagemont to see Prince Ali – Goloman’s high school teammate and UCLA 2015 commit – play. But after a Sagemont practice, Schilling knew the Bruins had to get their hands on the wiry player from Hungary.

Following Schilling’s visit, coach Steve Alford made the cross-country trip to Florida to see Goloman for himself.

He wasn’t disappointed.

“His skill set was unbelievable,” Alford said.

Alford gushed about the forward’s knowledge of the game, his ability to finish at the basket with either hand as well as the big man’s passing ability, though he wasn’t quite as talkative down in Florida.

“(He) came to see me play once, and then he didn’t say anything and he left,” Goloman said.

A phone call came a few hours later, and with it a scholarship offer. For Goloman, who left behind everyone and everything he knew just for a chance at that call, it meant the world.

“A dream came true in that moment,” Goloman said.

***

As was the case in Florida, basketball has been the hardest transition for Goloman in his first year at UCLA.

“He’s never been a quiet kid, he’s always been an outgoing kid,” said sophomore guard Bryce Alford. “I remember, on his visit, he didn’t even really speak very good English, but he never stopped talking. Whatever he knew how to say he tried to say it.”

Already a bit undersized, the speed, physicality and athleticism of college basketball was something Goloman simply hadn’t seen much of in either Europe or Florida.

As a result, he didn’t see the floor much in his first month despite the Bruins’ lack of depth. Goloman played a total of just 85 minutes in the Bruins’ first 13 games this season. Inexperience was of course an issue, as was communication. Goloman wasn’t as talkative on the floor as he was off of it.

But as UCLA entered conference play, Goloman’s confidence grew.

In UCLA’s 66-55 loss to Oregon State in January, the freshman had a breakout performance, making all three shots he took and finishing with four steals in addition to flashing the ability to shoot the deep ball.

“He’s trying to find his role, come in and hit the pick-and-pop three, get little deflections here and there, rebound, be active,” said senior guard Norman Powell. “It’s the little things he does off of the bench that’s going to help us. … His character is really big for this team.”

By most accounts, Goloman has been a pretty big character on the team now that he has settled into UCLA.

“He and (junior forward/center) Tony (Parker) rival being the clowns and the jokers on the team. … This team needs that, I don’t say that negatively,” Steve Alford said. “He’s very fun to coach, he’s a happy guy, he’s got a good demeanor to him.”

Now, it’s finally translating to the floor.

In the Bruins’ last dozen games, Goloman has topped double-digits in minutes played, while UCLA has increasingly run its offense through freshman to take advantage of his passing ability.

No, the statistics aren’t gaudy. The most points Goloman has scored in a game is six, while he averages just more than one rebound an outing. But the potential and determination are there.

As is comfort.

“It took a little time, it took a couple of months for me to get used to it,” Goloman said. “I’m much more comfortable now.”