Yauhen Massalski, 22 years old and a native of Minsk, Belarus, speaks five languages, already has an undergrad degree in marketing and this week began a master’s program in sports management. Clearly, he knows how to organize his time and get things done.
But the 6-foot-9 forward on USF’s basketball team also believes it’s important to live in the moment. One of his favorite quotes goes, “The past is history, the future a mystery, today’s a gift.”
Massalski tries to live his life following that advice. It’s probably at the root of why when you ask him about whether he hopes to continue his basketball career after college, he declines to lay out a clear path.
“Over the course of my basketball career, when I think about what what’s going to happen in a year, it messes with my head,” he explained. “I just decided to worry about what I’m going to have for dinner tonight.
“I made it from Minsk to San Diego to San Francisco. How many people have done that?”
Massalski graduated from the University of San Diego last spring, then decided to transfer to USF. On Saturday night, he will face his old team when USD visits War Memorial Gym at the Sobrato Center.
There was no drama and no hard feelings when Massalski left San Diego, and he expects a low-key reunion.
“I'm very grateful for my time at San Diego. There’s nothing bad I could say,” he said. “Sometimes chapters in life should be closed, and that’s what happened. Now I’m a USF Don and they’re in the way of what we want to do. For me, it’s just a game. I try not to let emotions get in the way. They’re not going to go easier on me just because I played there.”
Massalski improved each season at USD, his scoring average creeping up from 4.2 to 6.7 to 8.4 to 9.6 points per game as a senior last year. At San Francisco, his game has taken a leap to 14.1 points per game on 63-percent shooting.
Massalski expected big things when he got to The Hilltop.
“I knew I was coming into a good situation,” he said. “I respected them when I played against them, and (I thought), `Let’s see what we can do together.’ I felt like I’m a piece of the puzzle that can make this whole thing better.”
Coach Todd Golden said Massalski has been “fantastic,” noting the inside presence he provides in addition to his on-court communication that has made him a leader in his debut season, along with fifth-year senior guard Jamaree Bouyea.
“He completes us,” Bouyea recently said of Massalski.
From 11-14 a year ago, the Dons took a 13-1 record to Salt Lake City on Thursday for an impromptu, non-conference afternoon matchup against Loyola-Chicago. The Ramblers arrived with a 9-2 record and a No. 19 ranking by the NCAA’s NET computer. The Dons were No. 32.
The game was put together on the fly after both teams had conference games scheduled for Thursday postponed because of COVID-19 issues on the rosters of their opponents.
Loyola emerged with a 79-74 victory, an outcome not likely to do harm to the Dons because of the quality of the opponent. USF was No. 35 in NET rankings on Friday.
And Massalski, who entered the week expecting to play at Gonzaga on Thursday night, apparently followed his live-in-the-moment mantra: He scored 20 points on 10-for-10 shooting while adding five rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists.
Thursday’s result won’t alter how Massalski feels about his experience at USF. The Dons are chasing their first NCAA tournament bid in 24 years and Massalski embraces everything about the campus and his teammates.
Growing up in Minsk, a city of 2 million founded more than 1,000 years ago, Massalski also has spent time in Lithuania and China, thanks to his basketball skills. And while he prefers San Diego’s warmer weather, he has no complaints about his new home and says geography is not the top priority with him.
“I was always the type of person where I care more about who is there,” Massalski said. “I can adjust to whatever city I come from. I’m very comfortable here in San Francisco because of the people that are around me. It’s going amazing. Words cannot really describe it.”
ZAGS DENY PORTLAND: Gonzaga’s women, in their WCC opener on Thursday night, showed they’re still a force in the league’s upper division. Trekking south to Portland, the Zags pulled away from a tie game after three quarters to beat the Pilots, 76-65.
The Zags (10-3) used their interior strength to get the best of the Pilots, as senior forward Melody Kempton scored a career-high 25 points and sophomore forward Yvonne Ejim came off the bench to post 22 points and 10 rebounds, both career bests. The two combined to shoot 19 for 28 from the field, and helped the Zags forge a 42-27 rebounding edge.
The Pilots (10-3) played without 6-foot-6 center Lucy Cochrane, the nation’s top shot blocker, and forward Keeley Frawley, both out due to COVID-19 protocols.
Gonzaga has won 42 of its past 44 meetings vs. Portland, which still hasn’t conquered the Bulldogs on its home floor since 2001.
GUSTIN CREEPS CLOSE TO NO. 1: BYU sophomore forward Lauren Gustin posted her sixth double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds in the Cougars’ 76-64 win over USF, and is now averaging 12.818 rebounds per game.
Why the extended decimal? Because Lorela Cubaj of Georgia Tech is barely ahead of her at the top of the NCAA leaders chart at 12.846 rebounds per game. Gustin remains No. 2, for now. Stay tuned.
USF played Thursday night’s game without Ioanna Krimili, the WCC’s No. 2 scorer at 17.4 points per game. The sophomore from Greece was unable to go due to a non-COVID-19 illness.
BARCELLO CRACKS 1,000 CAREER POINTS: BYU senior guard Alex Barcello had 15 points in the Cougars’ 73-51 win over Pacific and became the 52nd player in program history to score 1,000.
“It's such a luxury to have a veteran guy like Alex who you don't have to actually draw anything up for,” coach Mark Pope said. “We just ask him to get the ball and score for us, and he does that consistently. It's fun for all of us to watch.”
Barcello has 1,015 points in his three seasons with the Cougars. His career total, including two years at Arizona, is now 1,156 points.