Kent Washington (Southampton College ‘78) for the Long Island University Athletics Hall of Fame
Kent Washington (Southampton College ‘78)
for the Long Island University Athletics Hall of Fame
Kent Washington, a 5’-8” point guard, scored 1,082 points for Southampton Colonials, during the years 1974-78, when it was the 3rd major campus of Long Island University. The sociology major was team captain in 1976 and 1977.(1) But he may be best remembered as the first African-American to play in Poland's professional league when it was a communist country.
He became a star and won the league MVP. He played professional basketball in the Polish People's Republic from 1979–83. He was the PLK Most Valuable Player in 1980. (2) In fact, a Polish newspaper stated, "(Kent) Washington was the best!" His playing style as well as his racial background made him an instant favorite with the fans, many of whom had not seen much basketball or black Americans.
“I have an imaginative playing style. I used to drive my Southampton coaches crazy.” said the 71 year old who currently spends most of the year residing in the Netherlands. “Both dribbling and passing. So I brought that to the Polish game. I quickly learned that the ball moves faster when passed than when dribbled up the court.”
In a series of questions, I foolishly suggested that The Poles were slow and prone to playing a “muscle-city” type of game?
“As a team we felt undersized because we were competing against men.” He replied, in reference to his first trip to Poland as a member of the college team. “We were caught off guard by the passing and movement of the players and their basketball instincts. The FIBA basketball rules were vastly different from NCAA rules. That took a while to reckon with as well. After the trip I came to realize that Americans were not the only ones that could excel at basketball.”
Did YOU influence their game?
“Although my teammates had played against me (while on tour with Southampton) and they had seen my technique. It took us a few practices to gel. There were some moments in practice where the ball went flying past teammates' noses or hit them in the chest.” Smiling he continued, “However, slowly but surely we began to coordinate mainly by keeping their eyes on me while moving around the court.”
The 600 pound gorilla in the room
Your Wikipedia page states: “He was the first American as well as the first black professional basketball player to play behind the Iron Curtain.”
Question: Forget the team-how many black people did you see when you walked around town?
Answer: I was most definitely the first Black person that most Poles who I came in
contact with had ever seen.
Question: More generalized, how many people-of-color?
Answer: I met a couple of helicopter pilots from Iraq at a hotel in my
city who were there to get their pilots license. Besides that I never saw any people of
color in Poland.
Washington writes about these things extensively in his book Kentomania: A Black Basketball Virtuoso in Communist Poland (2021). He details when "They touched my hair and my skin out of curiosity." One time a two-year-old bit Washington on his finger, “thinking (it) was chocolate.”(3)
Southampton College’s ability to travel to Poland.
“Each player paid a fee that covered air travel. We brought tee shirts, socks, and other small accessories as gifts.” When asked if either government wanted a Division-II school so as to not embarrass the Polish fans too much, Washington explained, “The mayor and city council members (Town of Southampton) were of Polish descent and they helped arrange the tour.”
His time as a college student
I loved my time at Southampton College. I made so many friends and I realize now that the social opportunities and roommates is the real experience.” continuing, “I learned what I learned in books. But. Listening to different music, sharing experiences, “communicating with others was the real education.”
Question: Have he been back to the Southampton campus since the state system (SUNY) has taken over the school?
Answer: I went back to Southampton when I coached at Mercy College Women’s basketball. We played Southampton in the late 90’s. Actually, Tony Bozella who is going into the LIU Hall of Fame with Hahn coached at Southampton then. We know each other. Mary Toppins was the Athletic Director and she wanted to retire my basketball jersey. However, because of circumstances it never got done.”
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