Colorado University Athletics
Dufault Bounces Around Czech League, But Finds Niche
But his story doesn't end there. Dufault is now an All-Star playing for NH Ostrava in the Czech Republic National Basketball League.
League coaches selected Dufault as a participant in the spectacle matching the Czech NBL All-Stars vs. the Polish TBL All-Stars. Dufault was the youngest player chosen to compete and scored seven points in the NBL's 109-104 loss to the TBL. The game took place last weekend in Wroclaw, Poland at the historic, 100-year-old Centennial Hall.
Dufault might feel as if it's been that long since he was playing his college ball in the Centennial State after having to rapidly adapt to a new culture, a different style of European play, and having already played for two different teams.
"So far playing in the Czech NBL has been a great experience," Dufault said. "I've been through it all this season with ups and downs on and off the court, and I've even experienced having to move teams. The experience has been great and I've tried to take this opportunity in my first year professionally to improve my game as much as I can and learn from the veterans I've played with in order to become the best basketball player that I can be."
He said adapting is part of life and that he is doing his best to not only acclimate to the new lifestyle he has been immersed in but also a new league at another level. Unlike college, every night he must battle veterans of the game instead of 18- to 22-year-olds as was the case in the Pac-12 Conference.
Dufault described the game in Europe as "really physical . . . there are a lot of guys well into their 30s playing in this league who have a lot of experience and are grown men who have been professionals for years."
He has learned thus far that banging in the paint happens nightly and a variety of scoring can come from more than one player. On a typical night, teams can have as many as six players scoring in double-figures.
The change in style certainly has not appeared to be too difficult for Dufault to handle, though. He has averaged 15.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while adding 37 assists and 30 steals in 23 games.
"At CU we ran a lot of pick-and-rolls and European types of offenses," said Dufault. "It has really helped prepare me for the European game."
On Jan. 3, only 19 games into his first professional season, Dufault was traded from BK Prostejov to NH Ostrava. In Prostejov, Dufault was the team's leading scorer (15.7 ppg), but in Ostrava he is on a championship contending team.
"Since moving to Ostrava we have a much more balanced team with a very deep roster and my role of a scorer has been lessened," Dufault explained. "I'm excited to continue to play with my new teammates and push towards securing a top three seed for the playoffs."
The Czech NBL consists of 13 teams that play each other twice, home and away, for the first half of the season. In mid-January, the league is then divided into two divisions, A1 and A2, to determine eight playoff teams. Ostrava has secured a spot in the A1 division, which is comprised of the top six teams. All are guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, while the remaining seven teams in the A2 division fight for the final two playoff spots.
The move to Ostrava not only puts Dufault in a better playoff situation, as the team currently sits in the 2-Seed spot, but it also places him in a larger city with more fans and more English-speaking residents.
Although hockey and soccer rule the Czech sports world, Dufault said fans still crave basketball: "The fans in both Prostejov and Ostrava have been great. Ostrava is a larger city with a bigger fan base but both places treated me great and it was a pleasure to play in front of them."
NH Ostrava features five Americans - including Dufault - compared to only one American - Dufault - on his former team in Prostejov. With that town being much smaller, Dufault said he relied on translator 'apps' through his phone to help pick up the language in order to get around town, order food in restaurants, and to understand coaches' orders in practice.
Living the life of a professional basketball player in a foreign country has been a challenge, but Dufault has embraced it as an opportunity and plans to take full advantage.
There are times when he misses his friends and family, and it is difficult to communicate with over an eight-hour time difference. Yet one thing he won't miss is the grind of waking up for 8 a.m. classes after a long road trip.
However, that doesn't mean he has stopped learning or receiving report cards. "The European professional basketball market is a 'what have you done for me lately' business and I've seen and heard of players being sent home for having one bad game," Dufault said. "So, there's a lot of pressure each day to bring it and play well, but I feel like I've embraced that pressure and used it to keep me sharp and focused at all times."
The All-Star break serves as a weekend of fun and time to relax, but a few surprises were also in store. A last-minute change to the schedule saw Dufault competing in his first-ever slam dunk contest after another participant withdrew due to a nagging injury. Although unprepared, Dufault held his own and advanced to the finals, finishing second in the competition.
"I'm not the most athletic guy in the world but I made it to the finals and tried to have as much fun as I could doing it," said Dufault. "Overall the whole experience of the game and the dunk contest was awesome and I couldn't have asked for much more."
From his success in college to what he has already accomplished in Europe, becoming an All-Star in his rookie campaign is just another highlight for his resume - you can call it a slam dunk.