Przemysław Marcin "Przemek" Karnowski (; born 8 November 1993) is a Polish

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for Stelmet Zielona Góra of the PLK and the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus an ...

. He completed his

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

career at

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the univ ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 2017. He has also played for the Polish national team. He had been viewed by some NBA draft analysts as a potential first round pick in the 2016 draft, but chose to return to Gonzaga for his final season of college eligibility in 2016–17.

College career

Przemek narrowed his decision down to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and Gonzaga. He committed to Gonzaga on May 29, 2012. For his freshman season he was behind star Canadian center

Kelly Olynyk Kelly Tyler Olynyk ( ; born April 19, 1991) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, where he earned NCAA All-American ho ...

, a future lottery pick in the 2013 NBA draft. In the 2013–14 season Karnowski averaged 10.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game as the Bulldogs' starting center.http://basketball.realgm.com/player/Przemek-Karnowski/Summary/24347 at RealGM.com As a junior, he averaged 11 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1 block per game. Due to back problems, Karnowski had surgery after playing only five games in his senior season. He was averaging 8.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in those five games. The surgery followed a prolonged episode of back pain so severe that by the time of the operation, it took him over an hour to get out of bed and perform normal morning activities; he was also unable to walk without crutches. He developed an infection after undergoing the surgery and lost roughly . Karnowski's recovery proceeded ahead of schedule; while he was told he would be unable to perform any strenuous activities for 10 months post-operation, he was running after 7 months. For the rest of his Gonzaga career, the team's training staff placed him on a customized conditioning program to protect his back, and he did not participate in any basketball-related activity outside of games and scheduled practices. On May 24, 2016, Gonzaga announced that Karnowski had received a medical redshirt and would return to the school for one final college season in 2016–17. In his final season with Gonzaga he led Gonzaga to the best start in the history of the organization (29-0) whilst posting the best offensive and defensive numbers of his career: 12.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.9 block in just 22.5 minutes per game coming to the

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

. On February 2, 2017, Karnowski became the career leader in wins for Gonzaga, passing

Kevin Pangos Kevin Joseph Pangos (born January 26, 1993) is a Canadian-Slovenian professional basketball player for Olimpia Milano of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He spent his college basketball career playing for the Gonzaga B ...

and Kyle Dranginis (both 122 wins). Following the game with

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

, Karnowski became the active leader in Division I basketball games played with 143, passing

Nigel Hayes Nigel Hayes-Davis ( Hayes; born December 16, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers. Hayes attended Whi ...

(

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Nate Britt Nathaniel C. Britt II (born January 13, 1994) is an American former professional basketball player. He had a decorated college career at North Carolina where he won a national NCAA championship in 2017. Following this, Britt played five seasons ...

and

Isaiah Hicks Isaiah Dwayne Hicks (born July 24, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for San-en NeoPhoenix of the B.League. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. High school and college career In his senior season ...

(both

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

). Karnowski would be surpassed later that season by Hayes and Duke's

Amile Jefferson Amile O. Jefferson (born May 7, 1993) is an American basketball coach and former player. He is an assistant coach for the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He played college basketball for the Blue Dev ...

, and passed both in a win in Gonzaga's Final Four matchup with

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. After the

2017 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament The 2017 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament was a postseason men's basketball tournament for the West Coast Conference held March 3–7, 2017 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada. Regular-season champion 2016–17 Gonzaga Bull ...

, Karnowski became the NCAA's career leader in wins with 132, passing Shane Battier (131). During his senior season he was nominated to the

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate center. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarded sinc ...

and Senior CLASS Award. Karnowski graduated with

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...

Sport Management Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organiz ...

and

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

with one of the highest GPAs in WCC, for which he was named to the 2016-17 WCC Men's Basketball All-Academic Team. With 13 points performance and two crucial baskets he led his team to a 77–73 victory in the NCAA tournament semifinal, giving the Gonzaga Bulldogs their first ever appearance in the NCAA March Madness Final. During his tenure with Gonzaga Bulldogs he became a fan favorite not only because his skills, but also because of his outgoing and friendly attitude as well as his signature beard. Some fans even wear fake beards during games to impersonate Karnowski. His name is found difficult to spell for basketball fans from the US, thus he was given fancy nicknames like "Shem" (short for "Przemysław"), "Big Shem," or "Mount Karnowski" (in reference to his size). His performances are also widely recognized in his country, Poland. Tens of thousands of Polish fans watched his March Madness surge overnight, because of the time difference.

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 2012–13 , align="left" , Gonzaga , 34 , , 1 , , 10.8 , , .567 , , – , , .444 , , 2.7 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 5.4 , - , align="left" , 2013–14 , align="left" , Gonzaga , 36 , , 36 , , 25.3 , , .593 , , .000 , , .500 , , 7.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 1.7 , , 10.4 , - , align="left" , 2014–15 , align="left" , Gonzaga , 38 , , 37 , , 24.5 , , .622 , , 1.000 , , .509 , , 5.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.5 , , 1.0 , , 11.0 , - , align="left" , 2015–16 , align="left" , Gonzaga , 5 , , 5 , , 24.8 , , .594 , , – , , .462 , , 5.4 , , 1.2 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 8.8 , - , align="left" , 2016–17 , align="left" , Gonzaga , 39 , , 39 , , 22.9 , , .601 , , .000 , , .582 , , 5.8 , , 2.1 , , 0.4 , , 1.0 , , 12.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 152 , , 118 , , 21.2 , , .600 , , .333 , , .513 , , 5.4 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 1.0 , , 9.8

Professional career

In the 2011–12 season, Karnowski played for

Siarka Jezioro Tarnobrzeg KKS Siarka Tarnobrzeg was a Polish professional basketball team, founded in 1962 and based in Tarnobrzeg, Poland. The team played in the Polish Basketball League, Polish Basketball League (PLK) in 2010s. KKS Siarka Tarnobrzeg club withdrew the t ...

of the Polish PLK. In 35 games, he averaged 10.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. After the regular season, Karnowski won the PLK Rookie of the Year Award. He went undrafted in the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

, but joined the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

for the 2017 NBA Summer League. On July 28, 2017, Karnowski agreed to terms with Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

team MoraBanc Andorra. On July 8, 2018, Karnowski part ways with MoraBanc Andorra. On August 16, 2018, he signed with

Twarde Pierniki Toruń Twarde Pierniki Toruń is a Polish professional basketball team based in Toruń. The team currently plays in the Polish Basketball League (PLK). The club has won Polish Basketball Cup, Polish Cup and Polish Basketball Supercup, Polish Supercup titl ...

of the

Polish Basketball League Polska Liga Koszykówki (PLK) (English language, English: Polish Basketball League) is a professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Poland. It constitutes the first and highest-tier level of the Polish basketball leag ...

. On August 17, 2020, Karnowski signed with Stelmet Zielona Góra of the PLK and the

Professional career statistics

, - , align="left" , 2009–10 , align="left" , Pierniki Torun , 14 , , 0 , , 21.4 , , .560 , , .000 , , .612 , , 9.1 , , 1.2 , , .9 , , 2.5 , , 12.2 , - , align="left" , 2010–11 , align="left" , SMS Wladyslawowo , 23 , , 0 , , 31.0 , , .517 , , .250 , , .547 , , 9.6 , , 1.3 , , 1.1 , , 2.1 , , 14.0 , - , align="left" , 2011–12 , align="left" ,

ASK KS Siarka Tarnobrzeg KKS Siarka Tarnobrzeg was a Polish professional basketball team, founded in 1962 and based in Tarnobrzeg, Poland. The team played in the Polish Basketball League, Polish Basketball League (PLK) in 2010s. KKS Siarka Tarnobrzeg club withdrew the t ...

, 35 , , 18 , , 25.6 , , .520 , , .067 , , .560 , , 4.4 , , 1.3 , , 0.7 , , 1.2 , , 10.1 , - class="sortbottom"

International career

Karnowski guided the Polish junior national team to the championship game of the

2010 FIBA Under-17 World Championship The 2010 FIBA Under-17 World Championship (German: FIBA U17-Weltmeisterschaft 2010) was the inaugural edition of the FIBA Under-17 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested by the U17 national tea ...

, in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. He was named to the All-Tournament Team. and was named Best Center of the tournament by

Eurobasket.com Eurobasket.com also commonly referred to as "Eurobasket News", is a basketball-centered website that provide coverages of every professional and semi-professional leagues around the world. Although primarily focusing on European basketball, th ...

after averaging 14.5 points, 11 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 blocked shots per contest. Joining him on the official All-Tournament Team was Canada's

who would later be his teammate at Gonzaga. Karnowski represented the senior

Polish national basketball team The Poland men's national basketball team ( pl, Reprezentacja Polski w koszykówce) represents Poland in international basketball competitions. They are controlled by the Polish Basketball Federation (PZKosz). Poland has competed at the EuroB ...

EuroBasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France defeated Lithuania in th ...

, in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. He averaged 3.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 0.3 APG.

References

External links

Gonzaga Bulldogs bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karnowski, Przemek 1993 births Living people Baloncesto Fuenlabrada players BC Andorra players Centers (basketball) Polish expatriate basketball people in Spain Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball players Liga ACB players Polish expatriate basketball people in Andorra Polish expatriate basketball people in the United States Polish men's basketball players Siarka Tarnobrzeg (basketball) players Sportspeople from Bydgoszcz Twarde Pierniki Toruń players