Polish-born Jakub Kusmieruk stands tall

Jakub “Kuba” Kusmieruk is Poland’s tallest man. He’s also a center for the Bengals basketball team.
Now a redshirt senior, the 7-feet-4-inch Kusmieruk moved to the United States in August of 2005. He was 15 when he left Sokolow Podlaski, Poland.
“What do you think?” Kusmieruk said jokingly when asked if people often comment on his height.
“I don’t really pay attention anymore. I’m just walking and people are looking back. They’re all so amazed,” said Kusmieruk.
When he got the opportunity to play high school basketball at John Carroll School in Bel Air, Md., Kusmieruk took it.
“Where I’m from, there’s not much basketball,” Kusmieruk said.
He had only been playing basketball for one year when he moved. At age 15, Kusmieruk was already 7-feet-1-inch tall.
Even more difficult was the language barrier. Kusmieruk spoke no English when he moved to Maryland.
“It was challenging,” said Kusmieruk.
Less than two years later, he took the SAT exam and was accepted to the University of Central Florida.
After two years playing basketball at UCF, Kusmieruk transferred to Idaho State University to play basketball for the Bengals. He had to redshirt his first year in Idaho and is now a redshirt senior in his third and final season here.
“I came from Florida,” he said, laughing about the climate difference. “It took me a little bit to adjust but it’s nice. I’m happy.”
Being a part of a team with good chemistry has been important to Kusmieruk.
“Honestly, we are like a family. Everybody on the team could hang out,” he said.
“There’s no little groups inside our team,” said Kusmieruk. “That’s like a cancer, as our coaches would say.”
Kusmieruk, a sports management major, talked briefly about his post-graduation aspirations. Professional basketball is his aim, with personal training perhaps coming after.
Kusmieruk travels back to Poland to visit his family every summer. His basketball schedule leaves no time to visit his family over Christmas.
Living in the United States for eight years has allowed Kusmieruk to compare the two cultures when he travels to Poland.
“Poland is catching up to Western style of living. The differences between Poland and the United States are smaller and smaller,” he said.
“Back in the 90s when we just got out from communism, then the difference was very drastic,” said Kusmieruk. “Now that we have democracy, we have McDonalds. We have Starbucks and a Subway.”