VALUABLE IMPORT
By Chris Kowalczyk
2-23-10

In 2008, LexioPhiles.com, a website dedicated to the love of linguistics, released an article with a list of the 10 hardest languages to learn. Pulling in at No. 9 was English. Filled with paradoxes and words with multiple meanings, English can produce more headaches than a migraine convention. 

Kirill Pishchalnikov would probably agree. It wasn’t that long ago that the VCU senior forward would’ve gotten eyestrain from reading this article. When Pishchalnikov landed on United States soil in the spring of 2007, he spoke virtually no English.

“Before I came here, everybody told me, oh, don’t worry about English,” Pishchalnikov said in his thick Russian accent. “You’ll come here and in two months you’ll know how to understand and everything. [I thought] oh, cool. When I came here, I started everything from zero. It was tough.”

Those early days were difficult, and Pishchalnikov struggled just to get through practices.

“When coach is telling you something and you don’t understand, you’re like, coach, please, I can’t understand,” Pishchalnikov said. “After practice, my head was so big.”

Despite those harrowing moments, Pishchalnikov has done just fine stateside. On Feb. 24, he’ll be honored as part of Senior Day festivities prior to his final regular season home game as a VCU Ram. It’s the culmination of a difficult, yet rewarding journey for the 6-foot-8, 265-pound forward from Maykop, Russia.

He won’t be remembered by Rams’ fans as a guy who set the world on fire or dazzled with raw athleticism. Pishchalnikov has spent most of his VCU career as a role player. This season he’s averaging 3.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Last year he started 30 games and averaged 5.2 points and 4.6 rebounds.

There have been occasional flashes of brilliance, moments that will look good in the scrapbook one day. There was a game last season in which he torched Western Michigan for 15 points and 14 rebounds, not to mention his recent 14-point outburst in a win over rival Old Dominion. But it’s Pishchalnikov’s lunchpail, no-nonsense approach to the game that has endeared him to the VCU faithful over the years. There’s no sizzle to his game, but that’s okay.

During his career he’s been an anti-hero of sorts in stylish systems that are known more for the type of athletes that dominate them. However, there’s a great deal of value in Pishchalnikov’s brute skill set. His effort in the Rams’ win over Old Dominion on Feb. 6 is exhibit ‘A’. The Monarchs are known for their toughness in the post and their dogged approach to rebounding. None of that stopped Pishchalnikov, who turned in a brilliant 14-point, five-rebound ode to muscle and hustle. 

“Kirill gives us great physicality. He’s our strongest, biggest, widest guy,” VCU Coach Shaka Smart said. “When he’s playing with great energy and aggressiveness, there aren’t a lot of people who can move him around in the paint.”

Don’t mistake blue-collar for unathletic. Pishchalnikov runs the floor well and has an effective jump shot out to 15 feet. When he was growing up in Russia, he also played some volleyball and threw the discus. His brother, Bogdan, and sister, Darya, are accomplished discus throwers. Bogdan placed sixth in the event at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

“Offensively, he can play in a fast style of play,” Smart said. “He can run the floor hard. He’s shown that. He can set ball screens on the move, and one thing about our style of play, we do really like to throw the ball inside. He obviously can be effective in that.”

This year, the Rams’ depth, combined with the emergence of Larry Sanders and the addition of Jamie Skeen, has cut into Pishchalnikov’s minutes. Even when he’s not on the floor, Pishchalnikov is one of the more vocal guys on the bench, clapping, cheering and encouraging the guys on the floor.

“When I’m on the bench, I’m still in the game and I try to help my team win,” Pishchalnikov said.

That doesn’t surprise Smart, who has come to expect that type of attitude from his upbeat senior.

“He has a maturity about him that I would say is beyond that of the average college basketball player,” Smart said. “Kirill’s one of those people that goes out of his way to find out how you’re doing, how your day is going. It’s easy as an 18 to 20-year-old kid to get caught up in your own world. Kirill’s somebody that has a very good ability to get outside himself. I think that’s a great trait that’s going to serve him well the rest of his life.”

It’s not just basketball that has made Pishchalnikov’s VCU tenure special.  He’s grown up a lot in three years. In December, Pishchalnikov received his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies. Additionally, he recently got engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Susan. They are scheduled to tie the knot on June 19 in Richmond.

“It’s kind of sad a little bit,” Pishchalnikov said about his final days as a collegian. “I’m very happy I came here. I learned a lot and got my degree. This degree, it’s not like in Russian where I was studying. Here, with this diploma, I can do a lot of things.”

First, he’ll take a shot at basketball. Pishchalnikov wants to play professionally in Europe, with Susan in tow.

In the meantime, Susan has been preparing for the road ahead. She recently completed a Russian language course.

“She did pretty good. She got an ‘A’,” Pishchalnikov said. “She always asked me to help her, but sometimes I don’t have time. But I try to help because I know how it is to live in a country and not speak English.”

It’s a good thing. On that same list of the 10 hardest languages to learn, three spots up from English, is Russian at No. 6.

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