6'11" Center Looks to Lead Rice University to the Dance
by Scott Granowitz
October, 1999 -- Alex Bougaieff, a 22-year-old senior at Rice University 
in Houston, is a rarity in more ways than one. He stands 6-feet 11-inches. He
plays major-college basketball. He hails from the north - Trois Rivieres, Quebec,
Canada to be precise. He also happens to be Jewish. That's right, a Jewish center
playing in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
How did Bougaieff (pronounced Boo-guy-eff), being from the hockey hotbed of Canada, get his start in hoops?
"I started in the 8th grade, I was tall for my age," explained the French Canadian. "I've always been very tall for my age, so the natural thing was to try basketball at the time. Just give it a shot for one year, and then I liked it, so I stuck to it."
The educational and basketball system in Canada is slightly different than that of the United States. There are no highly publicized Adidas, ABCD, Nike All-America or Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions summer camps to speak of.
So Bougaieff had to garnish his hardwood skills the old fashioned way.
"I never went to any kind of summer camps," said Bougaieff. "I only played with the Quebec camp in the summer, it's like a provincial program. The big thing would be the junior nationals where all the provincial teams would meet and compete."
Canadian High school is different from its US counterpart, and those students intent on going to college generally spend an additional two years refining their academics at a post-graduate high school. So Bougaieff spent two years at College Montmorency before arriving at Rice. At Montmorency, Bougaieff starred on the basketball team, being named All-Canadian both years. For his senior year, the big man led the squad to the Quebec Provincial championship with a 24-5 record, while averaging 22 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 3.5 assists.
Bougaieff's success both in the classroom and on the court caught the attention of Rice head coach Willis Wilson and earned him an athletic scholarship. Rice, one of the most prestigious universities in the United States, has a major athletic program that demands a balance between the classroom and the playing fields for all student-athletes.
"I thought it was the best combination of athletics and academics I could find in the States at the time," recalled Bougaieff on why he chose to play for the Owls. "Rice has a great academic tradition. Playing college basketball in the NCAA was always a goal."
Bougaieff has improved tremendously at Rice. He has increased his point and rebound averages respectively each season, from 2.2 and 2.7 for his freshman season, to 5.0 and 5.9 for his sophomore season, and last year to 8.3 and 7.6. Bougaieff entered his freshman year weighing a measly 210 pounds, backing up All-WAC center Shawn Igo. He has bulked up in the weight room each summer, now weighing over 240.
"I think with the added strength comes the added confidence," said Bougaieff. "You feel better when you're a little bigger, a little stronger. Adding some bulk definitely helped my confidence."
Bougaieff has mainly contributed in the area of rebounding during his career for the Owls, but became a shot-blocking presence last year with 36 rejections in 27 games, including 5 in one game against SMU. His career game high for rebounds is 18, set last season against TCU, while he scored a career-best 19 against Texas Pan-American. Bougaieff has also extended his mid-range jumper from 12-14-feet his freshman year to his current 17-feet, and looks to add a consistent, back-to-the-basket repertoire in his final season. He will be a permanent starter this season, after being part-time in that area for his sophomore and junior seasons.
Last summer, Bougaieff played for Canada at the World University Games in Spain. Though Canada was eliminated 87-82 in the quarterfinals by a talented American squad, Bougaieff led his country with 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He did this against Chris Mihm (Texas) and Brendan Haywood (North Carolina), both 7-footers expected to be NBA lottery picks.
Before Bougaieff leaves Rice, he would like to play in the NCAA Tournament, something that has evaded the Owls the past several seasons.
"Yes, definitely it's one of my goals to make it to the postseason before my college career is over," stated Bougaieff. "I have one more season and I'd like to do it.When I came to Rice, at the time I just wanted to play college basketball, but once you get here you realize the next step is having a winning season, going far in the conference tournament, in the post-season."
Last season, Rice finished with an 18-10 (8-6 in the WAC) record, a 12-game turnaround from the 1997-98 campaign. This improvement was the 3rd best in Division I last year. However, over the summer eight schools left the 16-team WAC to form their own conference, cutting the conference in half. Due to NCAA rules regarding conference stability, this left the WAC without an automatic bid to the 2000 NCAA Tournament. So if Rice makes the Big Dance for the 1999-00 campaign, they will have to earn it via an at-large bid. But with a weakened league, and a strong returning nucleus that not only includes Bougaieff but also 5-foot-11 point Mike Wilks and 6-foot-6 forward Erik Cooper, Rice has high expectations. The Owls also gain 6-foot-11 Providence College transfer T.J. McKenzie to bolster the frontcourt. With 20 plus wins this season, an NCAA bid or at least an NIT berth is certainly within reach.
Bougaieff, a WAC scholar-athlete who will graduate this June with a dual major in Math and Economics, has had the opportunity to also combine culture with his basketball career. During the summer of 1997 he led Canada to the Gold Medal at the Maccabiah Games in Israel. The competition, held every four years for Jewish athletes worldwide, gave Bougaieff the chance to visit Israel and meet Jewish athletes from many sports.
"Just from staying in the same hotel, or the same 5 to 6 hotels on the street and walking in the streets, I met a lot of people," marveled Bougaieff.
Although the Maccabiah has lost its luster in recent years, particularly among the Israeli public, Bougaieff would do it all over again.
"I think it's a great opportunity, a great event," said Bougaieff. "Unfortunately there was the opening ceremony incident [the collapsed bridge tragedy that killed four Australian athletes]. But still it's a great experience, I wouldn't look down on it at all."
It actually was shear luck that Bougaieff got to participate in the Maccabiah. He had never heard of the games before leaving for college.
"The coach that coached the Maccabi team was from Montreal," explained Bougaieff. "He coached at Concordia University. That's how I found out about it. Otherwise I don't know if I would have found out about it. He knew I was Jewish, he called me the spring before and told me they were putting a team together."
The Maccabiah basketball tournament for years was known as a showcase between the USA and Israel. Each of these nations had won either the Gold or Silver Medals at every competition since basketball became a Maccabiah sport. That is, until Canada and Great Britain changed their fortunes in 1997. Canada knocked off Israel in the semifinals, while the USA was upset by the Brits.
"Not at all, traditionally the US and Israel play in the finals," said Bougaieff when questioned if he expected to take home Gold. "We managed to knock off Israel and I think Great Britain managed a big upset by beating the US in the semis. So we had Canada and Great Britain in the finals, which was pretty amazing. But once we got to the finals we knew we could beat Great Britain. I just knew it, it was a matter of going out and doing it."
After losing to Israel in a preliminary game, Canada took down the Israelis in overtime in the semis with use of a strong finish by Bougaieff against current Cal-Berkeley center Shahar Gordon. The championship game against Great Britain was no contest, as Bougaieff's 28-points (mostly mid-range jumpers) led all scorers in a 76-60 win. Bougaieff was named MVP of the tournament.
Will we be hearing of Bougaieff's exploits in the Israeli League after the talented big man graduates from Rice? After all, Israel is always looking for naturalized Jewish posts from the Diaspora to fill their rosters.
"Possibly, I had great time while I was there," said Bougaieff about the possibility of playing pro in the Holy Land. "Right now I don't know, I still have this season left at Rice, I'll focus on that, but after that who knows. It's a matter of who offers me a job."
These sources know for a fact that there is interest from a major team in Israel, and more performances like Bougaieff's 14-point, 9-rebound game in a 70-64 win over Patriot League power Naval Academy to open the 1999-00 season on November 19th will further enforce his post-collegiate fortunes.
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