The International Journeyman
A profile of University of Washington Assistant Coach Paul Fortier.
Paul Fortier's seventeen years playing international basketball eventually led him back to where it all started.
The National Basketball Association might have to undergo a name change. With the creation of NBA China and an influx of players from all over the globe, the NBA would be more aptly named the International Basketball Association.
Paul Fortier, assistant coach of the University of Washington Huskies, both witnessed and participated in the development of international basketball. After a noteworthy college career in which he was an All-Pac-10 forward for the University of Washington, Fortier was drafted by the Washington Bullets with the 104th pick in the 1986 draft. Before suiting up for the NBA, Fortier was told by the Bullets to play overseas to gain experience. Although disappointed, Fortier took his team’s advice and figured his stint in Europe would last one year.
One year turned into 17 as Fortier enjoyed a productive career with teams in Italy, France, Spain, and Greece. Fortier says that at times he considered returning to the NBA, especially early in his career when the Golden State Warriors invited him to veterans camp. However, a scheduling conflict limited the options for veterans to play overseas if they decided to attend veteran camps for NBA teams. At that time, the European League’s season began the first part of August, while participants in NBA veteran camps could remain until November. By the time a veteran knew whether he made the NBA team’s roster, the European teams were already half way through their seasons. As Fortier states, “I had a guaranteed job in Europe, the offer with the Warriors was to make good.”
Aside from the guaranteed job, Fortier says he played overseas because of his love of the game. Fortier says that the year the Warriors wanted him, “they had a lot of injuries and called up a lot of guys I thought I was better than.” However, he says that he and several other players, some with NBA experience, talked about spending their entire careers in Europe. “As the basketball got better, we saw that change and that’s what I appreciate now,” he says. He says that at times he knew he was good enough to play in the NBA, but a lot of opportunity is dependent on being in the right situation at the right time.
The beginning of Fortier’s career in Europe was a huge adjustment. “In college,” Fortier says, “I played on a pretty good team, but the [individual] averages weren’t as high and the demands weren’t on one or two players.” In Europe, American players had constant pressure to compete for limited roster spots. “I had to average a double double every game,” Fortier says. He describes the immense pressure put on American players by both the management and European players. Fortier says that he remembers players getting cut after a bad performance. “American players were only as good as their last games,” he says. Fortier believes that European players have improved greatly since the beginning of his career and European teams are relying on Americans to fit in with the European players rather than carry the team.
When Fortier began his career in St. Quentin, France, he remembers being the only American on the team and playing in cities where nobody spoke English. Eventually, Fortier had the opportunity to join teams with several older American players that took him under their wing. By the time Fortier was in his sixth and seventh seasons, he had the same opportunity to serve as a mentor to younger American players. “I felt that they kept me young,” he says. Later in his career, Fortier got the opportunity to view the game from a coach’s perspective. In Cholet, France, the head coach began asking Fortier’s advice during American players’ tryouts as well as after games and during video editing sessions. “That’s when the coaching bug got into me,” Fortier says, “I was still a player, but I was seeing the other side.”
After spending two years as an assistant coach at Cornell, Fortier returned to his alma mater in 2005 as an assistant coach to Lorenzo Romar. Romar says that Fortier’s international playing experience was “one of the many reasons” he wanted Fortier as part of his staff.
In August of 2007, the Huskies’ players got a temporary chance to follow their assistant coach’s footsteps by playing five preseason games in Greece. In addition to receiving invaluable basketball experience, Fortier says that the team participated in academic and cultural activities as well. Fortier says that the staff was pleased with the way the players performed against professional Greek teams. “The guys got a taste of what I got to go through for 17 years,” Fortier says.
Aside from having extensive knowledge on rebounding and positioning, Fortier added a three point shot to his repertoire in Europe, which he believes helped prolong his career. Lance LaVetter, President of Basketball Operations at University of Washington, says, “The [European] style is more of a perimeter game. Lots of kids can shoot over there.” Fortier now sees the style of play he became accustomed to in Europe transition over to the United States with big men, like Dirk Nowitzki, possessing deadly perimeter accuracy. LaVetter believes Fortier’s experience with the European game can only benefit current college players. “He’s seen it, he’s played it, he knows it,” La Vetter says.
For a man whose career has come full circle, Fortier spends his time coaching future lottery picks and paving the way for the next generation of basketball players beginning their careers in the United States and abroad.
