To cap off a summer of roster turnover, on Sept. 23, Drexel men’s basketball announced their final commitment to their roster on Instagram. Villiam Garcia Adsten, a 6’8” guard from Stockholm, Sweden, joined Deuce Drake, Kevon Vanderhorst, Victor Panov, Josh Reed, Ralph Akuta and Clemson Edomwonyin as new additions to the roster.
Garcia Adsten joins Drexel after spending one season with the Pacific University Tigers. With Pacific, Garcia Adsten appeared in 20 games, averaging just over seven minutes per contest. The guard is also a member of the under-20 Swedish Men’s National team. This summer, Garcia Adsten had a stellar showing for Sweden, averaging 13 points and eight rebounds across eight games during the FIBA European U20 Championships.
The Triangle spoke briefly with the newest Dragon to understand his journey to West Philadelphia:
Paulie Loscalzo: Tell me about your basketball journey and how you ended up playing Division I basketball in the United States coming from Sweden?
Villiam Garcia Adsten: I started playing basketball when I was around nine years old because my mom told me I should play because I was tall, and I just thought it was very fun and I enjoyed the game. I would spend a lot of time playing and I got pretty good, pretty quickly. I was always very ambitious so I would play with older guys and I would work out extra a lot.
I [originally] played in Sweden until I was 15, then I moved to Spain to play basketball there. I got scouted and recruited to play there. [I] played for two different clubs, Saragossa and UCA Murcia, and then my last year in Murcia I had gotten offered to play at Pacific. I wanted to keep studying while pursuing a professional basketball career so I thought it was a good opportunity to do that. Then, once the season was finished, I decided to transfer and Coach Spiker recruited me at the European Championship in Romania.
PL: You spent one year at Pacific before entering the transfer portal and ending up here. What went into that decision to enter the portal and what factors attracted you to Drexel in the end?
VGA: I wanted a better opportunity to play and develop, so I decided to transfer. And then, once I got recruited by Drexel, what stood out to me was just how well connected the coaching staff is, and how well they get along with the players, and just how well everything works here.
PL: How would you describe yourself as a player?
VGA: I would say that I’m a pretty all-around player. I think I can do a bit of everything. I can shoot, pass, dribble, play inside, play outside. I’m intense on defense.
