Burbank’s Pope puts pro basketball career in Europe on hold in wake of pandemic
Overseas in Europe, Austin Pope was been enjoying an impressive campaign for the Vaerlose Hawks basketball team when the unexpected happened.
No, the former Burbank High boys’ basketball player didn’t suffer a season-ending injury. Rather, Pope found himself scrambling after the BasketLigaen, a professional league in Denmark, canceled the remainder of the season earlier this month because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Pope suddenly had plenty on his mind and much to deal with in a short time, beginning with his well-being.
Pope packed his belongings and made immediate travel arrangements back to the United States before the 30-day European travel ban issued by President Donald Trump from most of Europe to the US went into affect March 13 amid the global pandemic. Denmark was one of 22 European countries affected by the travel ban.
The league was originally slated to be suspended play for two weeks before it decided in early March to shut down the remainder of the regular season and playoffs.
In the wake of the pandemic, winning games wasn’t as important to Pope, a Burbank resident.
“At the end of February, we really didn’t know about the severity of the virus,” Pope, a guard, said by phone from Spokane, Wash. “We knew Italy was starting to go through a lot.
“A few days later, the league was going to be suspended for two weeks. Then the league chose to cancel the rest of the regular season and playoffs. I understand why they did it and we’re in a situation that we’ve never been in. With the lockdown, I decided I wanted to be back in the United States and I got a ticket March 12 and came back that day. There was so much going through my mind.”
The 6-foot-6 Pope, 25, was averaging 16.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game for Vaerlose, which had compiled a 9-11record.
Pope, who played college basketball at North Idaho College and Chaminade University, thought about his family when traveling back to the United States.
“Basketball, all of a sudden, wasn’t a top priority,” Pope said. “My parents are older and I certainly wouldn’t want to give them the virus.
“With the lockdown, I told my coaches and general manager at Vaerlose that I would rather be back [in the United States] and they understood that. I’ve just been doing regular exercises, like push-ups, and jogging and running to stay in shape.”
In Vaerlose’s last game Feb. 16, Pope finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks to help the Hawks register an 82-74 victory versus visiting Amager.
Vaerlose ended on a three-game winning streak and won four of its last five games before the shutdown.
“Our team had a good chemistry and everybody seemed to know their roles,” Pope said. “For me, I got a lot of shooting opportunities and I knew how to get all of my teammates involved.
“I knew how to prepare myself for the games and practices. The league was going strong and it seemed to become more popular.”
Pope, who graduated from Burbank High in 2013, is now a free agent.
He’ll soon begin preliminary plans to extend his career and will stay in contact with his two agents, Aaron Mintz in the United States and Alex Katsaros in Greece.
“There might be some opportunities here and in Europe, maybe Greece and Spain and maybe in Israel,” Pope said. “I’m going to try to play as long as I can and keep improving my game.
“I’m a free agent now, but right now it’s about being healthy.”
Pope, who earned All-Pacific West Conference recognition at Chaminade and played professional basketball in Lithuania before heading to Denmark, said he’d like to run a basketball camp in Burbank and perhaps at a location in Los Angeles in the summer.
Pope will weigh those options once he receives additional information about the pandemic and how long it will last.
“I like to give back to the community,” said Pope, who helped run the Breakthrough Sports Basketball Camp at Luther Burbank Middle School in Burbank last June. “Burbank is where I started out and I just want to help people.”