George Washington University Athletics
Alumni Check-In: Lasan Kromah
7/17/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GW Men's Basketball Alumni Weekend is set for Aug. 4 & 5. Alumni can register for the weekend and fans can sign up for tickets to Sunday's game by clicking here.
By Eric Detweiler, GW Athletics Communications
Peering out from his window seat, Lasan Kromah was puzzled.
The former GW swingman saw movement in the field adjacent to the fast-approaching runway. But, what could it be?Finally as the plane swooped in for landing, he got a better look. Kangaroos. Of course.
"Like something straight out of National Geographic," Kromah said, laughing at his introduction to life in Australia in January 2017.
Kromah has gotten used to those ‘How did I get here?' moments on his international hoops adventure. The 27-year-old has played professionally in six different countries over the past five years, suiting up for teams in Hungary, Turkey, Greece, Australia and Romania, plus stints with the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA Summer League and the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League.
It's been an enjoyable journey that's required Kromah to adapt at every turn. While he hasn't finalized his plans for the upcoming season, he's excited to find out where his career might take him next.
"I never, never thought I'd be in Australia or Greece or Turkey, you know?" said Kromah, who spends his offseasons in nearby Bowie, Md. "Everywhere the culture is different. You see different types of people. They all have different perspectives with how they live and even how they see Americans who come over there. It's so different. You learn so many things. It makes you grow faster and appreciate what you really have."
Kromah said his four years at GW in the international melting pot of the nation's capital has helped make the transition abroad easier.
With each stop, there's new teammates, new arenas, a new style of play and often a new language. He's tried to keep an open mind and reaped the rewards, on and off the court.
Most recently, Kromah played with U-BT Cluj Napoca in Romania. After averaging 11.3 points in 24.5 minutes per game during the league season, he bumped up his play during the prestigious FIBA Europe Cup and led the squad in both points (15.4 ppg) and minutes (29.8 mpg) in 14 games against the top pro clubs in Europe.
He's hopeful that performance on the season's biggest stage set him up well for the next step.
"You've got to just keep striving for it, keep working hard," Kromah said. "You just keep trying to level up every year and keep getting better and earning the opportunity to keep playing basketball."
Kromah developed that mindset in Foggy Bottom where he was an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie pick and joined the 1,000-point club in just three seasons on the court. Despite missing his sophomore year due to a foot injury, his 149 career steals still rank among GW's all-time top 10.
After securing a degree in Criminal Justice, Kromah moved on to Connecticut as a graduate transfer, where he helped the Huskies win the 2014 National Championship in his final collegiate season.
Though he finished his career elsewhere, his passion for the Buff and Blue remains strong.
"I love GW," Kromah said. "I graduated from there and made so many friends and built so many relationships there with great, caring people. That's home, you know?"
Last year, Kromah had planned to make it back for Alumni Weekend but had to change course and report to his Romanian club a few days before.
This time, the date has been moved up a week, so he's hopeful he can be a part of the celebration at Smith Center. He's looking forward to reminiscing on four years of memories as a Colonial before he heads back overseas to go make some new ones.
"There's so much history, so many moments at GW, it's great to have these type of things," Kromah said. "Just to spread some knowledge to the young kids and keep that tradition going and make it like a real family. What (head coach Maurice Joseph) is doing, I think it's great."
