Freshman orientation is an icebreaker Super Bowl.
It's an environment tailored for the fun fact. Where else can you disclose your family's cross country trip as a 15-year old or that your affinity with Taking Back Sunday was definitely a phase and you still don't listen to them in the car?
I assume Wally Szczerbiak's fun fact was that he played basketball. Aside from his 6-foot-7 frame, his shocking answer threw the freshman orientation group for a loop and caught the attention of one Shannon Ward.
Shannon and Wally kept the sparks going throughout their time at THE Miami University in Ohio. They've been together ever since.
Wally Szczerbiak's Wife Shannon Szczerbiak
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Shannon and Wally were married on July 1, 2000 after four years together in Oxford.
The couple has five children: daughters Annabella, Amberly, and Savanna, and sons Maximus and Xavier.
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Their oldest daughter Annabella will be attending Kentucky to pursue an equine career.
According to her Instagram, Shannon comes from a rural background and is gradually building a farm menagerie.
Wally Szczerbiak's Basketball Career
Wally Szczerbiak was born on March 5, 1977 in Madrid, Spain to Marilyn and Walter Szcerbiak. His father was a former ABA player who played for Real Madrid and set a Spanish League single-game scoring record with 65 points. Wally's younger sister Wendy played college basketball for Lehigh University.
Wally spent much of his childhood in Europe and the family moved to Long Island, New York once his father's playing career was over. He attended Cold Spring Harbor High School, where he averaged 36.6 points and 15.9 rebounds as a senior.
Szczerbiak committed to Miami University and flourished as a scorer. As an underclassmen, he went from averaging 8 points as a freshman to 12.8 as a sophomore. His output doubled as an upperclassmen, where he averaged 24.4 points and 24.2 as a junior and senior, respectively.
In his senior year, the forward led the Redhawks to the Sweet 16. It's the program's most recent appearance in the NCAA Tournament's second weekend.
Szczerbiak graduated with a degree in marketing and finished his college career as the school's second all-time leading scorer with 1,847 points.
He was the sixth-overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Wally was a member of the team that advanced through the 2004 playoffs all the way to the Western Conference Finals. However, he was injured for most of the regular season and postseason.
— NBA All-Star (2002)
— NBA All-Rookie First Team (2000)
— Consensus Second-Team All-American (1999)
— Mac Player of the Year (1999)
— 2x First-Team All-MAC
— No. 32 retired by Miami Redhawks
Szczerbiak played for the Wolves, Boston Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics, and Cleveland Cavaliers in his 10-year career. The first-round draft pick retired in 2009 after severe knee problems. He was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
Since retirement, the former professional basketball player is a college basketball analyst for CBS College Sports and a studio analyst at MSG Network. He's the backup color commentator to Walt Frazier for New York Knicks games and a contributor to the team's post-game analysis.
