Karnowski’s strong beard game has few peers
Gonzaga center’s facial hair ‘kind of intimidating ’
Gonzaga’s starting center, Przemek Karnowski, stroked his Bunyanesque beard that has inspired its own Twitter account (@KarnowskisBeard), distressed Karnowski’s mother and prompted more than a few Gonzaga basketball fans to make an awkward request: “Can I touch your beard, Przemek?” The answer, always, is yes. “Right now it’s longer than ever, and I enjoy it,” Karnowski said Wednesday. “Isn’t it a nice beard?”
Well, not so nice if you’re staring at it on a basketball court, because it is attached to a 7-1, 300-pound Polish-born center. The red beard and Karnowski figure to get plenty of air time when No. 1 seed Gonzaga plays No. 4 seed West Virginia on Thursday at the SAP Center in what could be billed as a Sweet 16 facial hair showdown.
Karnowski is one of seven Gonzaga players with facial hair, and West Virginia has 11 players with facial hair. But Nathan Adrian, a 6-9 West Virginia forward who sports a beard, sidestepped any pregame trash talk when asked about Karnowski’s distinct red beard.
“His is better than mine, and I’ll never be able to grow one like that,” Adrian said.
In fact, Karnowski might have as good a chance as winning a national title in bearding as in basketball, according to experts.
Taylor Welden, the reigning national U.S. beard champion — no joke — said of Karnowski’s beard, “I like the density of it. Like it’s right there on his face, man. … I think he should come to the world championships.”
Like basketball, the competitive bearding has its own “MJ” (aka Michael Johnson), and the four-time national champion said of Karnowski’s beard, “It’s so solid, it’s kind of intimidating. So it’s like if he was in the paint, it’d al- most be like, ‘Come at me, bro.’ ” Precisely, Karnowski said. “It’s kind of intimidating,” he agreed. “I would call it like a trademark maybe. People think about Przemek Karnowski, and for last two years it’s been a big beard.”
It’s a big man with a big beard making a very big impact as Gonzaga attempts to make the Final Four for the first time in school history. Karnowski, who has started all 35 games this season, is the team’s second-leading scorer with 12.6 points per game and second-leading rebounder with 5.9 rebounds per game and is sec- ond in blocks with 35.
But when Gonzaga fans approach him, talk usually turns to the beard and how it came to be.
“I really didn’t like shaving, so I just went with the beard and I let it grow,” he said. “My mom hates it. My dad doesn’t really care. My mom is like, ‘You’ve got to go shave it.’ ”
But in February, his parents traveled to Spokane, Wash., from Poland to be with Karnowksi for Senior Night and saw something unexpected. In the stands, a married couple wore fake beards in honor of Karnowski, and other fans brought posters honoring the beard, Karnowski said. His mother stopped her pleas. For now. During the season, Karnowski said he trimmed the beard a few times and has kept it short enough not to interfere with basketball. No such luck during meals.
“Every time I finish eating, I always go like this,” he said, wringing his beard, “to make sure there’s nothing on it.”
When it comes to spotting food in Karnowski’s beard, he’ll get no help from Gonzaga coach Mark Few.
“I got to be honest with you, I don’t even look at it or notice it,’’ Few said.
As Karnowski headed out to practice Wednesday at the SAP Center, everything hung in the balance — Gonzaga’s season and the celebrated beard.
“I’ll probably shave it the first thing I’m done with the season,” Karnowski said. Upon seeing the horrified look of a visitor, he grinned and said, “And grow it back.”