Jan. 29, 2015
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - It was the spring semester of his sophomore year, and Penn State men's basketball forward Alan Wisniewski was facing a dilemma.
He was balancing being a Division I basketball player with the workload that comes with studying industrial engineering, but that wasn't the issue. As a walk-on player, the Sterling Heights, Michigan, native wanted a part-time job to give him some extra money.
Wanting to earn it on his own, he turned to his favorite sandwich shop, Quiznos.
"I was good friends with [the manager], because I used to eat there all the time," Wisniewski said. "I mentioned to him one time, `I'm not on scholarship I could use the extra money,' He said `we had a guy quit, you think you could come in for some training before the end of the semester.' That's kind of how it started and he offered me a job."
It may seem like a funny story on the surface, but in reality, it speaks to the type of person that Wisniewski is.
Many players are labeled as "hardworking," but in Wisniewski's case the evidence is right there. Despite being a walk-on and only having a scholarship during the 2013-'14 season, he has shown up everyday the past five years and given the basketball program everything he has while also maintaining his schoolwork and for two years a part-time job.
"Kid's unbelievable," head coach Patrick Chambers said. "His leadership in the locker room, his leadership on the second team. He's totally into Penn State basketball, he believes in the power of attitude. Oh and by the way, he's an engineering major and has a ton of homework and a ton of classes and a ton of labs."
Why has the now fifth-year senior put himself through all that? Well when it comes to Wisniewski, schoolwork has always come first.
Growing up in Michigan, Wisniewski was right in the thick of Wolverine country. When it came time to pick a school however, he was focused on finding a university that gave him the best opportunity to study what he was most interested in, which was engineering.
After considering a number of Big Ten schools, he knew that Penn State was the perfect fit.
"I've always been good at math and science over the years," Wisniewski said. "Growing up those were my strengths in school. I was also interested in business a little bit so I choose industrial engineering, which is kind of a combination of engineering or business. I come from a family of engineers (multiple uncles and his grandfather) as well."
While he played soccer and basketball in high school, college athletics never seemed in the cards until fall of his freshman year when he decided to try out for the Nittany Lions, who were coached by Ed DeChellis at the time.
Standing 6-foot-10, Wisniewski provided Penn State with size that few walk-ons could. Since then, his work ethic and positive attitude have made him both a coach and fan favorite.
In four years (he redshirted the 2010-`11season), Wisniewski has scored 19 points and grabbed 32 rebounds. Still, simply being a part of the program is all that's ever mattered to him.
"I really embrace it," Wisniewski said. "I just try to get the guys better in practice everyday, keep the energy high. I'm usually working with a lot of the younger guys so I'm trying to develop them as players and men and feed off what the coaches are doing."
At the same time, Wisniewski arrived at Penn State solely as a student and his academics are still what drive him. While he is passionate about his major, studying industrial engineering hasn't always been a cakewalk.
Over the past four years, the forward was accustomed to hustling to practice after a long day of class, only to then spend his entire evening with his nose in a book. It wasn't always easy, but it's something he's glad he put himself through.
"Middle of [my college career] I was having sometimes three or four classes a day and spending a couple hours a week doing work," Wisniewski said. "It was really time consuming, I didn't have a lot of free time.
"We have a great academic support group, so we have tutors for any difficult classes you have and they're always there to help you out and always give you the best schedule for what we're doing her with basketball and academics."
And then of course, there was his other talent as a sandwich guru for the popular chain Quiznos. Before the restaurant closed its doors last year, Wisniewski would routinely work 10 hours a week in addition to his other commitments.
The job earned him the nickname "Wiznos," not to mention plenty of visits from his hungry teammates and even Chambers, who brought his family in one night for a meal while his player was working.
"That was one of the more pressure filled situations in my Quiznos career," Wisniewski said. "I had to make a great grilled chicken salad for his wife and that was probably one of the more nerve racking things I've done. She said she enjoyed it so I think it worked out."
Now in his last semester, Wisniewski was able to schedule just nine credits this spring and finally has the chance to relax a bit, though not too much with plenty of basketball still on his plate.
Having accepted a full-time job with the Ford Motor Company, Wisniewski is ready to kick off his engineering career. Until basketball is over, though, he's going to continue to do everything possible to help his teammates.
"Five of the best years of my life, no question about it" Wisniewski said. "Met a lot of great guys, great coaches over the years, built some relationships that will last a lifetime."
"Just an incredible kid, a great ambassador," Chambers said. "He does everything he can for community service, CVC (Coaches Vs. Cancer) to help the program."