The case of Txell and its eleven predecessors is unusual, both in terms of the rest of the State and the European continent. “It is very complicated to be a European player and enter the draft, they don’t even consider you. They don’t give much interest to the other leagues there, asking about you is a lot,” she explains to the ARA. And it would have been like that with her, if it weren’t for her representative. “The only way to appear in their ready is to move, to be seen. My rep sent videos to teams so they could learn more about me.” His performance at Araski also adds up: He’s averaging 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. But la Txell confesses that she didn’t have much hope of being chosen. “Until the day before the draft, that the forecasts came out, I did not expect anything. And even if she was on a list of possible candidates, nothing certain, I didn’t see it completely clear either.”
“Nothing happens if in the end I don’t reach the American league, it’s already a dream that they talk about me” ”
Txell Alarcón Araski de Vitoria basketball player
The Washington Mystics, the team that chose her in number 32 of the draft, has reserved her rights for the future and, for now, they have mutually agreed that the player will continue in Europe. “Being chosen doesn’t mean you’re going to play in the league directly, many other factors come into play. Many players have been chosen and never made it,” admits Txell Alarcón. The process, however, is very clear to him: “Araski is a good place to grow. The organization has thought that this is now the best for me.” State and European competitions are growing as women’s basketball gets stronger. “In Europe, the fundamentals of basketball are more important – it’s a point where I can be much better, and in the United States it is not taken into account as much.”
The sacrifices of Txell Alarcón at the age of 19
At just 19 years old, the Catalan has been European under-20 champion with the Spanish national team, and was chosen as the best triple player in the Endesa Women’s League in the 2020-21 season. “Everything that’s happening to me would be impossible to manage without my environment. It’s important to surround yourself with people who tell you things as they are and who support you at all times,” he says. “Nothing happens if in the end I don’t reach the American league, it’s already a dream that they talk about me,” he admits.
Its roots have been key to its development. From Barcelona’s Safa Claror, where Txell took his first steps, he already knew what he wanted to do. “It’s already a dream not only to be where I am now, but to be able to earn a living with basketball. It’s been my passion since I was very young,” he recalls. From there she made the jump to Sant Adrià de Besòs, where she grew up as a player. “There was a time when I got a lot better, at the Infantile stage, having more importance in the game. Obviously not to get where I am now, but if you don’t take it as if you are, you’ll never get there” .
Attitudes like that have brought him to where he is now. “I’ve had to make several sacrifices. I gave up my last junior year and some Spanish championships to try to play in the Women’s League in Logronyo. It was a very complicated decision, a big and risky leap,” he explains. Despite dedicating himself to basketball as a professional, he continues to train: he studies psychology remotely at the UOC. “I don’t know how long my dream will last, but I will live it to the fullest while I can,” he says. The United States is waiting for him.
