Portland State University is 5,097.55 miles from A Coruña, Spain.
 
That means that Marina Canzobre, a junior on the Viking women's basketball team, is 5,097.55 miles away from home.
 
That's a long way from home and sometimes the distance makes it hard. But, let's hear it for FaceTime.
 
"I love traveling, but I'm a huge family person, so I try to make a balance. It's hard sometimes to not be around them," said the 6-1 forward. She stays busy to keep from being homesick and she stays in touch. "We FaceTime every day, talk a lot and, of course, enjoy each other when we are together (she went home this spring and plans to go again for part of the summer)."
 
Canzobre's road to playing so far away from home began when she was eight years old.
 
Initially, practices were "more like games with basketballs", but then she changed teams and began to see the real outlines of the game.
 
From an athletically active family, Canzobre also got involved in swimming, gymnastics and artistic roller skating "which I loved. Actually, there were some months where I left basketball for roller skating," she said.
 
But, her parents Juan Antonio Canzobre Segade and Isabel Suárez Agrasar had other ideas.
 
"They told me to try this new team and when I tried, I never left. I really enjoyed being on a team," she recalled.
 
Canzobre was turning some heads with her play in Spain and was part of the invited players pool for the country's U-15 National Team. She also played for the Galicia All-Regional Team that competed at Spanish Nationals for four years.
 
She began thinking about playing in the U.S. when, at age 16, she changed cities and clubs.
 
"I met more international players and some of my older teammates were preparing to come here to study and play basketball. I didn't know I could do that until that time, but I knew I wanted to keep playing basketball and studying," she said.
 
The idea was intriguing. "It's a place [the United States] I wanted to visit and the support Universities give to athletes to help them study while playing and traveling is amazing. It's a great experience to grow, not just in basketball, but in my personal life as well. Furthermore, I always like experiencing new things, so it was perfect for an adventure at my age," Canzobre said.
 
The discovery of that possibility came as a bit of a shock, she said, but she was encouraged by her family "which always has been supporting me in every decision. That made me more confident about it, so I started to prepare for the exams and everything needed to make it happen."
 
An agency that helps players connect with U.S. collegiate coaches created a highlight video and helped disseminate it. Besides Portland State, Canzobre drew interest and offers from schools in New York, Florida, Oklahoma and Washington.
 
Her court credentials in Spain drew the attention of the Viking coaching staff, which was further drawn to her after a few conversations.
 
"We had received an email from a recruiting service and also have a contact in Spain who knew of her…very personable on the phone, motivated to get better, good student and gave us more length and depth at the post position," said first-year Viking head coach Chelsey Gregg.
 
Canzobre chose Portland and Portland State because she was comfortable with her conversations with the Viking coaching staff. "That gave me confidence knowing I would be far away from home. Also, I wanted to have a balance between basketball, studies and lifestyle. I love that the campus is in the city. That gives me options to always have something to do and to enjoy it a lot. My friends tell me I'm always doing stuff."
 
Adapting culturally was "curious but not difficult," she said. "Meals here are super early. I'm in the middle of the afternoon and still doing things when my roommates are having dinner." (Enter a restaurant in Spain at 9:30 pm and find yourself nearly alone as the dinner crowd begins to filter in. Spain also is listed as one of the most sleep-deprived countries in Europe).
 
Then, there are little things…"like people talking to you on the street to tell you how much they like your jacket, the amount of people with coffees to go instead of sitting down at the place with friends."
 
Portland and A Coruña are much different places, with Portland being about three times the size.
 
A Coruña is a coastal town of 246,700, a fishing, industrial and tourist town in Galicia in northwestern Spain. Mediterranean climate. It averages a high of 74 and a low of 62 in August and 56 and 47 in January. Both cities have major clothing industries. International "budget" clothier Zara calls A Coruña home and Portland hosts sports apparel giants Nike, Adidas and Columbia Sportswear.
 
But, mostly, Canzobre is just finding the change an adventure.
 
On the court, she found the collegiate game more physical and the flow different.
 
"College here is more physical than high school in Spain, but that's a change that people experience in the U.S. as well. When I played with the older team in Spain, it was also very physical, since those players are in the best leagues and have a lot of experience. But, I'd say the biggest difference is the ball movement. Here, teams score a lot with individual moves and back home we do more assists and move more off the ball," said Canzobre.
 
Over the last two years, Canzobre has played in all but six games and Gregg likes what she brings to the team.     
 
"Maturity. She is the consummate professional in terms of taking care of her body by eating right, stretching, icing and sleeping. Marina does a great job of taking care of business academically and preparing herself for workouts and games," Gregg said.
 
Gregg appreciates Canzobre's ability to run the floor and hit open shots. "She pushes everyone at practice and I can always count on Marina to be in shape and to work hard. She's a great teammate and example to our underclassmen on how we want our student-athletes to conduct themselves while at PSU."
 
Academically, Canzobre has continued her strong performance and is carrying nearly a 4.0 cumulative GPA. She is a two-time Academic All-Big Sky honoree and she likes the PSU business department.
 
She is doing a double major in business administration: management and leadership and has added human resources. Canzobre was recently elected President of the International Business Club at Portland State, and is after an international business certificate, although she's undecided on her post-university career path. "I really like the PSU School of Business. Professors teach in areas where they have broad experience and that makes it more interesting and easier to learn. Also, they are always willing to help students and there are many resources on campus to make everything more straightforward," she said.
 
Canzobre has another year ("I can't believe how fast it's gone") and she and Gregg want to make the most of it.
 
On the court, Gregg said she wants her to continue getting strong, focus on rebounding and being an offensive threat down low.
 
Overall, Gregg said "she is a great human being, a lot of fun to be around. I'm so glad she's part of our Viking family…also, she brings culture to our team. It's fun to hear about the different areas of the world she's seen, learning about the Spanish food she loves, and finding out about her traditions."