WALTHAM. Mass. – The late 2000's was a special era for Bentley University men's basketball, with three Elite Eight appearances in a span of four years and a six-year winning percentage of .845.

Two of the key reasons for that success, Jason Westrol '10 and Brian Tracey '11, have continued their basketball careers as professionals in Europe with both excelling in their respective leagues.

After spending the 2012-13 season as teammates with Cuva Houthalen in the Belgian 2nd Division, they went their separate ways this past season with Westrol remaining in Belgium, moving up to play in the first division Ethias League with the Leuven Bears, and Tracey taking his talents to the Czech Republic to play with the BK Lions Jindrichuv Hradec.

Both had standout campaigns with their new teams with Westrol the MVP of the Leuven Bears and in the top ten in the league in scoring (15.6), assists (3.3) and steals (1.4). Tracey was fourth in his league in scoring and rebounds, averaging 17.5 points and 8.1 boards.

"Playing in Europe has been an up-and-down roller coaster for me," said Westrol, number two on Bentley's all-time scoring list with 2,068 points. "My initial experience playing in Romania (2010-11) was very difficult. I had severe culture shock and it took a while to get accustomed to the Eastern European lifestyle."

While Westrol had difficulty adjusting to life some 4500 miles away from the Bentley campus, his team, CSU Asesoft, enjoyed success on the court that year, winning the Romanian regular season championship and reaching the finals of the playoffs.

The 2011-12 season was different for both as Westrol attempted to make it in the NBA D League and Tracey, in his first post-collegiate season, played with the Washington Generals, the long-time opponent of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Westrol, after being drafted by the Iowa Energy, injured his knee during training camp and that didn't allow him to perform up to his capabilities. "I got released right before the start of the season, which was tough for me to handle, but it motivated me more since it was the first setback I really had as a basketball player."

After a couple months of rehab, Westrol was able to sign to play in Belgium, where his coach was Brian Lynch, the brother of former Bentley Falcon Pat Lynch '04 and like Westrol, from the New Jersey shore.

Meanwhile, Tracey was traveling around the USA, and for a short time, China, losing to the world famous Globetrotters, after failing to find a job overseas. It wasn't an experience he enjoyed. "The basketball instinct that I had throughout college and my whole life was altered."

The two former Falcons were reunited during the 2012-13 season, playing for Lynch in Belgium. While Westrol was excelling (averaging over 23 a game while earning Player of the League honors), it took Tracey a while to return to form after the year of exhibition basketball.

"I struggled in the first part of the season and had many frustrations finding a rhythm and fixing bad habits," said Tracey, who finished his Bentley career with 1,579 points. "Toward the middle of the season through the end, basketball was coming easy again. Through watching tons of film and repetition, I was back to good habits and instincts offensively and defensively.

"As Jason and I did in college, we became a tough pick and roll/pop duo and our team was hovering between first and second place all season," continued Tracey. "The team relied a ton on Jason and I to be consistent scorers, rebounders and assist guys."

Both say it made everything easier to be teammates during that season. "Brian and I got to live together, and that worked out great," said Westrol. "We both had a lot of fun on and off the court."

After that season, Westrol received offers from a few teams in Belgium's top league, which was his ultimate goal when returning to Europe. "It was a good season for me and a great experience to play against a very good array of players that I always followed in college and in the NBA."

Tracey's second year in Europe required some adjustment as he went from playing and living with his best friend and in a country where English is common to a country where he was living alone and not knowing the language.

"Every one of our teammates in Belgium knew English and that was important because that's what our coach spoke," explained Tracey. "In Czech it was way different. The first day I arrived in Jindrichuv Hradec, I was introduced to my team and the guys were not very fond of Americans. Most of them knew that we were there to take their spots and the others barely understood English.

"My transition to the Czech culture and the small town took me a while to get comfortable because I didn't have anyone to hang out with," continued Tracey. "My typical day would be wake up get food, go back to my hostel where I stayed, catch up on American news, go to practice, go get food and go back to my room and sleep. It was extremely boring and uneventful."

Playing in the Czech was quite different as well. Tracey's coach didn't speak English so one of the older players would have to translate every drill and pregame speech. There was also little tolerance for injury so after a preseason injury, the forward was concerned that his season would be coming to an end, but that was not the case, although he felt rushed in his recovery.

"As the season progressed, it was apparent that I had become the leader of my team and the one everybody counted on for over 35 minutes a game and the big basket," said Tracey. "I had also become very good friends with all of my teammates and even a lot of the people around town. Everyone wanted to speak English and practice what they had learned in school so grabbing coffee or a beer to have English conversations with teammates and friends helped pass the time."

Tragedy hit in early January when a horrible car accident took the lives of three of his teammates and best friends, just four years after another accident took the life of Bentley team manager Sean Williams.

"I really didn't know what to do and almost called the season quits by flying home to be with my friends and family," said Tracey. "Jason and I talked on a consistent basis almost every day back and forth about our seasons and following live stats of each other's games. When he had heard of what happened, he and Brian Lynch booked me a flight to Belgium to get away for a few days. I was able to stay with Jason for 5 days and even catch a game of his. It was a trip that may have saved the season for me and changed my approached to basketball.

"The rest of the season was difficult but our team came together as a family and we were closer than ever. It was difficult saying good bye to my teammates and friends that I had made but an overall great year and experience in my journey through Europe."

Westrol signed to return to the Stella Artois Leuven Bears next year. "It is a very comfortable situation for me there and I am eager to continue my career when I got back in the middle of August for training camp."

Tracey, who has been to nearly 20 countries in Europe, is still looking to finalize his plans for the upcoming season. "Basketball has opened so many doors for me and it has shaped the way my life has been lived. I know that basketball doesn't last forever and I would be cheating myself if I didn't take the opportunity to travel and see the world."