No, you probably aren’t familiar with Laura Gutierrez. Not her name. Not her game.
But, she epitomizes “for the love of the game.”
A 5-foot-7 guard from Rio Rancho, NM, Gutierrez played for Adams State University (2019-21) and Colorado Mesa University (2022-24), and then turned pro. She has played in Costa Rica and Peru and is now playing in Australia in the semi-pro State Basketball League, where she recently had games of 40 and 50 points for the Port Macquarie Dolphins.
Gutierrez was generous enough
to talk to Swish Appeal about life Down Under, being a mentor while remaining adventurous and other interesting things. Here are some highlights from our conversation:
On going pro:
I finished my college career and had no intentions or thoughts about going pro. I just didn’t think that was for me. I didn’t think that was a possibility in the first place. Three months go by I and I’m working a couple jobs, enjoying my summer before I go into the corporate world and whatnot.
And I just see my friends still training in the summer and playing basketball and… I just miss it. I miss it.
And I reached out to a friend and he hooked me up with my now agent and from there it all came together and that’s kind of how it all worked out. I didn’t really plan on going overseas. I think some of the best things are the things that are unplanned.
On deciding to play in Peru after a year away from basketball:
I told my agent I was done after Costa Rica and I got a corporate job. I worked for a whole year in the States because I felt fulfilled. I was like, “Okay, I’m ready to settle down, you know, get a job, do whatever comes next,” right? That’s what I wanted at the time.
So, I worked for a whole year and then my agent calls me and he’s like, “I don’t know what is going on because we haven’t really marketed you. I know you told me you were kind of done, but we just got some offers on our lap.” And I was like, “You know what? Let’s take it.” And there were a few people who were like, “Are you crazy? You literally have a really good stable job, 401k, retirement plan, blah blah blah.”
And I’m like, “Yeah, I am a little crazy. Let’s do it.” I asked my job to see if I could do remote work and ultimately it fell through so I submitted my letter of resignation as I was boarding the plane to go to Peru.
A special thank you to Decorey Jones of Dreamcatch Management for arranging the interview.
