Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional is a sprint, a short season compared to other professional basketball leagues around the world. In fact, the LNBP, the top professional basketball league in Mexico, is only a 32-game season spanning just four months. For former Arizona Western Matadors' men's basketball player Renan Lenz, the shorter season was an adjustment for the professional basketball veteran.

Lenz spent nine seasons playing professionally in his home country of Brazil before embarking on a new challenge that brought him to Mexico. Compared to the LNBP, the Brazilian pro circuit called the NBB, Novo Basquete Brasil, is a marathon, playing a 10-month season. "In Venezuela and Mexico, they are shorter leagues, and you don't really have a lot of time in the pre-season to have a solid system and to know each other very well," said Lenz. "There's more talent on the court (in Mexico), so I would say it's more of a free game offensively and defensively". In Mexico, the season can feel a bit more hectic compared to what Lenz was used to back in his home country. "Brazil is a 10-month league, so you have a lot of time in the pre-season to put in a very solid system, and to have an identity of the team, which makes it a lot more structured when it comes to game plans and coverages and all of that".

Mexico offers a unique advantage for professional basketball players, the option to play year-round. In fact, Mexico, a country more known for soccer and baseball, boasts four different professional basketball leagues, all staggered throughout the year.

The decision to come play in Mexico was an easy one for Renan, a chance to be closer to his wife Chelsea's family. "My wife is American, and we have been living in Brazil for the last nine years," said Lenz. "So I told my agents and also one of my teammates from last season that had played in Mexico before that I would love to go play closer to the States and to my wife's family". After discussing the matter with his agent, an offer came in from Panteras de Aguascalientes of the LNBP. "When the offer came, I didn't think twice about it neither did my wife," said Lenz. "I brought her and our three kids with me to Mexico and we're loving the experience of it".

The decision has paid off, Lenz has helped his team to a record that has the Panteras near the top of the table, currently sitting in fifth place with a 17-11 record in a league of 15 teams. The LNBP doesn't have the strict import roster rules as some foreign basketball leagues which means the league features many top names from former NBA players to former top college players from the United States. This year the league is highlighted by former NBA talents such as Kenneth Faried, Ike Diogu, and Jared Cunningham, among others. The Panteras roster is littered with former NCAA DI standouts, including Renan who went on to star at the University of Utah after his time at Arizona Western.

Renan came to Arizona Western in 2010, recruited by Kelly Green in his final season at the helm of the Matadors' program. Lenz had a breakout season as a sophomore in 2011-12 for first-year head coach Charles Harral, helping the Matadors to a 26-7 record and a Region I championship.

Current Arizona Western head men's basketball coach Kyle Isaacs was an assistant coach under Kelly Green and was the one tasked to pick up Renan on his arrival in Yuma back in 2010. "Renan is an exceptional person," said Isaacs. "I still remember picking him up at Sky Harbor Airport back in 2010 and stopping at In-N-Out near the airport before heading back to Yuma"

Isaacs wasn't on the bench for Lenz's freshman season, taking an assistant coaching position at Texas A&M Kingsville before returning to Arizona Western during Renan's sophomore season as part of Charles Harral's coaching staff. "When I returned to AWC for his sophomore year, I loved being around him every day and working with him," said Isaacs. "Renan embodied the AWC trifecta: an extremely hard worker, a great leader, and a dedicated student".

Renan was the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 13.2 points per game while averaging 9.4 rebounds per contest, earning First-Team All-ACCAC honors. The success Lenz earned as a sophomore didn't come easy, the adjustment to the American game and junior college basketball was a challenge.  "It was tough in the beginning, it's a lot more physical and up and down than what I was used to," said Lenz. "So, it took me a little while to adjust but by the beginning of conference play, I think I got comfortable with it and was able to play well and help our team".

Renan enjoyed his time in Yuma, thinking back fondly of his two years at Arizona Western, two memories stick out the most. "The first one is definitely meeting my wife Chelsea, who also played basketball there (at Arizona Western)," said Lenz. "The second one has to be winning the conference championship my sophomore year. We had a great team, and I got to finish my career there with a championship".

Lenz was a highly touted junior college recruit, garnering interest from many power five conference schools. One school stood out, recruiting Renan the heaviest. Lenz attended the University of Utah, a chance to play in the Pac 12 for head coach Larry Krystowiak, a former NBA player and head coach. "The transition from AWC to Utah was a bit tough in the beginning because I got to Utah thinking it was going to be kind of the same game as JUCO," said Lenz. "It's a completely different level, everybody is big strong and athletic, so I had to work my butt off to be ready to actually play, and that's what I did, and I was able to contribute a lot, especially my senior year".

As a senior at Utah, Lenz played in 30 games, making 14 starts, helping the Utes to the NIT, winning 21 games. Following his two seasons at Utah, Lenz was ready to make the jump to professional basketball and the first opportunity to do so would be back home in Brazil.

Basketball has grown tremendously in Brazil with the creation of the nation's top league, the NBB. The NBB has ballooned into an 18-team league with a major television deal with ESPN in Brazil.  "It's becoming more popular every year and the league has also become more competitive," said Lenz. "Right now, it's the best league in South America, and I would even say that it's as competitive as here in Mexico".

Lenz made his professional debut with Sao Jose dos Campos in the NBB and played for teams such as Pinherios, Bauru, Paulistano and Sao Paulo during his nine-year professional career in his home nation. "It was my dream to be a professional basketball player since I was 13 years old, so when I graduated from Utah, I had a choice to make," said Lenz. "Use my degree and start a life in the States or try my luck to see if a team would give me a chance in Brazil. So, I bet on myself and all the work I had done, and a couple months after graduating I got an offer from a team in Brazil to start my professional career in 2014 and counting, I've been able to live my dream and provide for my family doing what I love." Internationally, Renan appeared for Brazil in both FIBA Americup and the World Cup – Americas Qualifiers.

Playing overseas can be an adventure, offering enough stories for players to fill a book. "We were going to play in Argentina, so we took a flight from Brazil to Paraguay, then when we got to the border between Paraguay and Argentina, we had to cross the border on foot to switch buses," said Lenz. "So, we get off the bus and start walking across the bridge to get to Argentina in the middle of the night, and in the middle of the bridge, one of my teammates just screams out of nowhere. It ended up being a snake trying to bite him! Thank goodness that it missed or could've gotten ugly".

A few weeks ago, Lenz played a game just 62 miles from Arizona Western's campus, helping the Panteras to a win over Soles de Mexicali. Just 62 miles from a place that gave him so much, in basketball and life.