“To be on the same team as players that I idolized, like Kristi Toliver, was awesome but in the WNBA I didn’t get many chances to showcase my abilities,” said the 5-11 guard who vows one day earn a permanent spot in the ‘league.’ “Playing in Europe has been a great experience,” Guirantes said. “In both Hungary and Italy, pretty much everyone speaks English so there’s no language barrier at all. The biggest difference between the game here in Europe versus the U.S. is it’s so much more physical in Europe. Sometimes it feels like we’re playing football out there.”
Coming out of Bellport High School in 2018, Rutgers was one of the final three schools in contention for the top-50 national recruit’s services, along with Texas Tech and LSU. She chose Texas Tech but following her freshman season in Lubbock, Texas, she made the decision in the spring of 2019 to return closer to home to play at Rutgers and for Hall of Fame head coach C. Vivian Stringer.
“I was excited to be a Scarlet Knight and to be playing for Coach Stringer, knowing the legacy that she built during her career,” Guirantes said. “And playing for her was great. She was just a mother figure for me and I knew she would do anything for me and always had my best interests at heart. And that was so important to me.”
Though the faces have changed, Guirantes keeps close tabs from afar on the Rutgers program these days, now led by third-year head coach Coquese Washington. One individual she has crossed paths with is incoming five-star RU freshman Kiyomi McMiller, a fellow member of the Jordan Brand whom she met at the 2024 Jordan Brand Classic in Brooklyn back in April.
“I think she’s going to do amazing things and really breathe life back into Rutgers women’s basketball,” Guirantes said. “At the All-Star game I was throwing hints about Rutgers and how great it would be for her to go there. I’m just so excited to see her play.”
"Arella is yet another stellar example of our Rutgers alums achieving high level success in their post-college careers,” Washington said. “We are proud to see Arella excel on the global stage and will be cheering her on during the Olympic Games."
Guirantes was perhaps always destined to be a Scarlet Knight as her mother, Demetria, in a case of serendipitous coincidence, played in high school with eventual Rutgers Hall of Famer Sue Wicks before continuing her career at Stony Brook. Her father, Robert, used to help coach the varsity and junior varsity boys teams at Bellport before taking over his daughter’s training.
“Thanks to my parents, me and my siblings are into all kinds of different things,” said Guirantes who has done modeling work, loves to dance, has a fascination for Anime and confesses that she is obsessed with all things Marvel Comics. “I also play the saxophone. Playing a musical instrument was mandatory in our household growing up. My parents sacrificed so much for me and my brothers and sisters.”
The multiple combinations of flamboyant hair styles Guirantes has worn throughout her collegiate and pro career have become her trademark and she plans on coming up with a few new ones during her time at the Olympics.
“I’ve always been that way since I was a little child,” she said with a laugh. “My mother was a hair stylist and so I’d come out with a different hairstyle like every week. Then it sort of became my thing as I got older and continued with basketball. People started knowing me as the girl with the changing hair (laughs). I guess it’s just a way to express myself in different ways.”
During WNBA All-Star Weekend in 2022, Guirantes caused a stir on the Orange Carpet, wowing sports and fashion fans alike with a collaboration between herself, Jordan Brand, and avant-garde New York design collective Vaquera. At the All-Star game, and for the magazine itself, she modeled a look where she posed in various capes as seen on the Marvel show Moon Knight.
