July 3, 2024 • 23 mins
Nate Sestina talks UK Basketball, gives his thoughts on Mark Pope and shares his journey in international basketball. Plus he tells about his excitment for playing in the TBT with many former Wildcats.
Presented by UK Federal Credit Union.
Presented by UK Federal Credit Union.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:06):
Welcome into Behind Kentucky Basketball, presentedby UK Federal Credit Union. I'm Curtis
Burch. Today we're going to sharea conversation we got to have with Nate
Cistina. The former Kentucky Wildcat iscurrently playing overseas. He shares some of
the stories from that experience, reminiscesabout some of his favorite memories from UK,
(00:27):
and tells us about the upcoming basketballtournament, the TBT, which he'll
be participating in with the UK alumniteam. He has information on his timeline
on x formerly Twitter. You canfind him at Nate Cistina twenty three for
more information on that. As Imentioned, we are presented by UKFCU.
(00:47):
It's banking only better go to UKFCUdot org today to find out more information.
Now joined on Behind Kentucky Basketball byNate Cistina. What you've been up
to, man? Since you leftleg You're back and like, but since
you left the town. This isjust finished up year four as a pro,
spent my first year in the GLeague, and then I went to
(01:08):
Israel for like three months, finishup in June, and then ended up
just going to Turkey for the lastthree years. Started off at the bottom
of the league and just kind ofworked my way up in this past year.
Finished up playing for Fenerbacci, hugesports club. Awesome opportunity for myself
and my family. Is my firstyear in the euro League. Made to
(01:29):
the final four, ended up losingto Panathonikos in the semi finals, but
my teammate from the year before,Jerry and Grant, a Notre Dame legend,
ended up winning it all. Soas sad as I was, you
know, losing, I was reallyhappy for him to watch him, you
know win, And then just endedup signing a two year deal to go
to Blentsi in Spain, so I'llbe in in Spain the next two seasons.
Keeping that passport hot, trying toI had to get a new one
(01:53):
now I had like the fifty fourpage winner fifty three or whatever it is.
So okay, well let's just startoff there. You hear a lot
about international basketball, those environments.What are some of the stories that stick
out with with your travels in basketball? I would say for sure, the
Serbian teams Red Star and Partisan arejust the two that's like, those are
(02:16):
the first two that pop in myhead. That atmosphere is unbelievable, like
warm up two hour before the game, twenty thousand people, Like it is
just packed. It was like it'slike rough but just and I don't like
saying this, but like way louderpeople like from top to bottom or screaming,
shouting like they're lighting on flares.They got signs if you're at the
(02:38):
free throw line, like the hoopis shaken. And that's for both of
the Serbian tea the teams in Belgrade, and then panaton Nikos is another one.
They're just one of the Greek giantslike them in Olympiakos are the two
in Athens. But they're their fanbase is just unbelievable. They traveled every
game. They're just and then evenour fans this past year in Fenerbauci,
we were like every home game wehad was sold out. During the playoffs
(03:00):
when we were in our series againstMonaco, it was just it filled to
the brim yellow everywhere. I thinkthe one game was a white out.
Uh so, like it's like acollege atmosphere, but it's like a it's
just way more intense. It's like, I the the only thing I can
think of is like when I wasa kid, watching like Syracuse, West
(03:22):
Virginia, Syracuse Pit like the thosegames, like the Carrier dumb just packed.
It's just it was It's unbelievable.And what about off the court,
what's what's the experience been like overseas? It's been great. Honestly, Like
my first year, I was ina really small city in Turkey. Uh
so there wasn't like people just knewthat you were a foreigner. They didn't
really you know, expect anything tostart your traveling whatever. And then when
(03:44):
I got to uh Turk tele commonAncar, we were really really good.
Uh you know, we were firstin Turkey and then ended up finishing second
in euro Cup. Uh we lostin the finals, but like people had
like started to recognize you. Andthen when you get to Fenner, it's
like that's spot It's like being herelike that spotlight's on you was as soon
as you land, right, andit's really cool. Like he travel as
a team, you got people comingup to you in all the airports and
(04:05):
uh sometimes it can be overwhelming,but it's I mean, like even my
experience here, I loved it.It's cool. Like do you take ten
seconds out of your day to takea photo with somebody like they're gonna really
really remember that and enjoy that.So what is the the process like from
the business side, Because I meanyou've gone around to to a couple of
teams, a couple of countries.It's it's overwhelming too. Like you you
(04:28):
create such an attachment to that fthat team that you're at currently, and
like you like there's always a reasonto stay, but there's always a reason
to go, and uh, alot of it comes down like I've I've
told my agents since I first signedas a pro, like I wanna level
up in some way as a proeach year, like whether that's financially,
whether that's like basketball level, oruh, you know, like your your
(04:49):
league level, like the Turkish leaguedomestic league is really really good and it's
really improving, and they're adding moreforeigners to the teams and the quality of
domestic players is really increasing. Andthen transitioning to Spain like arguably the best
domestic league in the world, andI'm really excited because I don't necessarily have
to start at the bottom of thatleague and work my way up. Valencia
(05:10):
has been in the top four,top five the last six, seven,
eight years, so it's it's kindof like I'm skipping a step or two
in Spain to get there, andit's i'd I had a really uh you
know, really hard time leaving finishjust cause I had such a good connection
with everybody there. But it wasjust an opportunity for me and you know,
my family and my future family toreally set ourselves up. And you
(05:33):
know, can't complain about living inValencia, Spain. So well, here's
an important one for you though.What's the the coffee situation. Turkish coffee
was great. That was never thatwas never a question. Uh, I'll
figure it out in Spain that acouple of times we've traveled there, I
haven't had any issues finding good stuff. Uh, And went in doubt with
(05:54):
my my you know, Madison willcome visit me. Sh always bring me
a bag or two from home.So but I always get that's like my
first purchase is I get a geta good coffee machine. People. If
people don't remember you, you didit on social media, right your coffee
and conversation Me and Rob a bigcoffee guy. That's it's great. Still,
lam it's bad. Well, there'sworse. That's what I tell people.
(06:15):
I could be addicted. The worstthing. Caffeine is not too bad.
So you're here in Lexington, now, this is where you kind of
make your home when you're not you'renot playing. What's what's it like being
around this community? Played one yearfor this team, but like, how
much do you feel the love fromthis town? It's it's great even just
when I was coming in today,like the two older gentlemen that were sitting
outside, like they were just reminiscenton some of our you know, the
(06:38):
highlights of our season when I washere. And everybody always says the same
thing. It's like the biggest whatif you know, with COVID and everything.
But no, I mean I sayit every time too, Like I'm
not even like the love isn't evenfor me. It's for Madison. Like
she's a superstar here and so likewhen I come when I come back here,
it's like she's got her own wallin her offices like and everything.
(06:59):
She's just she's a rock star.So it's nice when we go out to
eat and stuff and people will youcome up and say, and that's always
a point of conversation, is orthe topic of conversation is that COVID what
what if? What if? Andit's just one of those things like it's
stinks because you don't never know.But I love Lexington and Madison. I've
made this place home and we're stillfiguring out whether we want to be here
forever. I mean for me,I'm like man for sure, for sure,
(07:24):
but you know we're gonna go trynew places, try new things.
But for right now, it ishome and it's it's great. And you
know, she loves coaching here andshe loves being a part of you know,
the team that she won on andall that. So it's a good
situation. And if people don't know, is we can cut this is a
fiance or yeah, she's getting marriednext summer in Madison, Lily All.
I mean, what award didn't shewin when she was a volleyball player here?
(07:46):
That's true, that's true, Butcongratulations on that. And it's also
to have kind of the Kentucky familygrown that way. Let's talk about your
time at Kentucky a little bit.We were some of your teammates making some
you're talking about making international money.The man, how cool is it to
see guys that you know put inthe work get rewarded for talking you know,
(08:09):
Manual Quickly, Tyrese, Maxey andthose guys. It's I mean,
it's really cool for me, likeit you know, I when I first
got here and those guys were allhyped up top ten this, top ten
that, And we always made jokeswith uh Tyrese that he was Max Levels
and that's like his nickname and likethis like little persona that he kind of
embraced when he got here, andlike now he is that guy, Like
he is a max contract player inthe NBA. And that is amazing because
(08:31):
I remember we were on at thetax place over here for working camps and
stuff. I had to like hisparents had to be on FaceTime and like
I had to like co sign andsomething for him for taxes cause he wasn't
even eighteen, I don't think atthe time. And I'm like, this
is just unbelievable. Like his parentshad to give the green light. And
he's just one of those guys thatfully embraced being here and what it takes,
what it takes to be here andobviously what it takes to be in
(08:52):
the NBA. And Emmanuel is thesame thing, like just embodies hard work
and dedication and time and effort,and you come back from a game,
it's two o'clock in the morning,you land at the airport and like they
want to go work out. AndI think that they were like that early
on in their NBA careers, andit's like that medical staff is like,
dude, go home, sleep likerest, like you're gonna be able to
work out tomorrow. So I'm reallyhappy for them, especially for their families
(09:15):
too. Both their families are justgreat people and couldn't have happened to to
two better guys. What are someof you mentioned coming back working on the
court? What about all of thecourt. What do you remember about that
team? You guys bonded in thatyour season here. Emmanuel's my roommate on
the road. He always brought hisPlayStation. I think in the how long
is how long is the year?September to March? However many months that
(09:39):
is, we played, you know, played two K every road trip.
I think I might have won threetimes, but I let them know,
and I recorded every single one ofthem. So they always pop up on
my memories and I always send itto him and he's just like, okay,
dude like that. But uh,it was like they were kids.
And I I was a kid.I was twenty two, and I was
like, I'm a man, LikeI had no clue what I was doing,
(10:00):
and I just it's one of thosethings that like I n I'm the
youngest of five siblings, so Ihad a bunch of younger siblings and it
was really cool for me to justwatch them and continue to watch them grow
and develop. And it's like Iremember when you know, I always make
the joke like you know, youwere still in diapers when you got here,
and it's like Tyrese has two hundredfour million dollars on the way,
so, uh no, it theywere. It was just a bunch of
(10:20):
goofy kids, like playing ping pongat the lodge, playing pool with the
lodge. Uh everybody was always ineach other's rooms, just playing video games,
hanging out, and like that connectionjust bled onto the court. And
I think everybody could see that,like they're like if somebody had a bad
player there hanging their head. Itwas all four dudes ran over, picked
'em up, walked'em off thecourt, like keep your head up,
(10:41):
keep your head up. And youknow, I think that that I had
Coach Pope is doing a good jgood job of that with this group is
just embracing that and it is aa brotherhood. Really wanna ask you about
coach poping a little bit, butuh, along those lines, you know
you came here as a as agrad student, you're able to now it's
full transfer. We like just watchingcollege basketball. Now, what are kind
(11:03):
of your your thoughts on it?I think it's a wild West really like
it is. When I entered thetransfer portal, it was crazy for me,
Like I I was overwhelmed. Itis crazy. I mean there was
no nil, there was no peoplehandling stuff for you, so it was
like you get out of class,you had fifteen miss phone calls from a
bunch of people you didn't know andemails. It wa. It was overwhelming.
But I think I think it isa good thing because it gives you
(11:26):
an opportunity to go and and youknow, experience something new and try something
new. I I think that itcan get out of hand if you can
go and just each year you canjust go and play. Cause it's like
if something doesn't work out, insteadof embracing hardship, you can just up
and leave. And I don't personally, I don't necessarily think that's a good
thing for life. Like basketball wise, you'll figure it out, but like
(11:48):
for life, if things get hardand you just quit or you walk away
from something, like, you're notgonna maybe learn something that about yourself that
you could have if you stayed,or you're not gonna learn something about you
know, that situation. And Ithink that for me, like coming here
was arguably the best decision I've evermade, other than you know, proposing
to Madison. I gotta throw thatone in there, but no, it
(12:09):
was, it was. It ultimatelyled me to all this stuff. And
you know, I'm twenty seven,going in my fifth year as a pro,
and I'm in an awesome situation asa pro. I'm in an awesome
situation as an uncle. I havea niece and a nephew, and you
know, as a fiance and ason and brother. Like all this stuff
has stemmed from my life experiences andembracing hardships. So I think people can
just up and leave. It's gonnait's gonna really limit that a How awesome
(12:33):
is it to still be playing basketballprofessionally? That means you can still be
making a living? Yeah, itit's it's funny because I actually just had
that conversation with my trainer. Ijust came out of my workout and I
was just like, like do Iwake up, I eat my breakfast,
I go in a little walk,and I'm warning with Madison, and then
like she comes to work and Ihave a little bit of time to myself,
like I'll go hit golf balls orI'll just like today I was folding
laundry, packing up for the Fourthof July, and then like I go
(12:56):
work out for two I I worktwo hours a day and it's just like,
I mean, I'm away for tenmonths out of the year most of
the time. So like that's thehardest part is just that that distance.
But like Dode, you get paidreal dollars to just be in good shape,
take care of yourself, and playa game that you already enjoy.
Alright, I would rather do thisthan ninety nine percent of the other stuff
I would have to do if Ididn't play. So I'm gonna try to
(13:20):
ride this thing out as long asi can go. That's awesome. Speaking
of playing, you're in Lexington thissummer. You'll be playing on the TBT
team with a bunch of guys thatalso played here. Who are you excited
to play with on that team?As we were talking about earlier, I
I think Eric Bledsoe is the firstguy that popped out to me, Like
I just remember watching him in theNBA, even watching my Kentucky watching him
(13:41):
at the NBA. He was withthe Bucks for forever and like just one
of those guys that just embraces justbeing the dog. And you know,
having Tyler Ewis as your coach andhe's also a dog. Like the first
thing that pops in my head isthat bloody picture of him, and I'm
like that, like my song forthe first time in a while last summer,
I was just like, you're thatsame guy, like energy, effort,
but I mean playing with Willie Caleystein rim protector like that Harrison Twins.
(14:05):
I've played against them both as apro, so that was really cool.
I remember watching them when I wasin AAU and then they obviously came
here and I got to play againstthem both as pros. Kellen Grady's a
good friend of mine, so I'mexcited to put with Kellen. And I'm
trying to think of who else,Oh, Marquis Tigue and James Young.
I don't know if Deron Lamb isI think he signed. I think he's
(14:28):
signed to go somewhere though, Sothat's yeah, the name, well,
that's the problem with I mean,not the problem with the team. That's
there's so many amazing guy it's unbelievable. And I played against Derek Willis this
year and I'm pretty sure he gotasked, but he's I think he's having
a baby, so it's a littletough for him to to not be here.
But I'm sure he would have beenone of those guys that would have
come back and played too, andknow how much Kentucky means to him.
But I think the first guy that, like I said, pops in my
(14:50):
head was Eric blud So like he'sjust one of the things. He might
be the biggest name in the tournament. He's a monster. You mentioned you
played against the Harrison's Inn. Actuallyanybody else that you run to with Kentucky
ties or college basketball ties that youmaybe surprised you like, Oh wait,
well, playing against Derek this year. He played for Fis in Istanbul when
(15:13):
I played for Fender, and thosewere like two crosstown rivals. They're both
in the euro League. Derek hadan unbelievable year, and I'm really happy
for him, Like he shot thecrap out of the ball. And I'm
trying to think, I think I'llplay against Kyle Wilcher this year if he
and I are in the same groupfor international competition the Harrison Twins, trying
(15:35):
to think of I don't know ifthere's anybody else from Kentucky that I would
have I had just missed. Ithink James Young was in Israel, but
he had left as soon as Igot there, gotcha. And then Deron
Lamb was teammates with one of myteammates two years ago, Tyrek Jones.
They were in Italy together and Tyreekhad nothing but great things to say about
(15:56):
Deron. So that's I kind ofknow him by association. I don't know
him personally. But it's gotta befun Internationally. You still kind of got
people you can reach out to andtalk to, oh for sure, And
especially like after a game, likein the middle of the game, like
you'll you'll recognize somebody was ask himlike where'd you play? And after the
game you talked to him and hejust like hit you just hit it off.
And then the next time you playlike you have something in common,
(16:18):
and Americans kind of just flocked toAmericans instantly, and then most of the
time, Like Derek doesn't talk duringthe games. So I was like talking
to him during the game and hewas just like this. I'm like,
it's wrong with this guy. Like, dude, we both you know.
I was asking something about coach cowand he just like put his head down.
After the game came up, wastalking to me. We went to
dinner, and I was just like, but as a as a on the
court, that's why, that's probablywhy he had a fantastic year. Oh
(16:44):
gosh, the tournament, UH willget the dates, but it's I believe
July nineteen. I mean, what, like, how how do you the
basketball turn? How do you cometogether as a team of guys who you
know, I mean coming together yeah, to play in this How's that gonna
work out? I think Twny dida great job. Uh, him and
Darius Miller did a a fantastic jobof getting a bunch of guys that obviously
(17:10):
are are at a really really highlevel professionally, and but guys that also
like know what it means to playat REP. And I think that you
know, getting that group is togetherwith might have been difficult, but I
feel like the common goal in thecommon like denominator of all of us is
like we all love playing here,and it's gonna be easy to easy to
(17:30):
click. You got a bunch ofguys that are super unselfish, and you
know, like Eric is in China, I think he was in China,
You're just going crazy, but it'slike he can go crazy here and nobody's
gonna say anything to him. It'slike, but then if you have,
you know, a couple of guysthat are maybe whatever, force and shots
or something like, you have alike Tyler Ewles is your coach, He's
not afraid to say something to you. And it's like most of them been
coached by a bunch of overseas coacheswho all they do is really yell and
(17:53):
scream at you, and they doit with a purpose, but they yell
and scream. So it's just kindof like, okay, like I can
whatever. But it's I think twentyand Dari said, a fantastic job putting
to this team together. How excitedare you to step back out on the
Florida Up. I can't wait.I gotta do my little pregame spin for
sure back in rep Arena. Uh. But no, I'm I'm excited.
I have to redeem myself. Iwas saying earlier. We lost to Tennessee
(18:14):
at home on Senior Day, souh, I need to come out here
with the win. I gotta comeout here with the win for sure.
Yeah. But as we were talkingearlier, you did a little bit of
redemption the last game of that season, you won Florida and one of the
most exciting games in my memory.So let's let's talk you. You mentioned
coach Pope being in town. Howmuch interaction have you got to have with
(18:34):
the new staff for new players orhave you been watching a far at afar?
Uh? The first when we didthe TVT interview, like the bracket
reveal, we got to meet itfor the first time and he was just
like, everybody, take my numberdown, Like whenever you wanna come in
and shoot, gym's open, wheneveryou wanna work out, like weight rooms
open for you guys. Like He'slike, it is like a family here,
so like I don't want you toever feel like you can't be here.
(18:56):
He was just like, I want, like when we are able to
meet and work out with the theteams. He's like, I want you
guys to fully like coach them,teach them, like tell them what it
means. Because there's twelve guys onthe team this year that never played here,
And it was like how it wasfor me, like when I came
back. When I came here,like I knew Emmanuel through my college team
made a buck no because they wentto high school together. So Emmanuel was
(19:17):
one of the first guys that Iclicked with and like he kind of showed
me the ropes of being here.So it's like, if you can lessen
the blow of the shock of beinghere for guys, it's more I mean,
I'm more than happy to do that. Are you have you? I
know you keep up? Have youbeen watching who those twelve guys are?
Uh? Not like not personally,but I mean as soon as I wake
(19:37):
up in the morning, my morningcoffee is like my scroll through Twitter.
It's like when Coach Pope took overand then they started getting guys in the
portal, it's just been it wasall like it was cool for me cause
I was like, okay, Likethat hype around Kentucky basketball is is like
really really back. Yeah, andI think that that this TVT is kind
of tied into that. Yeah,Kentucky basketball in the summer. Any y
you doing any waivers to maybe getan extra year of eligibility, since I
(20:00):
mean I might do it A bunchof I would like that, you know.
I talked to him about it.He was like, Man, if
you were twenty two, I waslike, Dude, I was twenty two,
I'd be here in it. Anif I was twenty three and I
got next year, I'd be here. But uh no, I I do
tune into games, whether I stayup late to watch or I get a
replay of my I do my bestto keep up with that same thing with
(20:22):
Buck now and it's been it's beenreally cool for me to watch the transition
for both programs. You were herejust one year and you didn't have the
postseason. Does does it surprise youat all to still because I know you
see I see you on social mediaall the Kentucky fans still replying to your
stuff, retweeting. I mean,build that connection when you have. How
good does that feel? You madean impact on people? And that's I
(20:44):
think that's the thing that I youknow, I want to leave a place
maybe better than I found it.And it sounds, you know, corny
and cliche, but like I meanthat, like whether I was here for
a year, whether I was herefor four years, Like I hope that
my interaction with people outside of thelike outside of the basketball court and on
the basketball court, you know,you can leave an impact and you know,
hopefully I can be an inspiration forone kid or you know, a
(21:06):
thousand kids. Like that's what Ilove about going back to my hometown.
I have a camp in the summerand everybody's still Like the first thing they
asked you about is Kentucky. Youknow. I was like, man,
I'm five year pro, Like youdon't have any questions about this, And
then like no, like Kentucky andit's it's crazy. There's Kentucky shirts,
there's Kentucky flags. It's a couplebuck now flags flying around in Pooring,
Pennsylvania, but not too many.But it's just it's really cool and like
(21:27):
you come back here and it's justwhen you're around and you're surrounded by this
at all times, like it's justlike kind of brings you back to Like,
man, I I really did getto play here and it is an
am It was an amazing opportunity.It is an amazing place. So l
along those lines and wrapping up.You talk about your small hometown and you
go to buck Now you get you, I mean, and then now when
(21:49):
you listed it off Israel, Turkey, Spain, you you're in the G
League, you had more an NBAuniform. So I mean, like,
I guess what eleven, twelve yearold and eight would he what do you
believe all that? Like, well, what do you think he would say
to you? I think, Imean, I think he'd be proud and
be happy about it. It's forme. I I'm twenty seven, I'm
still the same way. It's II love I love gear. I'm a
(22:11):
a big like getting new stuff likepolos, whether it's polos or like undershirt.
It's like when I signed in theG League, you get like the
NBA socks and like the NBA tanktop, like you just feel awesome.
And when I was a little kidand you get like when I played football
at the under Armour socks loved it. I would sleep in a uniform the
night before the game. Like Idon't do that now but pretty much do.
But like I still get excited forgame day. But you know,
(22:33):
eleven year old Nate wanted a Jeeprubicon, like I have a JEP Rubicon.
I you know, I build iton the computer the way I wanted
it, and it's like I'm excitedabout you know what, what's in store
for the next however long I canplay. And but I think he'd be
pretty proud. It's getting paid toput a ball in a hoop and the
same game that I grew up playingin loving and I'm still doing it.
(22:53):
Nate, Thank you so much foryour time. I'll probably thank you guys,
thanks to Nate for his time.If you aren't already, please follow
and subscribe to this podcast on yourfavorite podcast player, and be sure to
be following UK Sports Network on allforms of social media or on all the
platforms just search UK Sports Network.Thanks again to UK Federal Credit Union for
(23:15):
presenting this podcast. As I mentionedat the top, visit UKFCU dot org
for more information. Thanks so muchfor listening to Behind Kentucky Basketball.
Welcome into Behind Kentucky Basketball, presentedby UK Federal Credit Union. I'm Curtis
Burch. Today we're going to sharea conversation we got to have with Nate
Cistina. The former Kentucky Wildcat iscurrently playing overseas. He shares some of
the stories from that experience, reminiscesabout some of his favorite memories from UK,
(00:27):
and tells us about the upcoming basketballtournament, the TBT, which he'll
be participating in with the UK alumniteam. He has information on his timeline
on x formerly Twitter. You canfind him at Nate Cistina twenty three for
more information on that. As Imentioned, we are presented by UKFCU.
(00:47):
It's banking only better go to UKFCUdot org today to find out more information.
Now joined on Behind Kentucky Basketball byNate Cistina. What you've been up
to, man? Since you leftleg You're back and like, but since
you left the town. This isjust finished up year four as a pro,
spent my first year in the GLeague, and then I went to
(01:08):
Israel for like three months, finishup in June, and then ended up
just going to Turkey for the lastthree years. Started off at the bottom
of the league and just kind ofworked my way up in this past year.
Finished up playing for Fenerbacci, hugesports club. Awesome opportunity for myself
and my family. Is my firstyear in the euro League. Made to
(01:29):
the final four, ended up losingto Panathonikos in the semi finals, but
my teammate from the year before,Jerry and Grant, a Notre Dame legend,
ended up winning it all. Soas sad as I was, you
know, losing, I was reallyhappy for him to watch him, you
know win, And then just endedup signing a two year deal to go
to Blentsi in Spain, so I'llbe in in Spain the next two seasons.
Keeping that passport hot, trying toI had to get a new one
(01:53):
now I had like the fifty fourpage winner fifty three or whatever it is.
So okay, well let's just startoff there. You hear a lot
about international basketball, those environments.What are some of the stories that stick
out with with your travels in basketball? I would say for sure, the
Serbian teams Red Star and Partisan arejust the two that's like, those are
(02:16):
the first two that pop in myhead. That atmosphere is unbelievable, like
warm up two hour before the game, twenty thousand people, Like it is
just packed. It was like it'slike rough but just and I don't like
saying this, but like way louderpeople like from top to bottom or screaming,
shouting like they're lighting on flares.They got signs if you're at the
(02:38):
free throw line, like the hoopis shaken. And that's for both of
the Serbian tea the teams in Belgrade, and then panaton Nikos is another one.
They're just one of the Greek giantslike them in Olympiakos are the two
in Athens. But they're their fanbase is just unbelievable. They traveled every
game. They're just and then evenour fans this past year in Fenerbauci,
we were like every home game wehad was sold out. During the playoffs
(03:00):
when we were in our series againstMonaco, it was just it filled to
the brim yellow everywhere. I thinkthe one game was a white out.
Uh so, like it's like acollege atmosphere, but it's like a it's
just way more intense. It's like, I the the only thing I can
think of is like when I wasa kid, watching like Syracuse, West
(03:22):
Virginia, Syracuse Pit like the thosegames, like the Carrier dumb just packed.
It's just it was It's unbelievable.And what about off the court,
what's what's the experience been like overseas? It's been great. Honestly, Like
my first year, I was ina really small city in Turkey. Uh
so there wasn't like people just knewthat you were a foreigner. They didn't
really you know, expect anything tostart your traveling whatever. And then when
(03:44):
I got to uh Turk tele commonAncar, we were really really good.
Uh you know, we were firstin Turkey and then ended up finishing second
in euro Cup. Uh we lostin the finals, but like people had
like started to recognize you. Andthen when you get to Fenner, it's
like that's spot It's like being herelike that spotlight's on you was as soon
as you land, right, andit's really cool. Like he travel as
a team, you got people comingup to you in all the airports and
(04:05):
uh sometimes it can be overwhelming,but it's I mean, like even my
experience here, I loved it.It's cool. Like do you take ten
seconds out of your day to takea photo with somebody like they're gonna really
really remember that and enjoy that.So what is the the process like from
the business side, Because I meanyou've gone around to to a couple of
teams, a couple of countries.It's it's overwhelming too. Like you you
(04:28):
create such an attachment to that fthat team that you're at currently, and
like you like there's always a reasonto stay, but there's always a reason
to go, and uh, alot of it comes down like I've I've
told my agents since I first signedas a pro, like I wanna level
up in some way as a proeach year, like whether that's financially,
whether that's like basketball level, oruh, you know, like your your
(04:49):
league level, like the Turkish leaguedomestic league is really really good and it's
really improving, and they're adding moreforeigners to the teams and the quality of
domestic players is really increasing. Andthen transitioning to Spain like arguably the best
domestic league in the world, andI'm really excited because I don't necessarily have
to start at the bottom of thatleague and work my way up. Valencia
(05:10):
has been in the top four,top five the last six, seven,
eight years, so it's it's kindof like I'm skipping a step or two
in Spain to get there, andit's i'd I had a really uh you
know, really hard time leaving finishjust cause I had such a good connection
with everybody there. But it wasjust an opportunity for me and you know,
my family and my future family toreally set ourselves up. And you
(05:33):
know, can't complain about living inValencia, Spain. So well, here's
an important one for you though.What's the the coffee situation. Turkish coffee
was great. That was never thatwas never a question. Uh, I'll
figure it out in Spain that acouple of times we've traveled there, I
haven't had any issues finding good stuff. Uh, And went in doubt with
(05:54):
my my you know, Madison willcome visit me. Sh always bring me
a bag or two from home.So but I always get that's like my
first purchase is I get a geta good coffee machine. People. If
people don't remember you, you didit on social media, right your coffee
and conversation Me and Rob a bigcoffee guy. That's it's great. Still,
lam it's bad. Well, there'sworse. That's what I tell people.
(06:15):
I could be addicted. The worstthing. Caffeine is not too bad.
So you're here in Lexington, now, this is where you kind of
make your home when you're not you'renot playing. What's what's it like being
around this community? Played one yearfor this team, but like, how
much do you feel the love fromthis town? It's it's great even just
when I was coming in today,like the two older gentlemen that were sitting
outside, like they were just reminiscenton some of our you know, the
(06:38):
highlights of our season when I washere. And everybody always says the same
thing. It's like the biggest whatif you know, with COVID and everything.
But no, I mean I sayit every time too, Like I'm
not even like the love isn't evenfor me. It's for Madison. Like
she's a superstar here and so likewhen I come when I come back here,
it's like she's got her own wallin her offices like and everything.
(06:59):
She's just she's a rock star.So it's nice when we go out to
eat and stuff and people will youcome up and say, and that's always
a point of conversation, is orthe topic of conversation is that COVID what
what if? What if? Andit's just one of those things like it's
stinks because you don't never know.But I love Lexington and Madison. I've
made this place home and we're stillfiguring out whether we want to be here
forever. I mean for me,I'm like man for sure, for sure,
(07:24):
but you know we're gonna go trynew places, try new things.
But for right now, it ishome and it's it's great. And you
know, she loves coaching here andshe loves being a part of you know,
the team that she won on andall that. So it's a good
situation. And if people don't know, is we can cut this is a
fiance or yeah, she's getting marriednext summer in Madison, Lily All.
I mean, what award didn't shewin when she was a volleyball player here?
(07:46):
That's true, that's true, Butcongratulations on that. And it's also
to have kind of the Kentucky familygrown that way. Let's talk about your
time at Kentucky a little bit.We were some of your teammates making some
you're talking about making international money.The man, how cool is it to
see guys that you know put inthe work get rewarded for talking you know,
(08:09):
Manual Quickly, Tyrese, Maxey andthose guys. It's I mean,
it's really cool for me, likeit you know, I when I first
got here and those guys were allhyped up top ten this, top ten
that, And we always made jokeswith uh Tyrese that he was Max Levels
and that's like his nickname and likethis like little persona that he kind of
embraced when he got here, andlike now he is that guy, Like
he is a max contract player inthe NBA. And that is amazing because
(08:31):
I remember we were on at thetax place over here for working camps and
stuff. I had to like hisparents had to be on FaceTime and like
I had to like co sign andsomething for him for taxes cause he wasn't
even eighteen, I don't think atthe time. And I'm like, this
is just unbelievable. Like his parentshad to give the green light. And
he's just one of those guys thatfully embraced being here and what it takes,
what it takes to be here andobviously what it takes to be in
(08:52):
the NBA. And Emmanuel is thesame thing, like just embodies hard work
and dedication and time and effort,and you come back from a game,
it's two o'clock in the morning,you land at the airport and like they
want to go work out. AndI think that they were like that early
on in their NBA careers, andit's like that medical staff is like,
dude, go home, sleep likerest, like you're gonna be able to
work out tomorrow. So I'm reallyhappy for them, especially for their families
(09:15):
too. Both their families are justgreat people and couldn't have happened to to
two better guys. What are someof you mentioned coming back working on the
court? What about all of thecourt. What do you remember about that
team? You guys bonded in thatyour season here. Emmanuel's my roommate on
the road. He always brought hisPlayStation. I think in the how long
is how long is the year?September to March? However many months that
(09:39):
is, we played, you know, played two K every road trip.
I think I might have won threetimes, but I let them know,
and I recorded every single one ofthem. So they always pop up on
my memories and I always send itto him and he's just like, okay,
dude like that. But uh,it was like they were kids.
And I I was a kid.I was twenty two, and I was
like, I'm a man, LikeI had no clue what I was doing,
(10:00):
and I just it's one of thosethings that like I n I'm the
youngest of five siblings, so Ihad a bunch of younger siblings and it
was really cool for me to justwatch them and continue to watch them grow
and develop. And it's like Iremember when you know, I always make
the joke like you know, youwere still in diapers when you got here,
and it's like Tyrese has two hundredfour million dollars on the way,
so, uh no, it theywere. It was just a bunch of
(10:20):
goofy kids, like playing ping pongat the lodge, playing pool with the
lodge. Uh everybody was always ineach other's rooms, just playing video games,
hanging out, and like that connectionjust bled onto the court. And
I think everybody could see that,like they're like if somebody had a bad
player there hanging their head. Itwas all four dudes ran over, picked
'em up, walked'em off thecourt, like keep your head up,
(10:41):
keep your head up. And youknow, I think that that I had
Coach Pope is doing a good jgood job of that with this group is
just embracing that and it is aa brotherhood. Really wanna ask you about
coach poping a little bit, butuh, along those lines, you know
you came here as a as agrad student, you're able to now it's
full transfer. We like just watchingcollege basketball. Now, what are kind
(11:03):
of your your thoughts on it?I think it's a wild West really like
it is. When I entered thetransfer portal, it was crazy for me,
Like I I was overwhelmed. Itis crazy. I mean there was
no nil, there was no peoplehandling stuff for you, so it was
like you get out of class,you had fifteen miss phone calls from a
bunch of people you didn't know andemails. It wa. It was overwhelming.
But I think I think it isa good thing because it gives you
(11:26):
an opportunity to go and and youknow, experience something new and try something
new. I I think that itcan get out of hand if you can
go and just each year you canjust go and play. Cause it's like
if something doesn't work out, insteadof embracing hardship, you can just up
and leave. And I don't personally, I don't necessarily think that's a good
thing for life. Like basketball wise, you'll figure it out, but like
(11:48):
for life, if things get hardand you just quit or you walk away
from something, like, you're notgonna maybe learn something that about yourself that
you could have if you stayed,or you're not gonna learn something about you
know, that situation. And Ithink that for me, like coming here
was arguably the best decision I've evermade, other than you know, proposing
to Madison. I gotta throw thatone in there, but no, it
(12:09):
was, it was. It ultimatelyled me to all this stuff. And
you know, I'm twenty seven,going in my fifth year as a pro,
and I'm in an awesome situation asa pro. I'm in an awesome
situation as an uncle. I havea niece and a nephew, and you
know, as a fiance and ason and brother. Like all this stuff
has stemmed from my life experiences andembracing hardships. So I think people can
just up and leave. It's gonnait's gonna really limit that a How awesome
(12:33):
is it to still be playing basketballprofessionally? That means you can still be
making a living? Yeah, itit's it's funny because I actually just had
that conversation with my trainer. Ijust came out of my workout and I
was just like, like do Iwake up, I eat my breakfast,
I go in a little walk,and I'm warning with Madison, and then
like she comes to work and Ihave a little bit of time to myself,
like I'll go hit golf balls orI'll just like today I was folding
laundry, packing up for the Fourthof July, and then like I go
(12:56):
work out for two I I worktwo hours a day and it's just like,
I mean, I'm away for tenmonths out of the year most of
the time. So like that's thehardest part is just that that distance.
But like Dode, you get paidreal dollars to just be in good shape,
take care of yourself, and playa game that you already enjoy.
Alright, I would rather do thisthan ninety nine percent of the other stuff
I would have to do if Ididn't play. So I'm gonna try to
(13:20):
ride this thing out as long asi can go. That's awesome. Speaking
of playing, you're in Lexington thissummer. You'll be playing on the TBT
team with a bunch of guys thatalso played here. Who are you excited
to play with on that team?As we were talking about earlier, I
I think Eric Bledsoe is the firstguy that popped out to me, Like
I just remember watching him in theNBA, even watching my Kentucky watching him
(13:41):
at the NBA. He was withthe Bucks for forever and like just one
of those guys that just embraces justbeing the dog. And you know,
having Tyler Ewis as your coach andhe's also a dog. Like the first
thing that pops in my head isthat bloody picture of him, and I'm
like that, like my song forthe first time in a while last summer,
I was just like, you're thatsame guy, like energy, effort,
but I mean playing with Willie Caleystein rim protector like that Harrison Twins.
(14:05):
I've played against them both as apro, so that was really cool.
I remember watching them when I wasin AAU and then they obviously came
here and I got to play againstthem both as pros. Kellen Grady's a
good friend of mine, so I'mexcited to put with Kellen. And I'm
trying to think of who else,Oh, Marquis Tigue and James Young.
I don't know if Deron Lamb isI think he signed. I think he's
(14:28):
signed to go somewhere though, Sothat's yeah, the name, well,
that's the problem with I mean,not the problem with the team. That's
there's so many amazing guy it's unbelievable. And I played against Derek Willis this
year and I'm pretty sure he gotasked, but he's I think he's having
a baby, so it's a littletough for him to to not be here.
But I'm sure he would have beenone of those guys that would have
come back and played too, andknow how much Kentucky means to him.
But I think the first guy that, like I said, pops in my
(14:50):
head was Eric blud So like he'sjust one of the things. He might
be the biggest name in the tournament. He's a monster. You mentioned you
played against the Harrison's Inn. Actuallyanybody else that you run to with Kentucky
ties or college basketball ties that youmaybe surprised you like, Oh wait,
well, playing against Derek this year. He played for Fis in Istanbul when
(15:13):
I played for Fender, and thosewere like two crosstown rivals. They're both
in the euro League. Derek hadan unbelievable year, and I'm really happy
for him, Like he shot thecrap out of the ball. And I'm
trying to think, I think I'llplay against Kyle Wilcher this year if he
and I are in the same groupfor international competition the Harrison Twins, trying
(15:35):
to think of I don't know ifthere's anybody else from Kentucky that I would
have I had just missed. Ithink James Young was in Israel, but
he had left as soon as Igot there, gotcha. And then Deron
Lamb was teammates with one of myteammates two years ago, Tyrek Jones.
They were in Italy together and Tyreekhad nothing but great things to say about
(15:56):
Deron. So that's I kind ofknow him by association. I don't know
him personally. But it's gotta befun Internationally. You still kind of got
people you can reach out to andtalk to, oh for sure, And
especially like after a game, likein the middle of the game, like
you'll you'll recognize somebody was ask himlike where'd you play? And after the
game you talked to him and hejust like hit you just hit it off.
And then the next time you playlike you have something in common,
(16:18):
and Americans kind of just flocked toAmericans instantly, and then most of the
time, Like Derek doesn't talk duringthe games. So I was like talking
to him during the game and hewas just like this. I'm like,
it's wrong with this guy. Like, dude, we both you know.
I was asking something about coach cowand he just like put his head down.
After the game came up, wastalking to me. We went to
dinner, and I was just like, but as a as a on the
court, that's why, that's probablywhy he had a fantastic year. Oh
(16:44):
gosh, the tournament, UH willget the dates, but it's I believe
July nineteen. I mean, what, like, how how do you the
basketball turn? How do you cometogether as a team of guys who you
know, I mean coming together yeah, to play in this How's that gonna
work out? I think Twny dida great job. Uh, him and
Darius Miller did a a fantastic jobof getting a bunch of guys that obviously
(17:10):
are are at a really really highlevel professionally, and but guys that also
like know what it means to playat REP. And I think that you
know, getting that group is togetherwith might have been difficult, but I
feel like the common goal in thecommon like denominator of all of us is
like we all love playing here,and it's gonna be easy to easy to
(17:30):
click. You got a bunch ofguys that are super unselfish, and you
know, like Eric is in China, I think he was in China,
You're just going crazy, but it'slike he can go crazy here and nobody's
gonna say anything to him. It'slike, but then if you have,
you know, a couple of guysthat are maybe whatever, force and shots
or something like, you have alike Tyler Ewles is your coach, He's
not afraid to say something to you. And it's like most of them been
coached by a bunch of overseas coacheswho all they do is really yell and
(17:53):
scream at you, and they doit with a purpose, but they yell
and scream. So it's just kindof like, okay, like I can
whatever. But it's I think twentyand Dari said, a fantastic job putting
to this team together. How excitedare you to step back out on the
Florida Up. I can't wait.I gotta do my little pregame spin for
sure back in rep Arena. Uh. But no, I'm I'm excited.
I have to redeem myself. Iwas saying earlier. We lost to Tennessee
(18:14):
at home on Senior Day, souh, I need to come out here
with the win. I gotta comeout here with the win for sure.
Yeah. But as we were talkingearlier, you did a little bit of
redemption the last game of that season, you won Florida and one of the
most exciting games in my memory.So let's let's talk you. You mentioned
coach Pope being in town. Howmuch interaction have you got to have with
(18:34):
the new staff for new players orhave you been watching a far at afar?
Uh? The first when we didthe TVT interview, like the bracket
reveal, we got to meet itfor the first time and he was just
like, everybody, take my numberdown, Like whenever you wanna come in
and shoot, gym's open, wheneveryou wanna work out, like weight rooms
open for you guys. Like He'slike, it is like a family here,
so like I don't want you toever feel like you can't be here.
(18:56):
He was just like, I want, like when we are able to
meet and work out with the theteams. He's like, I want you
guys to fully like coach them,teach them, like tell them what it
means. Because there's twelve guys onthe team this year that never played here,
And it was like how it wasfor me, like when I came
back. When I came here,like I knew Emmanuel through my college team
made a buck no because they wentto high school together. So Emmanuel was
(19:17):
one of the first guys that Iclicked with and like he kind of showed
me the ropes of being here.So it's like, if you can lessen
the blow of the shock of beinghere for guys, it's more I mean,
I'm more than happy to do that. Are you have you? I
know you keep up? Have youbeen watching who those twelve guys are?
Uh? Not like not personally,but I mean as soon as I wake
(19:37):
up in the morning, my morningcoffee is like my scroll through Twitter.
It's like when Coach Pope took overand then they started getting guys in the
portal, it's just been it wasall like it was cool for me cause
I was like, okay, Likethat hype around Kentucky basketball is is like
really really back. Yeah, andI think that that this TVT is kind
of tied into that. Yeah,Kentucky basketball in the summer. Any y
you doing any waivers to maybe getan extra year of eligibility, since I
(20:00):
mean I might do it A bunchof I would like that, you know.
I talked to him about it.He was like, Man, if
you were twenty two, I waslike, Dude, I was twenty two,
I'd be here in it. Anif I was twenty three and I
got next year, I'd be here. But uh no, I I do
tune into games, whether I stayup late to watch or I get a
replay of my I do my bestto keep up with that same thing with
(20:22):
Buck now and it's been it's beenreally cool for me to watch the transition
for both programs. You were herejust one year and you didn't have the
postseason. Does does it surprise youat all to still because I know you
see I see you on social mediaall the Kentucky fans still replying to your
stuff, retweeting. I mean,build that connection when you have. How
good does that feel? You madean impact on people? And that's I
(20:44):
think that's the thing that I youknow, I want to leave a place
maybe better than I found it.And it sounds, you know, corny
and cliche, but like I meanthat, like whether I was here for
a year, whether I was herefor four years, Like I hope that
my interaction with people outside of thelike outside of the basketball court and on
the basketball court, you know,you can leave an impact and you know,
hopefully I can be an inspiration forone kid or you know, a
(21:06):
thousand kids. Like that's what Ilove about going back to my hometown.
I have a camp in the summerand everybody's still Like the first thing they
asked you about is Kentucky. Youknow. I was like, man,
I'm five year pro, Like youdon't have any questions about this, And
then like no, like Kentucky andit's it's crazy. There's Kentucky shirts,
there's Kentucky flags. It's a couplebuck now flags flying around in Pooring,
Pennsylvania, but not too many.But it's just it's really cool and like
(21:27):
you come back here and it's justwhen you're around and you're surrounded by this
at all times, like it's justlike kind of brings you back to Like,
man, I I really did getto play here and it is an
am It was an amazing opportunity.It is an amazing place. So l
along those lines and wrapping up.You talk about your small hometown and you
go to buck Now you get you, I mean, and then now when
(21:49):
you listed it off Israel, Turkey, Spain, you you're in the G
League, you had more an NBAuniform. So I mean, like,
I guess what eleven, twelve yearold and eight would he what do you
believe all that? Like, well, what do you think he would say
to you? I think, Imean, I think he'd be proud and
be happy about it. It's forme. I I'm twenty seven, I'm
still the same way. It's II love I love gear. I'm a
(22:11):
a big like getting new stuff likepolos, whether it's polos or like undershirt.
It's like when I signed in theG League, you get like the
NBA socks and like the NBA tanktop, like you just feel awesome.
And when I was a little kidand you get like when I played football
at the under Armour socks loved it. I would sleep in a uniform the
night before the game. Like Idon't do that now but pretty much do.
But like I still get excited forgame day. But you know,
(22:33):
eleven year old Nate wanted a Jeeprubicon, like I have a JEP Rubicon.
I you know, I build iton the computer the way I wanted
it, and it's like I'm excitedabout you know what, what's in store
for the next however long I canplay. And but I think he'd be
pretty proud. It's getting paid toput a ball in a hoop and the
same game that I grew up playingin loving and I'm still doing it.
(22:53):
Nate, Thank you so much foryour time. I'll probably thank you guys,
thanks to Nate for his time.If you aren't already, please follow
and subscribe to this podcast on yourfavorite podcast player, and be sure to
be following UK Sports Network on allforms of social media or on all the
platforms just search UK Sports Network.Thanks again to UK Federal Credit Union for
(23:15):
presenting this podcast. As I mentionedat the top, visit UKFCU dot org
for more information. Thanks so muchfor listening to Behind Kentucky Basketball.
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