Catching Up with Aleks Maric

On Wednesday, June 4, former Husker center Aleks Maric talked with Huskers.com about his move from Lincoln a couple months ago, away from college life. From working out in Las Vegas to recently completing time in Orlando at the official NBA predraft camp, Maric has continued to develop his skill set in preparation for a professional basketball career. Here is a look what Aleks had to say:

 

Aleks, thanks for joining us. After finishing your Husker career in the second round of the NIT in March, you finished the semester ahead of schedule and then left to pursue your professional career. What have you been doing since you left Lincoln?

Basically, the only thing I’ve been doing is working out at a training facility in Las Vegas called ImpactBasketballTrainingCenter. It’s run by Joe Abunassar, who has a great reputation which is why my agent wanted me there. It’s been intense to say the least. A day there is long. It usually consists of starting at 9 a.m. with 90 minutes of an individual workout, then after that is 90 minutes of lifting. We then go for 90 minutes to have lunch before 90 minutes of conditioning. Following the conditioning, we play games the rest of the day until we’re done. Normally we play until the quality of the games declines, which takes a while. But we don’t want to just play to be out there; we want to get something productive out of it every time we’re on the floor.

 

You were out there about six weeks. Was this your schedule the whole time?

Every day. It’s amazing and was really demanding, but we did it six days a week, except on Saturday, where we’d spend about half the morning doing spot shooting and individual work and then maybe some light riding on the bike. But it was intense.

 

While you were there, you must have been working with some other top draft hopefuls. Who have you worked with?

It’s been a pretty wide range, but some of the guys that were also at Impact were Marreese Speights (a possible lottery pick from Florida), Richard Hendrix (from Alabama), Kosta Koufos (from OhioState), Joe Alexander (a possible lottery pick from West Virginia) and Malik Hairston (from Oregon) who we played against this year.

 

How did all those guys end up there?

Joe Abunassar is pretty much an independent guy who runs the facility, but all the management companies place their guys there because they know his people are the best. My agency, ASM Sports, was the one who set me up there.

 

What has it done for you? Are the results noticeable in your game or physical appearance?

No question. It’s not even close. I’ve dropped about 10 pounds, have about 9 percent body fat and am in the 50s (percentile) in muscle mass. There’s no question this is the best shape I’ve ever been in in my life. My body has changed a lot since I left college, even though it was only a few weeks ago.

 

Other than the constant lifting and workouts, what has been the biggest factor in that change?

I’m on a strict diet, that’s the biggest thing. They feed us lunch each day, but the rest of the time I’m on my own and have to stay on the plan the nutritionist has for me. Every time I go to the store, I have a nutritionist with me, making sure I know what I can and can’t have and helping keep me on pace for the goal.

 

You were living on your own in Lincoln, but did you have someone you lived with in Las Vegas?

Yeah, I lived with Richard Hendrix. He’s a really good guy. He’s a humble, kind of quiet guy who’s also a really hard worker.

 

So you spent six weeks in Las Vegas before heading to Orlando last week to participate in the Draft camp. What was the experience playing at the draft camp like?

It was a good experience. It’s a different environment because you’re with 64-65 other guys who are also hopeful draft prospects who are trying to do the same thing as you. You have about six teams with 10-11 players each. Typically we got together to meet with the coaches in the morning, have a small practice for about 90 minutes and by the second morning, you are playing games in the morning and in the evening. It’s different because you’re working out just feet from all these team GM’s. Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Larry Brown and Danny Ainge are sitting in the front row, along with all kinds of others too.

 

What were the games like?

It was good. They were competitive for the most part but the quality is not the highest from a team concept because of the limited time you’re able to put into practicing together when you get there. But the players play hard and there is good competition. The rest of the time over the last few days, you have lectures and educational sessions on life in the NBA, how to take care of your finances, stuff like that. It’s like a mini rookie transition program for those guys there.

 

What did they team executives say to you about your game, good or bad?

We didn’t interact with the GM’s. They are really separated from us even though we’re only a few feet away playing basketball. But, I like it that way because I’m leaving that stuff to my agent. I just want to play basketball.

 

How many workouts does your agent have set up for you right now?

It’s about eight or nine right now that I’m set to work out for. Nine, I think. I’ve already been to Boston on Monday and was in Indiana on Tuesday.

 

How were the first two workouts?

They were good. I thought they went fine, but it’s tough at first to get into the groove because you have the GM and head coach watching courtside, watching every move you make. Then right after practice, the team is there. In Boston, we had Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and KG (Kevin Garnett) there and you end up working out in front of them. They want to see it because you may be their teammate the next year and they have an interest in it.

 

What are you doing now that you’ve finished the second workout?

I’m heading back to Vegas, going to have a day off, and then get back into the routine until my next workout. I’ll do that over the rest of the month. It’s not uncommon to have four or five other workouts just come up out of nowhere during that time, so we’ll be fine.

 

Have you thought about the Draft or made any plans for it yet?

I haven’t even talked to my agent (about whether he could go in the Draft). I’m just trying to stay focused on the process. I’m not looking at Draft websites or watching ESPN, I’m just working out and I’ll let him tell me about it at the end. I haven’t really decided, so I don’t know what I’m going to do yet (on Draft night).

 

Since you were just in Boston and saw those guys, who do you think will win in the NBA Finals?

I like Boston to win it. I think they’re pretty dominant with the big three and I really think that will show through in the Finals. Boston is hungry for an NBA championship. That city is crazy for it. I could tell from the vibe I got there in such a short time that they love (the Celtics) there and are ready for one. They love it.

 

As for your first love, soccer, what’d you think of the UEFA final last month between Man U and Chelsea?

Oh, come on. I hated it. I like Chelsea and that was really tough. But luckily there’s more with the European Championships coming up in a couple weeks so that’ll be fun to watch some more soccer.

 

 

Check back at Huskers.com before and after the June 25 NBA Draft as Aleks Maric will again update Husker fans on his workouts and thoughts around the Draft including where his future plans will take him.