If the G League serves as a superior stepping stone to the NBA (Jalen Green/Jonathan Kuminga were both top-7 picks in last month’s draft), then Yante Maten should be back in the Association in the very near future. After being named 2018 SEC POY as a player at Georgia, he played a couple of games for the Miami Heat but has done most of his damage in the G League: 23.5 PPG for Sioux Falls in 2019 and 18.1 PPG for Maine in 2020. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to interview Yante’s college coach Mark Fox about his 3-time All-SEC player. Today is Yante’s 25th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1: he got an early birthday gift last week when he signed with Orlando!
(photo credit: dawgnation.com)
Yante grew up in Michigan: what made him choose Georgia? He had an interest in a major that we offered on the study of reptiles/lizards. We have a great program and have had a lot of success with PFs.
He played both PF and C during college: which position do you think will be his best fit at the next level? He played PF for us 90% of the time. In the pro game I think that he can play both the 3 and 4.
In the 2016 NIT he scored a career-high 33 PTS/14-17 FG in a 9-PT win over Belmont: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot he put up seemed to go in because he was “in the zone”? He shot the 3 well in that game: it was 1 of the times where he realized just how much his talent could impact the game. It was not a surprise to me because he is such a gifted offensive player.
In 2018 he was named SEC POY: what did it mean to him to receive such an outstanding honor? It was a real reward for how hard he worked. He was a terrific player and it meant a lot for other people to recognize that. He had a great season: he is a player who got better every year and will continue to do so.
In the Reese’s College All-Star Game that spring he scored 17 PTS in 19 minutes in a 4-PT win for the West en route to being named MOP: how was he able to play his best against the best? I was not able to attend the game due to a meeting but he has a pretty versatile game so in a setting like that he just found ways to finish plays. Some guys are specialists but his versatility really helped him.
He graduated in the top-5 in school history with 1886 PTS/889 REB/198 BLK: how was he able to balance his offense with his defense? He is longer/bigger than many people realize and just has a natural knack of blocking shots, which was just an added bonus.
He also finished his college career as a 40.3% 3-PT shooter: how was a guy his size able to be so accurate from behind the arc? He worked very hard on his shooting throughout his career and became an excellent 3-PT shooter. It is a credit to all of the hard work that he put in.
At the NBA Draft Combine he led everyone in bench press reps and was measured with only 8% body fat: how much of an advantage does his athleticism give him on the court? He is strong/powerful/agile. Having those attributes will be an advantage but it is tough to compete against the best athletes in the world.
When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? The 1 thing is that he is a better person than he is a player. He had a huge impact on our university community as such a phenomenal person, and statistically he is 1 of the best in our school’s history. I hope he is remembered as 1 of the best players in SEC history.