First of all, thank you for doing the interview. How are you feeling that you came back to Finland now? How is everything working out for you so far?
It’s great to see my family and friends. Getting back to my home gym and everything feels really exciting but the most important thing to me is seeing my family and closest friends, that’s amazing.
Let’s start from the beginning. Where were you born, how was your childhood and first interaction with sports like?
I was born in Tampere, Finland. That’s my hometown, that’s the place I claim to my heart. Sports has always been a big part of my family, I played basketball as long as I remembered. I basically grew into it, both my parents used to play basketball and they were both coaching, always doing something about the game. It all just made it easier for me to love and embrace basketball.
Both of your parents played basketball as you mentioned. How was their influence on you early on in your basketball career in Finland?
It was big cause I knew that even if I have the most simple questions about the game, they would answer. Need to give them some love, they know how to play, they were smart players too. They always stood by my side even when I was struggling and going through tough times, they knew the right balance to have a positive effect on me. My whole family has been helping me to reach my dreams.
You found out that you have type 1 diabetes when you were 7. What was the process like for you at such young age, does it affect your daily life and basketball career?
To be honest, me and my family were shocked when we found out that I had diabetes. I don’t want to call it a sickness cause sickness is usually feeling ill consistently and not being able to do something but that’s not the case for me. Diabetes was always there but never prevented me from doing anything, I am grateful for that. When I found out that I had diabetes, it was weird times since I was just starting first grade. On the basketball court, I was feeling weak. I lost a lot of weight at a young age and that was surprising cause I was supposed to grow. It taught me so much as a young kid, my goal has always been playing in the NBA so I got to control my diabetes really well and take care of myself, that’s the biggest thing. I’ll be traveling by myself, mom, dad, my people are not always going to be around me so I had to learn how to take care of my body earlier than most people.
You had good performances at Helsinki Basketball Academy in competitions like Finland’s second division and 2022 ANGT Patras and your coach was Hanno Möttöla, the first player from Finland to play in the NBA. Is joining there the obvious choice for Finnish prospects, especially if you want to play in the NCAA?
Helsinki Basketball Academy’s facilities are top notch! Everybody doesn’t have the chance to develop at these type of facilities for all pro athletes from all kinds of sports, so that was a blessing. Just joining HBA to be a path to NCAA is important but I feel like the opportunities increase day by day. HBA is still a great choice, most of the people from my country who went to the NCAA achieved it thanks to HBA and it’s a rock solid choice but now, a lot of teams are proving that they can send players to college as well and I’m so happy about it. People are going to have more options, having the chance to choose different paths through college is important. There is no one route and everybody’s process is not the same. Practicing under Möttöla, the first NBA player from Finland and learning from his experiences was a big chance for me. Learning from him as a guard also widened my perspective for the game. This way I learned how the big men like to set the screens, pop, roll and how they should move on the floor in general, I’d got to be more productive as a guard if I know how the bigs see the game. He was trying to put me in his shoes and make me figure out how to help them as much as I can to win.
Then you decided to go to the USA for your senior year in high school before college. What was the main reason behind that decision and how was the adaptation process for you?
A big reason for it was having a good last season in HBA, trying to figure out what was the next step before going to college. I knew that I wanted to take my chances to get as ready as I can for it in my last eligible year for high school. Sunrise Christian is a great program with an amazing head coach, after being there for a year, I can say that whole team and staff is great. I love them all for death. It was a big choice but I was comfortable knowing that the jump will be smoother from a US high school to college. It’s a whole different game in the USA. When you are used to playing at bigger courts with more spacing, it feels different. Learning how to play in much tighter spaces and against faster and more athletic players was really good for me. My transition was not easy, I’ll tell you that. It was both pyhsically and mentally hard. I am not saying that it was the hardest thing ever but I loved every second of it. I knew that if it was easy, I probably would not do it at all.
U18 Division B was a positive sign for the development of Nordic countries and their prospects like you. Finland got the 3rd place. How was the tournament for you as a whole, what do you think would change if you were not injured and played in the semi-final?
I think we would win the whole thing, take it all the way to the end with the team. We did a really good job, we got promoted, that was the main goal. We came there to be an A Division team. Seeing Finland competing at Division A in all the U16 and U18 tournaments is proving that we are growing as a basketball country. I hope that is something that everybody sees and acknowledges, we are here to compete every time we put those jerseys on, representing our country with pride. U18 European Championship was a really good experience. Playing a different role there than the senior national team is big, it helped me a lot with my confidence and I saw I can get stuff done. It gave me a big confidence boost. As you mentioned, Nordic countries show good progression. You can see really good players coming out of each country, we got Elliot Cadeau from Sweden, Marqus Mannion from Denmark, Iceland got Almar Atlason who is also my teammate from Sunrise Christian. All of us are going to big D1 schools, it is going be exciting to see a lot more players from Nordic countries in the NCAA.
You made your debut with the Finnish senior national team in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers against Slovenia, becoming the youngest player to represent your country at the senior level in 25 years. Where were you when you found out that you were selected, how did you feel when you got the call?
I was about to get some kind of treatment. I was the last guy up, people were starting to get sick. They told me that some people got sick and I was going to play. My response was like “Okay, cool.”. I was trying to act cool and stay calm but on the inside, I was screaming and jumping like crazy, I was so happy and beyond excited. Putting the senior national team jersey on was always one of my biggest dreams. Representing my country at the highest level is a dream come true.
Speaking of the highest level, we should mention EuroBasket 2022. You were the youngest player in the tournament and Finland reached the quarter finals at the event. You were teammates with Petteri Koponen, Shawn Huff, Sasu Salin and of course Lauri Markkanen and coached by Lassi Tuovi. How was the whole experience for you, what did you learn from them?
You got to always stay ready, that was the biggest lesson that I learned. If you told me that I was going to play in the quarter finals of the EuroBasket 2022, I would not believe you. It was a great experience, I learned so much from all the guys, especially from Shawn and Petteri, trying to pick their brain each day about the game. Seeing their daily routines as professional athletes and how consistent they are with them was special. I really like Lassi as a coach and as a human-being. Hopefully we both have a long career ahead of us in the Finnish National Team.
Lauri Markkanen had a great season with the Utah Jazz and won the Most Improved Player Award. What do you think about his performance with Utah, did you have a chance to talk to him after he got the award?
I haven’t talked with him that much after he got the award but big congratulations to Lauri. That is just proving that we can achieve our goals coming from Finland or Europe in general. You see Giannis, Jokic, Luka and Lauri is getting up there too now. The world saw that we can hoop too. Lauri is a great teammate, awesome dude.
You chose Baylor over schools such as Villanova and Indiana. How is your relationship with coach Scott Drew since he is known for developing guards? How are you preparing for your first season in the NCAA?
That’s the big reason why I picked Baylor, I know that they are really good at developing guards. My relationship with the whole coaching staff was also important, I really like them. There is a winning culture over there in Baylor and that’s crucial to me, knowing that every time we step into the court, we are there for a reason.
Your friend Jeremy Sochan also played for Baylor before he was selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2022 NBA Draft. What do you want to say about your friendship with him?
He’s cool man! He is very funny. He had a great season and watching him succeed is really cool. Biggest thing I learned from J is, nobody’s path is the same. He probably had one of the wildest paths, going from the UK, US, Germany, back to the US and to the NBA is wild. That is something people do not appreciate enough. We all have different stories. Don’t try to be like someone else, be yourself. Everybody see him out there with different hair colors and shooting the free throws with one hand. If it works for you and that reflects who you truly are, embrace yourself. There is nothing wrong with having role models and stuff but always be yourself, that is probably the best thing I’ve learned from him as a friend over the years. Jeremy also had an influence over my decision to choose Baylor. I already knew all about the school and daily life from his experiences.
How does participating at events such as Basketball Without Borders and Nike Hoop Summit affect your perception and vision for the game and your level?
I am thankful to get invited to both of those events. The opportunity to play with the best players around the world in my generation is special. I played against the best guards in my class there and saw where I am at. Tried to figure out my flows and work on those things as much as I can. Over there I figured out it’s not always about myself, I can impact the game so many ways, whether guarding the best player on the opposing team, playmaking or shooting, whatever we need to win. These events made me better understand scoring is not always the most important part of the game. I hope everybody understands it too.
What are the aspects of your game that you are most confident about and what are the things that you are working on to improve?
I feel like my playmaking is pretty good. I’m also getting much better on the defensive end. Since last year, I developed a lot as a shooter, I did not used to shoot behind the 3-point line in the past but now I’m much more confident but of course, there is a lot of room for improvement. When you see Steph Curry shooting 3s, you know that you can never be a too good of a shooter, you need to work on it every day. I know that I am going to be tighter with the ball, work more on fundamentals of the game. I’ve been working on some new moves. Working on my pace is how I am going to be spending much of my time this summer.
Have you been following the NBA and EuroLeague playoffs this season?
In the EuroLeague, I watched Real Madrid-Partizan series, it was hectic. Really high level of basketball. In the NBA, Philadelphia 76ers – Boston Celtics has been really fun to watch. I also got to show love to Jimmy Butler. He is out there doing his thing, knocking out the number 1 seed. It is a hard task to do.
Do you have idols or players that you model your game after?
My biggest idol is Michael Jordan, he was my father’s favorite player too. We used to have DVDs about MJ and always put it on, he made me watch it while other kids were watching cartoons. It had a huge influence on me, he is my basketball idol. Now, watching people play defense, that’s something I would never think about back then. I am watching people for their on and off-ball defense. I’ve been watching Davion Mitchell since he was a part of Baylor and I pay attention to his footwork on the defensive end. He is tuff. I am also trying to learn from Chris Paul and Devin Booker on the offensive end. I want to become a 3 level scorer, getting to my spot and making the right plays.
What are your goals for next season?
We are going to win it all with Baylor. With Yves Missi and Ja’Kobe Walter, we are going to be good. We have a lot of good players on the team. We know that if we work hard and be on the same page in terms of our goals, it is going to be a great season. Living and experiencing the college basketball atmosphere is going to be exciting.
What are your hobbies besides basketball? What do you enjoy in your free time?
Playing video games of course, especially Fifa. Now that I got back home, I really enjoy fishing, It is so peaceful over there. I am also really into music, I listen to everything. I enjoy a lot of Finnish music, J Cole is my GOAT, I really like the music from the UK too and I mostly like lyrical people.
