On Thursday night, Tennessee basketball senior Jahmai Mashack heard his named called as the final pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Now with the Memphis Grizzlies, Mashack met with the media with his new team for the first time.
Here's what he said.
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On what he knows about the Grizzlies
"Tony Allen is a guy I've always watched since I was little. It might not be the most popular person to watch for a lot of people, but for me, it was still something special. Just knowing that those times and also being at Rocky Top its huge for the state of Tennessee and all the fans there. But I'm excited cause I've always been about winning and I've always wanted to be and strived to be a winner and I think that fits what they're trying to do, as well."
On the Grizzlies saying they wanted to draft players that are dogs
"It's something that I've always done. It's not something that a coach asked me to do and I decided to buy into that. It's something that I've been doing since I was 12, 13, 14 years old when I told my dad that I want to become a great basketball player. He sat me down and he told me, it's not going to be through making the most points or having the flashiest passes or looking at highlights, it's going to be being the hardest working dog that you can be. I've embraced that ever since I was in high school and college and I don't plan on doing nothing different now. I know what got me here. I know what works as far as winning and I know how to improve my game. And I know being a dog is No. 1 on that list. There's no reason to change it now. It's the formula I've always worked with and I feel like if I can grow that and mold that to something special, I can end up being a great winner in this league and help Memphis continue to evolve."
On his first impression of joining the franchise
"Being a Cali kid, too, but actually being in Tennessee for four years, getting to know a lot of the people today and getting to talk to them, it was very family-oriented. I think that's important for me. It's not transactional. That's a big deal in player development, not just on the court, but off the court, as well. I think all three of us can improve if we have that connection off the court, as well, and we know that they're bought in to our development. I think the sky is the limit for guys like us. I'm getting to know these guys a little bit more, I know for me personally, I'll run through the wall for anyone that has my back and they know I will 100% have theirs. Getting to know these people, getting to know their character and what they're about has been special. Growing up, sounds wild, but I watched Memphis a lot growing up. I can tell just from the mentality and how they went about things, they're about business, they're about winning, but they're also about team camaraderie and having your teammate's back and that's something that I've pride my self on ever since I was little. It's going to be easy to buy into something that they've been doing for a while."
On going from east to west Tennessee, unifying the two sides
"That's what I've been hearing, I've been hearing that's my job, I guess. It's always great to have a rivalry like that. I think it's healthy. I think it provides competition and I obviously don't shy away from any type of competition. Playing for both sides, it is kind of wild and kind of weird but all I've gotten is love and support and they want me to go out there and be successful no matter where I was. And for them to see that I'm staying in Tennessee, it just gives them that much more passion and love for me and what I'm going to do. Everybody there, they know what I'm about, they know what type of human I am, what type of basketball player I am, they know what I represent and they know my values. And I think that's what I really wanted to take it away from. Being a kid from Cali and going to Tennessee and creating a name like that and being known as a Mr. Tennessee type guy. It's not something that happens very often. I definitely wear that proudly. They know that I've come from not being the most highly-ranked and not being the guy that's going to put up 45, 50 points. They're already calling me Mr. Irrelevant cause I was the last pick of the draft. I love it, man. That's what creates my passion, that's what creates my drive. I love when people feel like I can't do something and I go out and do it anyway and prove them wrong and wrong and prove myself right. I love that feeling, man. I feel like that's something I'm going to do there and I think if you ask a lot of people that know me and have seen my journey through Tennessee, they have no doubt in their mind that I'm going to do whatever I can to be successful and be the winner I know I can be."
On the most underrated part of his game
"For myself, and it may be a surprise to a lot of people, but I've put a ton and ton of hours in that and I feel confident in it is probably my shooting. I think a lot of people look at the amount of shots I had at Tennessee and kind of put that on the value of my shooting, but I think when you see me in a different system, in a different light, in a different setting, you can kind of see a lot of those hours that I've been putting in going to show. Honestly, I think for me was the attempts and being that I didn't have a lot of attempts and a lot of volume, but I know what I'm capable of. I know that I'm a solid shooter and I know that I'm growing to be even better and I know if I can get that to my game, I'm going to be able to be a great and complete player in this league. Just focus on my shooting, but like I said, I feel like it's underrated, but it's something that I'm definitely looking to grow even more."
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