Everything Michigan's Olivier Nkamhoua said on the Defend the Block podcast
On what it's like acclimating to Michigan
It's been great. Got her last Monday and it's been fun to meet people, got to see camp for a couple of days. Just being around campus, take a couple of walks, be around the guys. Today was our first official practice. It's been good, it's been great. Everybody has been treating me well, it's been a great atmosphere. I feel very welcome and I am enjoying myself.
On the transfer portal process for him
I, personally, didn't pay much attention. Every once in a while I would read some stuff but I don't put anything out there until it's the truth and I know. I kept everything very quiet and close to the chest. It was a great process and I think I made the right decision. I took my time and I looked at all my options. With Coach Phil recruiting me out of high school, and the relationship I was able to build with Juwan throughout the process and all the assistant coaches, even talking to the players, I feel like it was a place I could come in and grow and join a bunch of guys that had a similar mindset to myself.
On what Tennessee meant to him and how he grew
My time at Tennessee meant everything. It was a great four years, I loved it there. Community took me in as a young foreign kid, I had only been in America for two years at that time. The coaching staff taught me a lot of things. Coach Barnes helped me grow as a player in many ways. My time there was well-served and I really enjoyed it. As I graduated, as I grew out of it and it was time for me to move on, I'm glad I was able to come to a place like Michigan who is at that same way, a winning program, a great culture, great respect around the country. I just felt like the staff here was going to help me with the next steps of my career.
On how he would describe his game
Very versatile player. I try to be very high-energy. I'm a team guy, I can stretch the floor, I can drive the ball and I can use my athleticism well.
On areas of strength and areas of growth
I think an easy for me to bring is my ball-screen gameplay. I can pop, I can roll, I can even catch it in that short roll area. That's something that can adapt to any basketball program. Things I might have to adapt, is how they play, what type of offense they run, what my role as a four-man is going to be here compared to what my role was as a four-man was at Tennessee. After speaking with the staff and everybody, I think this was my best move because of the acclimation, adaption, wasn't going to be anything outside of myself. I'm still going to be doing things I'm already good at and obviously improve on things that I need to improve on.
On the NBA Draft process
Just learn a lot about myself, a lot about the NBA, how everybody has to prepare. The type of mindset you have to have and the approach that those people at that level have. Just learned a couple of little things they want to see me do. Just going to come here and I've had those conversations with Coach Juwan and coming here to work on those things still within my own game. Not trying to change the script, not trying to come here and be some brand-new player. Just improve on the player I already was and maybe show some things that I already was able to do, just didn't have the space and opportunity to show.
On players he watches that he models his game after
There's many players, somebody who at the end of my college career that I've been watching more and more is Carmello, with his footwork and how he can get shot off in separation in that tiny space and how he can bully his way to the basket. Defensively and even offensively, I've always liked watching Paul George, every stage to his game he's added something to it. At first, he was more of a cutter, catch-and-shooter, great defender and then he kept adding and adding to his game. I love watching guys like that. Versatile guys who can do multiple things. Guys who can face up and turn their back to the basket. I've lately started to watch guys like Bam Adebayo and Draymond, how they facilitate at that forward spot.
On how he's grown in the mental side of basketball
I'd like to say I have grown a lot on the mental side of things. Probably the most growth that I've made has been mentally. Just learning to look at the game in a different way, learning to—when you watch basketball, my coach used to tell, Coach Barnes, used to tell me instead of watching the ball, watch what everybody else is doing. Just little things like that. I feel like I've grown a lot in my four years and I still feel like I have a lot of room to grow. That's another thing I'm excited about here. Coach Juwan is really big on teaching, specifically through film. Even walking through things in practice. With Phil, like I said recruiting me out of high school, I know he's a basketball genius. There's a lot of guys who can teach me a lot of things. I do my best in school, I think that translates.
On the current roster and his potential fit
Honestly, I'm a very adaptable player and I think that's great. Watching this team and watching the pieces, I think me and Dug are going to be lethal in the ball-screen because we can create in any situation. If he wants to get to the cup, I can stay back. If we're both getting to the cup, we both have the pick-and-roll on live with the low passes. We have that short-roll game, we can even run slips and get him downhill really easy. Playing with a big like T-Reed, I can space the floor and give him room to operate down low but then, at the same time, because of his size, speed and athleticism, if I can catch it on the block and I go to work and his guy comes to help, I can drop it off and I know that's an easy dunk, I know we will be able to play off each other really well, I'll be able to feed him on the block and I think that will turn into a vice-versa where he'll learn how to feed me on the block. He's still young and learning those things, I see it in his game. With guys like Terrance Williams, I feel like there's a lot of his game where I can help grow. We can go at each other in practice, I can help him his grow his confidence and me and him can fit on the court well together on both of those wings. I think Trey coming in as a transfer is going to be able to mesh well with me as well. We're both agile, big wings but I can be a more physical version and he can be the more agile, moving version. I just feel like everybody on this team right now is fitting well together and as we get to know each other and get to be around each other more, we can help each other grow and get better. That's what I'm looking forward to. I'm trying to have the best year of my life and I'm trying to see everybody on this team have the same type of year.
On playing for the Finland national team
It's amazing. Whenever you're playing for your own country, the first time I went back home and I played in front of that Finland crowd, my mom came to the game and she was wearing the Finland national team jersey. It's just a different feeling and a different sense when you're representing where you were born and raised, especially as a European kid. Your country is where you were born and raised and you have to sense of national pride. You can tell when you go to the games, the fans come to the games and the energy that they brings is an amazing atmosphere.
On what he's taken from his family cultures
My parents are a big blessing in my life, the biggest blessing that I have. Both my mother and my father have helped me grow into the man I am today. My mom taught me many things growing up, lived with her for 17 years. She taught me many things about kindness and what it means to treat other people and how to always look at people in the best possible way, expect the best out of people and put your best foot forward. My father taught me that discipline, you have to be able to adapt to where you are and not expect people to adapt to you. Have to be responsible for yourself and you have to take care of yourself and be able to behave wherever you go. Both throughout my life have taught me many life lessons from a very different perspective. My mom, like you said, is Finnish and Scottish, has a Finnish mother and a Scottish father. My father was raised in the Cameroonian military, man. Very different backgrounds for both of them and many very different life lessons that I learned from both of them and I am very blessed to have traveled the world already at a young age, been to multiple places. That's really a blessing through basketball. I've just been very lucky in my young life.
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