University of Georgia Athletics
A Quick Chat With ... Yante Maten
February 28, 2017 | Men's Basketball
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Yante Maten is a player every coach would want. The Georgia men's basketball junior has size, athleticism, great hands, a great and interesting mind and another dozen or so intangibles that help propel a team forward.
The 6-foot-8 forward from Pontiac, Mich., as of Feb. 18, before he was injured just 93 seconds into the game against Kentucky, was averaging a team-high 19.4 points and 7.2 rebounds a game. He was shooting a stellar 52.6 percent from the field and had made a very impressive 19 of 40 3-point attempts.
He's one of the best, most productive players in the SEC, and we talked of none of that during a quick chat the day before the Kentucky game. Instead, we talked animals, creativity, toys and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: If you could play with or against anyone in history, who would it be?
Maten: You know I'm a competitor, so I'd probably like to play against the best, so I'd like to play against Michael Jordan.
Frierson: Against him more than with him? With him would be pretty good, too.
Maten: It would definitely be fun to play with him, but I'm a competitor and would love to play against him. I'd actually love to play with him too, just to see him at his best.
Frierson: I don't know how many Power 5 conference basketball players major in Fisheries and Wildlife, but I suspect the list isn't long. Can you tell me about the major and what drew you to it?
Maten: Since I was a kid I've always liked animals, always watched the Discovery Channel and that type of stuff. I guess that probably played into it and I always thought about maybe one day making my own rehabilitation center for some type of animals, or something like that.
Frierson: What's something from your childhood that you really miss?
Maten: I miss my little Spiderman action figure. It was one of my favorite toys growing up; on each hand you could move each finger and they don't make quality toys like that anymore. It was just something that I used to love playing with when I was growing up. I'm really into superheroes and that type of stuff, and it was just awesome to me as a kid.
Other than that, I probably miss one of my best friends, his name is Elijah, and he's from Sacramento. I used to live in California when I was young and we grew up together; he was like my little brother and he's definitely someone I miss.
Frierson: If you could spend an afternoon with Coach Fox away from basketball doing anything, what would it be?
Maten: Probably talk about basketball. [Laughs] I'd probably play him in golf because I heard he's not good and I could say I beat him in something. Other than that, Coach Fox is a caring dude and I could picture us just talking about things. He's a competitor and pretty much anything that has to do with competing I could imagine us doing, even something like go-cart racing.
Frierson: What's the most creative thing you do? Or what's something creative you wish you could do?
Maten: I'm pretty good at drawing.
Frierson: Is Mike Edwards the most creative guy on the team with the videos he makes and other things that he does?
Maten: Mike's definitely creative in a different sense; he's more technologically creative and that's pretty good. I'm more with my hand creative, I draw and I liked doing ceramics and stuff back in high school.
Frierson: For you Michigan guys, how much of a joke has this winter been?
Maten: This winter isn't anything; it's a blessing, that's what it is. This isn't winter for me.
Frierson: When I did this with Mike, he talked about how much he'd grown to love the Waffle House. Have you adopted any of the Southern things around here?
Maten: Waffle House definitely is my go-to. I like Moe's, too. Is that a down South thing?
Frierson: I think it is, but I'm not positive.
Maten: Definitely that. They only have like one Chick-fil-A up in Michigan, I'm pretty sure, and I love Chick-fil-A.
Frierson: Has your vocabulary changed at all, so when you go back home people point out some of the words you use? Are you dropping a few "y'alls" in there?
Maten: I kind of did that a little bit before and it is definitely more of a down South thing, but you can kind of say that and nobody notices. I definitely say that a little bit, but not to the point that people are like, "Oh, you've changed."
I say a lot of stuff from up north that people down here say, "That's some Michigan-type stuff."
Frierson: Can you give me an example?
Maten: [Parker walks up as we're talking and Maten asks him the question] What's an example of something I say that you guys say is a Michigan term that nobody down here says? Oh, "do."
Parker: Yeah, that's one.
Frierson: Dude?
Maten: No, "do," d-o. It's like yes. It was something from my friend group, we would say do and don't instead of yes and no. If you asked me a question, instead of saying yes I might say do. It's weird but it was our friend group and we said it, and I kind of say it down here.
Frierson: If you could play any other sport for Georgia, what would it be? Whether you're actually good at the sport or not.
Maten: We're a football school and I wouldn't mind playing football. I think it would be fun and I think I'd be pretty good at it, too.
Frierson: Just for the 93,000 people cheering you on?
Maten: That too, but I always wanted to play football in high school. I didn't because I always had to take care of my sister around when football tryouts were starting, so I never got around to the tryouts. It always was something I wanted to do.
Frierson: It seems like you would have been a good tight end, given your size, hands and athleticism. You could probably show up that the NFL Combine in a few weeks and turn a few heads.
Maten: Yeah, right. I don't know how well that would go at this point.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
