Meet Jack Oćwieja, Center for the Grambling State Tigers Men’s Basketball Team

Rob Goldberg Jr.

I had the pleasure of meeting Jack Oćwieja through a mutual friend in December 2013. At the time, Oćwieja was playing basketball at Bossier Parish Community College in Louisiana. Since then, he moved to Central Arizona for the 2014-15 academic year and was then offered to play center at Grambling State University for the 2015-16 season.

Two years after we first met, he flew from Louisiana to the southern California desert and we decided to meet up. After a day that consisted of lunch and some last minute holiday shopping, we made our way to my house, where we held the interview.

Alexandro Zatarain: I realized that you’ve moved around a lot since coming from Melbourne, Australia. Coming to the United States, you went to Bossier Parish, then you went to Central Arizona, and now you’re playing Division 1 at Grambling State. How has the transition been for you when moving from place to place? How has the transition been for you? What has been different? What was hard, if anything?

Jack Oćwieja: The hardest was first coming to the United States. Being in the south, in Louisiana, it was a tremendous culture shock. It’s very conservative compared to Melbourne, because it’s quite a liberal city, I would say. Melbourne is a big city, but for me Shreveport was a small town, even though it’s big for Louisiana. It was a big transition. It’s tough understanding people. I wasn’t used to the accent but after a semester, I got used to it and got used to being in a small town. Transferring to Arizona, it was kind of smooth. Culturally, I felt like I belonged there. A lot of west coast people, a lot of people from California, which is very similar to people in California.

AZ: As in the similarities to California, you mean more liberal?

JO: Yeah. Also, the knowledge of pop culture and of the world. I feel like, in the south, people are more proud of their heritage and are more in tune with what they’re doing. That’s not a background I grew up in, so I can’t really relate to it. Where as the west coast is just more of the upbringing I’m used to. We grew up watching the same things, listening to the same things, so I can relate more. In Arizona, I was more comfortable in that regard. Now transferring back to Louisiana wasn’t so much of a culture shock. Just had to get used to being in a small town again. In Arizona, I was 45 minutes from Phoenix. Now, the next big city is Dallas, which is about three hours away. Being a big city kid, it was a bit difficult to cope with.

 

Oscar Perez

AZ: I can image. So, when you were going to sign with Grambling, your father was with you. How was that for you, having such a special moment? Being able to say that you will be moving from community college ball to playing Division 1 NCAA basketball in the United States, how was that for you and your dad?

JO: Chuckles It was crazy. What really stood out to me wasn’t the day I signed but the day I got offered, which about three days earlier. I couldn’t sleep all night because, at that point, everything was falling apart. I didn’t know if I was going to end up anywhere. I woke up and had this offer from Grambling, I felt ecstatic. I told my mom, I told my dad, and then my coach called me to tell me that another school wants to offer me a spot. I had two D1 offers, after having none before then. The day of the signing was kind of just a relief. It was a burden off my shoulders, being able to do it. I didn’t realize how excited my dad was until I saw the pictures afterwards. He looked like a little kid with a smile on his face. To me, it stood out more having both of my parents there with me, because we’re seldom in the same place altogether. For my mom, for her knowing that I’ll be able to complete my education and I’ll be on full scholarship, it’s easier for her financially. For my dad, him knowing that I’ll be taking the next step, playing D1 ball, it’s nice.

AZ: Your dad used to play professional basketball, where did he play?

JO: He played in Poland. He first played division three in the Polish league. He was 18 or 19 when he signed with Resovia Rzeszów, a division one team. They were a winning program, very successful. They played in Euro League one year after placing second in the Polish league. After that, because of political reasons, he had to leave to Germany, where he played for a team that had just been demoted to the second division. He really just played for fun. He then came to Australia, worked out for the Melbourne Tigers, which is the big pro team in Melbourne, but he blew his knee out. After that he decided not to keep playing because he had to work night shifts in the factory. He just wanted to get ahead because being an immigrant was tough. He had to put food on the table. He put his livelihood ahead of his career, which was cut short for him. I know it kind of bothers him still, that he had to, but you have to do what you have to do.

AZ: It’s easy to say that he has been your inspiration. The person that has looked over you in your basketball career.

JO: Yes, definitely. At lot of people have pointed this out, as well as myself, thinking about it this way. Going up the ranks as a kid, it has always been me and my dad against the world. He was really the only one that believed in me and was by my side. We’d always be at training sessions or at games, standing in the corner speaking Polish to each other. We were just intimidating everyone. He taught me almost everything about the game and he’s the one that instilled the work ethic in me. He still keeps me going to this day. If I’m down, he’ll lift me back up.

AZ: I remember you were telling me that you were having trouble with your shot and he pulled you to the side. How did that all happen?

JO: I was about 17. I got really self-conscious about my jump shot and I wanted everyone to know that I shoot with one hand. So I started pulling away my support hand and I ended up getting a Shaquille O’Neal form, which is very ugly. People started noticing it and making fun of it, but I was in denial about it. He pulled me to the side and basically told me that my shot was very ugly and it’s probably too late to change it. I ended up changing my form by making one tweak. It’s little things like that, where I kind of got away from what I was doing, and he brought me back onto the path. Thankfully. If I was still shooting like that, I don’t know.

AZ: Since you have that Euro basketball influence and also playing in Australia, how was it trying to adapt to the American style of play?

JO: It’s much more athletic here in the U.S. In my first month in America, it really wasn’t an issue until I blew my knee out. Then it was a huge adjustment. I had to add a lot to my game and get a lot stronger. The players here are a lot stronger. The Australian game is physical but it’s an unrefined physicality, where someone will injure you in the process of being physical. Whereas here, it’s much more refined. It’s all within the confines of the game but the guys here are so much stronger. Especially playing in the south, you get a lot of bigger guys and that was the biggest adjustment. I had to put a lot of weight on, a lot of muscle. Defensively, in Australia I was a weak side shot blocker, but it isn’t like that here. To be a rim protector, I had to change to being like Roy Hibbert. Just keep my hands up, the “rule of verticality”, just try to be a big body in the way. I kind of changed from a guy with an athletic advantage playing in Australia, to being a guy with an athletic disadvantage. I had to shape my game around that and play more patient.

AZ: So, this will be more of an interesting question. Something to change it up a little. Looking at your former self when you played in Australia, who would you compare your game to? Same question for your current self.

JO: That’s tough. I know who I played like when I was in Australia, but I can’t put my finger on it. This is going to sound like it’s coming from left field but when I played back home, I was like an unrefined and less athletic Amar’e Stoudemire. Sometimes shoot outside jumpers but I would try to use my athleticism near the rim. I shot a lot of jumpers in the post, too. Now, I’m definitely more like the Gasol brothers. It’s who I get compared to a lot. I’m not using athleticism much and playing patient. Trying to be unselfish and using more skill. I added a lot to my post game. I used to go middle or to shoot a jumper. Now I feel like I have more options. I went from a guy trying to use athletic gifts and a jump shot, to using my mind more.

AZ: Melbourne has been quite a hot bed for NBA stars. Andrew Bogut, Dante Exum, who is barely starting in the league but has shown talent, and one that many people don’t know, Kyrie Irving. He was born in Melbourne but raised in New Jersey. How does it feel to be from a city that is known for foreign born players?

JO: I never thought about that. It’s kind of cool for the bragging rights. When you have banter with teammates, you always talk about where you come from. Sometimes I throw around Ben Simmons because he’s the #1 college player. It’s always nice to get praise. I try to remind people where Irving is really from. I never really thought about it that way but it’s really cool.

AZ: It’s actually really surprising. I was doing research, there’s a lot of talent there. It’s very impressive. Also, since you’re Polish-Australian, you also have Marcin Gortat.

JO: Yea. That’s my guy.

AZ: Has Gortat played any role in your game? There aren’t many Polish players in the NBA, has that played any role in inspiring you?

JO: My dad and I watched every game of the Orlando Magic’s 2009 Finals run because of Gortat. A lot of my extended family doesn’t watch basketball, but they always bring him up. They say he couldn’t make a layup but now he’s in the NBA. He’s been very successful and he’s been a model for success. My dad always shows me interviews that Gortat has in the Polish press and shows me where he comes from. Shows me the work ethic that he put in. It’s not the playing style that is much of an inspiration but more the work ethic and the relentlessness, and the stubbornness like not listening when people tell you you’re not good enough. That’s the main inspiration.

AZ: Modern day basketball, at least in the NBA, has seen more and more foreign players become more prominent. For example, he’s brand new to the league but has caused a splash, Kristaps Porzingis. He was booed at the NBA Draft, which was held in New York. He was the fourth pick, taken by the Knicks. He’s Latvian and you had heard of him before he came to the NBA. What was your reaction when he was drafted and what did you feel was going to happen?

JO: I was mad that the Lakers didn’t draft him. Watching those workout videos. There was one where he worked out with Impact Academy. I actually put a post about this on Facebook that said that it’s either not going to pan out just based on European bigs or he’s going to be the GOAT, the greatest. I am more convinced that he is going to be the greatest. So, I was mad that the Lakers didn’t draft him but Knicks have a nice market. It was ridiculous that he got booed but that’s just New York. I mean, you can’t get mad at Knicks fans, it’s just the New York culture. He’s got a lot of the hard headedness. I didn’t think he was going to be this good this early but I love it. Besides Marc Gasol, he’s probably my favorite player in the league. More-so, I have a lot of Latvian friends because my teammate and roommate from my sophomore year, Gustavs Puhovs, he’s from Riga, Latvia. I’ve got some friends of his and I’m happy for them because they have a guy to rep now. Latvian people I know are wonderful and now they have someone to look up to.

AZ: Moving into your current collegiate career, Grambling is currently 2-9 going into conference play but are in the middle of the SWAC standings. You guys open up conference play against Alabama A&M, which will be a home game for you guys. Of course, having a rocky start, how do you feel the team will be doing once conference play begins? I know you’re having health problems right now and may have to sit out a few games. How does the team look?

JO: We pretty much have a full squad back. We got Deonte Hearns back, he’s a huge contributor for us. Scores in the post for us very well. Huge key piece. We have a more complete squad going in. Even though the first half of the season didn’t go the way we wanted it to, we’ve seen in spurts that when we play basketball the real Grambling way, the best teams can’t hang with us. For us, it’s just a matter of finding our feet and getting more consistent. I think, now that we had a break, we were allowed to kind of step away and relax a little bit, we’ll be back refreshed. Hopefully play more consistent. If we put two good halves together, there will be some trouble for some teams in the SWAC.

AZ: You also have a teammate in Ugur Hortum, who is from Turkey, how is it being able to have someone that also plays a European style of ball? Both of you also play the same position, how is that like?

JO: I mean, his skill set is out of this world. I was sweating bullets all summer, knowing I had to play against him during practice. Once I got on campus, I had an appreciation of seeing him play. I haven’t seen a big man play like that before, not at his age. He has the Marc Gasol package and it’s just crazy to watch. Being able to go head to head with him in practice and bounce ideas off of each other is great. We do a good job encouraging each other and staying on each other about we’re doing right or wrong. It’s a personal challenge to one up each other. Once I get healthy and we get to go head to head again, it’s going to be great.

AZ: Looking at your guys’ roster, you guys have a freshman leading the team in points per game in Nigel Ribeiro. How has that been for you guys to have such a young guy come out hot?

JO: I thought it was crazy. In our first game against East Carolina University, his first collegiate game, he came out guns blazing. To me that was just incredible. I told him that after the game. He puts the work in and I keep hearing that he puts up 1,000 shots during the day. He puts the work in and it’s great for him. Tremendously skilled for his age and we need guys to get the ball in the bucket. As long as he does that and he does it efficiently, it’s great for us. I think it’s promising for the program to see a freshman playing that well. It’s scary to see how good he’ll get in his second, third, and maybe fourth year.

AZ: Definitely it’s great for you guys. The majority of the team is made up of juniors or seniors. You guys have two sophomores and two freshman.

JO: Yes, that’s because the school is still on APR sanctions. So, next year we won’t be able to take any transfers. Our coaching staff is trying to get as much experience as possible for the next three years, getting a lot of junior college students. There will be a lot of inexperience coming in.

AZ: At this point, it looks like the coaching staff is trying to do the best they can to get a good team and attract kids out of high school.

JO: Well, mostly it’s about getting experience because we want to win now. Obviously, the goal is to get our program to be appealing for high school players. Being able to get Nigel Ribeiro shows the success they’ve had so far in recruitment. If we get a winning program, we’ll be able to entice more elite high school players to play for our program, which will make it a stronger program in the future. That’s our long term goal, to change the culture at Grambling because it hasn’t been the best place to play in the last few years and we want to create a winning culture. We want to be the first ones to do that.

AZ: To wrap things up and talking about long term goals, how about some long term goals for you? What do you see yourself doing after your eligibility is up in a year and half?

JO: That’s really tough for me to say right now. Gauging on my health, I can’t make any big calls about what opportunities I’ll be able to take advantage of. Obviously, my goal would be to continue playing basketball and make some money from it. I want to be able to support my parents and be able to free them up in their lives. More so than benefiting myself. Right now, what’s guaranteed, is that I can finish my degree. I just want to be able to get one foot ahead of the game, get a degree so that if basketball doesn’t pan out for me, I’ll be able to make other strides in life away from the game. My main objective is to continue playing basketball and to make money from it, but I’m trying not to put all of my eggs in one basket at the same time.

AZ: In other words, you’re trying to play it safe.

JO: Yes. I mean, I’m going all out while I can but also keeping a back-up. I don’t want to be a knucklehead about it. I don’t want to be that guy that blows out his knees and has to work at a low paying job for the rest of his life.

AZ: Well, thank you for your time and for this opportunity. Good luck to you and to your team in conference play.

JO: Thank you for having me and the kind words. It was great.

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