The Fast Break feat. Justinian Jessup

On where he grew up…

I went to high school in Colorado, but grew up living across five different states in the US. My dad was a museum director so he took different jobs when I was growing up so I’ve lived in California, Idaho, and Alaska, but was born in New York City.

On first basketball memories…

When I lived in California they had Lakers youth leagues. That was kind of my first experience playing basketball. When I moved to Boise, Idaho at about eight, I got a real spark, interest and passion for the game. I would go to the gym and shoot for hours, then in high school I started thinking, “basketball is my thing”, and from there I’ve never really thought of doing anything else.

I owe a lot to my parents. I wouldn't be where I am today without them sacrificing their time and a tonne of effort. Driving me to practices, tournaments, paying for me to be able to play on teams and stuff. Right now I'm returning the favour.

On landing in the NBL with the Hawks…

Coming out of high school, I decided to go Boise state. I went there for four years then after my last year, I signed with an agent. He started bringing stuff to the table and one day he said “Hey, this team in Australia, The Hawks, have a good new ownership group and really good coaches, and the roster makeup looks good.”

It seemed really appealing. I was kinda excited to be honest. I’d never been to Australia, I’d always wanted to visit. A teammate of mine at Boise State actually grew up in Wollongong – Riley Abercrombie. And I think because of Lamelo [Ball] last year I knew a bit more about the league.

On being drafted with pick 51 by the Golden State Warriors in the 2020 NBA Draft…

I didn't even watch the draft. I couldn’t find a stream on my laptop and the hotel didn't have ESPN. It was a total surprise. I had an interview with the Warriors, but they didn't give me any guarantees so I wasn't really expecting to be picked. My agent just sent me a text and said “Yep, you’re getting picked by Golden State.” I wrote back “Are you serious?”

They’re a great organisation and they've owned the last decade of the NBA. But at the end of the day I haven’t made the roster so I’ve got a long way to go, but it’s nice having a foot in the door.

The end goal is obviously to make the Warriors roster, to play in the NBA and be able to make an impact over there, but that’s off in the distance. Right now I’m excited to be down here and am just trying to help the Hawks win a lot of games. 

On which NBA players he’s modeled his game on…

I love watching Duncan Robinson (Miama Heat), he’s a big time shooter and can move really well. Luke Kennard (LA Clippers) and Joe Ingles (Utah Jazz) are great as well, they’re lefties and can shoot the ball really well. The guys that can shoot, score off closeouts and play off the pick and roll a little bit I’m always watching.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">That&#39;s NBA range on the step back from Justinian Jessup ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://t.co/lfFVqrNDBd">pic.twitter.com/lfFVqrNDBd</a></p>&mdash; Hawks Basketball (@thehawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehawks/status/1340558161313320964?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

On coach Goorjian…

He’s going to help me with everything and he’s a pretty hands on coach. Little details like how to defeat pick and roll screens, how to play in pick and rolls on the offensive end. And the assistant coaches are great as well. I’m super happy playing for Goorj and Jacob, but it’s only the beginning, I’ve only been out here a month or so I’ve got a long way to go and a lot more to learn.

On the Hawks game style…

We’ve got young guys on the team, which means we are going to be fast and fun to watch. We’re getting up and down the court a lot, so that’s fun as well. Everyone has a good attitude, the guys are cool and the chemistry has been great.

On Aussie culture…

The transition has been really smooth so far, no real culture shocks, apart from driving at first was funny. I’m used to driving on the other side of the road so I was definitely hugging as far left as I could.

I’ve also been to a few pie shops, I think you call them beef pies, they’re pretty good. We have chicken pot pies in America, but yours are better. I am also loving the beaches, and I wanted to see a kangaroo. I went to Jervis Bay a few weeks ago and managed to tick both those things off.

On what fans can expect from him this season…

Someone who is going to play hard, do his job on both ends. I want to be a good teammate, be unselfish and bring a defence skill set and effort.

I think I'm a quiet achiever. Early on in my career people tried to get me to be more flamboyant and outgoing, but it just wasn't me. I'm even keeled and not very outspoken. I just go out there and do my thing and I like it that way.