After starring for tiny California Baptist University, Milan Acquaah is looking to make an enormous leap to the NBA next season.
Milan Acquaah started his basketball career under the brightest lights — as teammate of Lonzo Ball‘s at Chino Hills and then at Washington State University in the Pac-12. But he eventually transferred to California Baptist, closer to home, right as they made the leap from D-II to D-1 and the WAC.
In his two years at CBU, the 6-foot-5 guard made All-Conference twice, winning Conference Newcomer of the Year and then Conference Player of the Year. Across those two seasons, he averaged 18.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game, hitting 34.7 percent of his 3-pointers. Now he’s working his way through the unconventional, pandemic-disrupted pre-draft process hoping to make his case for an NBA roster spot.
Acquaah spoke with The Step Back by phone last week, about navigating this new process and what he thinks he could bring to an NBA team.
So how’s everything going? Where are you and what are you doing right now in the pre-draft process?
Acquaah: Everything is going well. I’m working out in Glendale, California. Just trying to stay in shape and get ready for the next step. I’ve talked to a couple teams, had a couple interviews. So I’m just trying to push forward and see where I land.
What have the interviews been like? How different has the process been this year?
Yeah, last year was more in-person workouts. I had a few of those, but this year is all interviews so they can get to know your background and get to know you more on a personal level. They’re trying to get to know character and dissect your character.
How do you feel like you did in those workouts last year? Does that feel like a big loss for you, not being able to go out and prove yourself this year against comparable players, let teams see you right next to other guys they might be considering?
It’s truly not that big of a deal to me. I know at some point I’ll get an opportunity to show what I can do. Although the workouts might have helped me and people might have been able to see me, who didn’t get to see me during the regular season because I went to a small school, and see my potential and what I can do against that caliber of player. But I know that it will all work out and I’ll have the opportunity to show what I can do.
What parts of your game do you feel like are going to be most attractive to an NBA team?
I think that I can shoot the ball at a high level. I know I can score the ball at a high level. I know there are a lot of scores in the NBA but I think I can help space the floor for people who are creating and penetrating and drawing two defenders. My scoring ability, my competitiveness, my willingness to do anything to win, really just tenacity. And I feel like I rebound pretty well for my size. That can help.
Watching tape and talking to a few other people about your game, I know that was something that came up. Your ability to grab-and-go, crash the defensive glass and the immediately push the ball in transition. It seems like it’s something you do that’s pretty special.
Yeah, I appreciate that. It’s something that I pride myself on. I think the most important parts of the game are probably rebounding and defending. The team that usually gets the most rebounds and charges in a game usually wins. So it’s something that I’ve tried to implement in my game and I take very seriously.
You probably have a good sense of how teams view you at this point. What kind of things do you feel like you still need to prove to an NBA team?
By the numbers, definitely shooting. Particularly from 3-point range. They may think that I’m not able to shoot from NBA range or whatever the case may be. Also taking care of the ball, being more responsible with the ball. Those are the things that I’ve really been trying to focus on and make sure I continue to improve on.
Do you feel like those things are somewhat situational? At the next level, you might not have quite as much offensive responsibility as you did in college, you might have the benefit of getting some easier shots, more catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, stuff like that?
I definitely think they’re situational but I’m the kind of person that likes to hold myself to a high standard. I always want to take them seriously but it might be easier at the next level even though I’m playing against tougher competition. The opportunity for me to get open shots, to create plays in open space could be a lot easier.
Is there an NBA player you look at as kind of a template for yourself? A guy you look at and think, if I end up on the right team and get the right opportunity I could be that guy in the NBA.
I guy I look at a lot is Eric Bledsoe, the way he attacks the basket and gets downhill and creates plays for himself and his team when he gets in the paint. And then, Kyle Lowry. I feel like he’s overlooked as a great player but he plays both sides of the ball. He’s very tenacious, plays great defense, gets his hands on a lot of balls and he can run a team. It’s hard to compare myself but I try to take from everybody.
I wanted to talk a little bit about your decision to transfer to Cal Baptist. Obviously it was a huge decision in your basketball journey. How do you feel like it benefited you as a player and as a person?
Being home where I grew up and being able to work with people that I always worked on my game with, people who knew me on a personal level, definitely help me take my game to the next level. And being close to family was a luxury and a benefit. And then the environment at CBU was a family environment, and they showed great belief in me from the start.
And probably the biggest benefit is that I grew tremendously in my faith. Once I got to CBU, I was able to really lock in and understand I can’t do anything without God and it really kept me grounded and humble, going from a bigger school to a smaller school. It gave me a different perspective on life and let me know that I can get through anything if I continue to have faith.
It sounds like the decision to transfer was worth it, but is there anything you wish you had the opportunity to do that you traded in for those other benefits?
I wouldn’t say that I would change anything. But I wish that CBU got the exposure that Washington State did. Washington State wasn’t a winning program but they were still a higher-level school and got a little more exposure. People paid a little more attention to them. That’s the only thing that I really wish would have been different. I just feel like CBU was a great fit for me.
I’m wondering if you can talk a little bit about your friendship with Lonzo Ball and what you’ve learned from him having already gone through this process?
We’ve known each other for awhile. When we get together we try to keep our mind off basketball, we don’t talk about it as much. But what I’ve gotten from him is you’re going to have to tune out the media and tune out what people are saying about you and focus on getting better every day. Just focus on what I can control and what I can get better at and let things fall where they may.
So, I double-checked right before we got on the phone and I saw that the Pelicans have three second-round picks — No. 39, No. 42 and No. 60. They could probably use another scoring guard off the bench. How much would you like to play with Lonzo next year?
[Laughing]. Definitely. I’d love to get to play with Lonzo. We got to play together early in our careers when we were very young. We know each other’s games pretty well, and that would definitely be a pretty fun year.