The Daily Iowan: You made a return to the Prime Time League last week; how’d that come about?
Melsahn Basabe: That was my first game since the season, and I really hadn’t played much up and down. I really just came to start getting into game shape and getting my legs under me.
DI: Playing with and against some of the Hawkeyes, how do they look heading into next season?
Basabe: They’ve got a very talented and skilled team. I would say they definitely have a bright future. All those guys; I see how hard they work, so I would expect to see what I saw [July 17], which was productive play out of everybody.
DI: Other than the Prime Time League, what have you been up to since leaving campus?
Basabe: I’ve just been training with basketball and taking care of my daughter, and really just taking it easy working on my game and taking care of my body so I can be ready to compete. I have an agent, and I’ve been training, and Coach Fran [McCaffery] has been great to me.
DI: So you are staying focused on basketball; do you want to play overseas or something like that?
Basabe: Definitely, yeah. I signed with my agent in April and I’m up to about 10 to 12 jobs right now overseas, so there’s definitely been movement. And now that NBA Summer League is over, I’m expecting any day now, you know, I’m a finalist for a lot of jobs so I’m expecting some offers to be extended to me soon. Hopefully, over the next couple weeks or the next month, I’ll have my deal signed, and then I’ll go ahead and get over to Europe.
I’m definitely still very active in basketball — I don’t know if I need to make an announcement or something like that. I’m still pursuing my basketball dream and taking my career seriously.
DI: Are you still involved with Slime Time?
Basabe: Hell, yeah. I got my own website, slimelifestyle.com, and I’ve released four T-shirt designs. I released a design with a collaboration of me and Devyn Marble. I sold out of all my shirts. I had a lot of shirts that I sold at the Hawkeye basketball camp that I worked back in June because they interested the kids.
I’ve been really active; I want people to see that I’m still participating and doing the right thing. I’m still playing basketball, and my business is definitely established; now I’m taking a break period to try to take the next step and expand it to try to make it better.
It seems to be worth my while with how many people are behind it. But I’m still very passionate about basketball. Both of those things are what I’m doing every day on top of taking care of my family.
DI: Pursuing a professional basketball career and running your own business; talking long-term, what are your big plans and goals?
Basabe: I don’t really like to make projections. My goal is to at each step that I take, hopefully, I make the right move, and I’m prepared for whatever opportunities are presented to me so I can capitalize. Whether a team offers me a contract, I release a product, or add something to my website, I want it to be quality. That’s my only goal is maximize what I’m doing.
