- [Tyrese Maxey:] In the eighth grade, I told him (Uncle)
I was gonna be a McDonald's All-American.
I told him I was gonna, you know, go to Kentucky
and try to go to the NBA.
- [Commentator:] Nice screen from Richards.
Maxey in traffic, gets it to go.
What a shot from Maxey.
And Tyrese Maxey, first bucket of the game.
He does it with a left.
Maxey, that gets the Wildcats crowd off their feet.
- [Maxey:] So, my alarm clock goes off at 4:50
every single morning.
Most of the time, my uncle throws something together,
a little breakfast sandwich,
and then we're getting to the gym by 5:45. Stretch,
start working out at 6.
As soon as the workout is done at around 7:15, 7:20,
head to the weight room.
Morning.
- [Receptionist:] Good morning.
- [Maxey:] How are you?
Go get a good lift in
at about 8 o'clock over there at Sports Rehab.
Finish the lift around 9 o'clock.
Now I'm coming back at 10;
it's my third workout of the day,
and people haven't even got woken up yet.
That's just a psychological advantage
that I think I have over some players.
- [Chris Johnson:] Now you're looking to get your drag action for three.
OK, ready to come get it?
Normally the predraft process is a little bit faster.
It's about two months.
So, whenever you take a timeframe
like we've experienced in the pandemic,
it has allowed for the people
that really wanted to put in the time
to get better.
- You know, it's been different
because of COVID, for sure. It's not what I expected,
not what I envisioned in my mind.
But, I mean, it happens.
You know, you have to adapt to the situation.
I like to keep my head down and grind.
So, I've got to focus extremely hard
on my grind and just working out
and spending extra time with family and friends.
- [Brandon McKay:] It's just been embracing the situation, circumstances,
just been grinding.
It's honestly kind of worked out
cuz it's helped him just stay in the gym more.
And that's it.
I mean, that's pretty much all he wants to do anyway is work out.
- When we first got out here,
my entire family was out here: my mom, my dad,
my sisters, grandmother.
And we were all out here together.
But now it's just me and him, so that's crazy.
That's how you can tell how long we've been here.
We got here before summer started,
and we still here when we in a whole new season.
We in fall now.
So, like, it's just crazy. But, I mean, it's been cool, man.
Just been keeping my head low, grinding.
Starting at 6 every single morning, you know, since May 23.
- [Johnson:] So, our goal every day for Tyrese is to make over 2,000 shots.
So if you look at 2,000 times six,
that's what, 12,000 shots a week?
Over a five-, six-month period, that's a lot of shots.
And that's made shots.
So it wasn't complex; it was super simple.
This is what we have to correct.
Let's put in the work.
- [Maxey:] It's been great working out with Chris.
I really appreciate him because
when I first got out here,
they set my schedule for 10 o'clock.
And I told him, I was like—
he calls the gym the barbershop—
and I told him I wanted to be the first one in the shop,
first one in the chair every single day until I'm gone.
And he said, "OK, fine, we're gonna get here at 6."
- [Johnson:] 5:45, 5 a.m. is not for everybody.
Not only basketball players but people
are products of what we do every day,
like daily routine.
It's like brushing your teeth.
It's like tying your shoes.
You don't think about it.
You just do it over and over again.
And that's what basketball is.
It's about creating a routine
that you can continue to build on top of.
[Crowd cheering] - [Maxey:] Ahh!
- [McKay:] Tyrese, he gets the waking up early
from my mom and his other grandmom.
They wake up 5:15, 5:30 every morning.
From working out two or three times a day,
watching film with his dad after games,
watching just regular games,
whether it's NBA or college,
it just seems like it's basketball, basketball, basketball.
- [Maxey:] So in second grade, my dad,
he asked me who my favorite player was.
And I told him Dwyane Wade.
And his response to that was:
"If you want to be like Dwyane Wade,
you have to put time in in the gym.
It's not all about when you go to practice
and when you play in the game.
You gotta put in after hours.
You gotta put in extra hours of work.
And outwork people."
And ever since that day, you know, it kind of clicked in my mind,
like: "OK, fine. If that's what it takes to be great,
then that's what I'm gonna do."
I don't want to have any what-ifs
or "Dang, I wish I could have."
I wanna be able to say I laid it all out on the line
and I maximized my potential
and got 1 percent better every single day.
- [Commentator 1:] Maxey the other way with a spin move. Hangs...and hits!
- [Commentator 2:] Oh, oh! He is acrobatic. Oh, they love it.
- [Johnson:] You know, there's a major difference
between being a really elite pro
and being a collegiate basketball player.
And that separation is in the brain.
So when you watch these great players play,
they can dominate the game from a mental standpoint.
They're that much better than you because of the brain.
And we call it planning from the neck up.
- [Maxey:] My thing is, if you put the work in,
like, I put so much time in in the gym—these 6 a.m. workouts,
these after-practice shooting and before-game shooting—
I have so much confidence in myself.
So every time I step on the court, you know, I know what I can do.
And people ask me, you know, if I made certain shots,
like, "Did you know you can make those?"
I'm like: "Man, I work on those shots every single day.
It wasn't nothing new to me."
- [Commentator 1:] Maxey knocks one down.
What a big answer.
- [Commentator 2:] A huge answer by Tyrese Maxey.
- [John Calipari:] Tyrese is a winning player.
First of all, he's a terrific basketball player.
And kind of like I've said about Jamal and Tyler and Shai,
you're gonna regret not taking this kid.
He falls in the same mode of,
he has all kind of ways to score the basketball.
I mean, those kind of kids have that spirit about 'em.
So, I have a lot of faith in wherever he goes,
they will call me and say, "Wow, we are so happy
that we took him."
- What up?
- [Denyse Maxey:] I was just thinking of you.
- You're on the camera, so don't be...
- [Brandon:] Talking crazy. - Don't be out here talking crazy now.
[Denyse laughing]
No, you know, you liable to say anything.
- [Denyse:] No, not at all. How are you today, son?
- Mm-mm. [Denyse laughing]
That ain't real. That was fake.
- [Denyse:] Yes, we're super excited.
I can't wait.
I don't know, I'm excited.
I guess excited and nervous
and happy and elated all in one emotion.
That's the scary part, right?
You know, what's gonna happen?
What number is he gonna go?
Where is he gonna go?
Where is he gonna live?
What is he gonna feel like?
All of that, all in one emotion, I think.
I guess same thing every parent feels, right?
- Yeah, I guess you're right.
- [Johnson:] I can't speak for everyone else
on the amount of work that was put in.
But he's not only ready to be drafted,
he's ready to contribute.
So, I'm very interested in looking
at what the draft class looks like this year for him.
No summer league.
You know, this is gonna be a new season for everybody.
- [McKay:] Every kid has that goal
of becoming a professional athlete.
But to actually know somebody
or to be related to somebody, to be close to somebody,
and you actually see the whole process play out,
it's gonna be crazy, and it's just gonna be a great time.
- [Maxey:] Not many people can say that they did exactly
what they wanted to do with their life.
So, you know, I was blessed,
and the Lord blessed me to be able to play basketball.
I really appreciate Chris.
And it's just amazing to have people in your corner.
Not just him. My dad's been here, my mom,
my sister, my grandmother,
my nieces. Everybody's been here.
You know, they all support me.
It's just been an amazing time, and I can't wait for the future.