Throughout the fall, umterps.com will be featuring a different men's basketball player (or players) each week leading up the start of the 2019-20 campaign. Be sure to follow along with additional player-specific content on Maryland basketball's social media platforms on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for more on each player. Today's featured player is Jalen Smith from Baltimore, Md. Here's five burning questions with Jalen!
Can you feel the difference in your game now that you've put on extra weight and gotten stronger over the offseason?
"I feel like I can control my body a lot more. I'm able to withstand a lot more hits and I'm able to move around a lot more quicker than I did last year."
Now that you've become gym rat, what is your favorite exercise/lift to do and least favorite?
"I'd say bench press is my favorite because I can bench press a lot and I've become pretty good at it. For people with long arms it's not natural to bench press a lot, so I'm proud of that accomplishment. Least favorite? I'm not the biggest fan of pull-ups. Pull-ups with weights are so tiring on the arms."
What did you learn about yourself from experience during your freshman season that you can apply to this year?
"I just learned that it was a lot of trial and error. You learn from your mistakes. Now it's pretty much just taking all the mistakes and correcting them and making sure that you can do the best that you can."
What drives you as a competitor?
"Every time I go out on that hard floor and see that my teammates are there with me, it drives me. Our competitiveness drives each other to win.
What's something you're better than anyone on the team at? (video games, etc.)
"Oh I'm the best at everything (laughs). That's just a given fact. Basketball, video games, dancing, jokes, just anything you can think of, I'm the best at."
