Exclusive Q&A with Jalen Riley: “Sky is the limit, I’m just getting started”

European basketball has seen some fascinating and inspiring stories of players starting from under-the-radar leagues and working their way up to play in the major competitions. One of the primary examples is definitely Jalen Riley, a 6-foot (183-cm) guard from East Tennessee State.

After a rough start to his professional career, with brief stints in Slovakia, Iceland and the Spanish fourth division, Riley found a place where he could make a name for himself in the second division of Lithuania, the NKL. He had an MVP-caliber season, led the league in scoring (26.4 PPG) and made headlines when he scored an NKL all-time record 50 points in a single game.

His breakout year in Lithuania opened the eyes of the major European leagues and he landed an opportunity to play in the French Jeep Elite with Cholet Basket. In France, Riley was able to adjust to a new role coming off the bench and cemented himself as one of the best shooters in Europe. He scored the ball with great efficiency and showed his ability to catch fire quickly, averaging 11.3 points in just 17.2 minutes while knocking down 43.4 percent of his 3-pointers on 5.2 attempts per game.

Sportando had the chance to catch up with Jalen Riley to discuss his inspiring rise from the minor leagues to the Jeep Elite, and the next step that he’s looking to take for this upcoming season.

First of all, how have you been during these times? What have you been up to?

I’m doing good. I started working out two weeks ago, it feels good to get back active after quarantining for so long.

You got to the French Jeep Elite after a breakout season in the Lithuanian NKL. What was this transition like for you, moving from a second division to one of the major leagues in Europe?

I think this transition was just in terms of the competition level. The biggest difference was that instead of just one, two, three guys on the team being able to play at a high level, pretty much all 10-12 players on each team can play at a high level. But other than that, for me personally, basketball has always been basketball. So the biggest difference was just the talent level and that league-wide every team was competitive.

Your career has definitely been a grind. Before you got where you are now, you played in several minor leagues in Spain, Slovakia, Iceland… What was this process like for you from a mental standpoint?

Mentally, it was a grind. It was tough sometimes, there was a couple rough stops in the way so it wasn’t easy, but my mental battle was to get past and get through it. I like to pride myself on my work ethic. It was a grind but it’s something that I knew I was going to get through, I just had to keep putting my head down and keep putting in the work.

How important has it been moving up the ladder step by step before getting to the Jeep Elite? Do you feel like you were ready from the beginning to play against this type of competition or do you think all these previous experiences in the minor leagues helped you get ready for this along the way?

I personally think I was ready for it coming out of college, actually. I think I played well in college and if I was put in the right position coming out of school maybe it would’ve accelerated the process, but at the same time I’m big on faith and I believe that everything happens for a reason. Even with the setbacks and all that you might throw in the mix before me getting to play at a high level in the Jeep Elite, I think that each stop has a certain purpose, whether it’s on a basketball level or a life level. Maybe it was more of a life lesson that made me grow up as a man. I think each step was part of the process, but even though I do believe that all the hard work benefited me in some sort of way, I think that coming out of college I was ready to play at the biggest level. I thought that when I came out of college I had the chance to go the NBA, so I feel like I was capable of playing at a high level in Europe as well. I feel like I was ready but I also know it’s part of the process for me to make those stops and that everything happens for a reason.

What do you feel like you’ve been able to showcase so far as a player and what are the aspects of your game that you want to show more?

I think last year was kind of big for me, I think I showed that I can complement a good basketball team and that I don’t have to be the main, dominant shooter or ball-handler or the primary focus on the team to be able to be effective. I think that helped, I think I was able to showcase that I can play without the ball and that I can play as a complementary piece as well as having a dominant role on the team. I feel like next season will be similar to [my season in] Lithuania, I think I will have a bigger role wherever I’ll go play. Last year I had a different role and I showed that I’m able to play in that way as well. But I think next season I will get an opportunity to showcase a lot that I didn’t showcase in France: a lot more of my playmaking skills and being more of a primary ball handler because last season I played a lot on the wing. I think I have a lot to showcase and I’m excited to get back out there wherever I play next season. I feel like the sky is the limit, I think I’m just getting started even if this will be my sixth season or actually my fourth full season.

What is the next step that you’re looking to take for this upcoming season?

I feel like my market is strong in Europe, so for me when I return to Europe, one of my goals is to play either in the EuroLeague, EuroCup or Champions League. We played some of those teams in France during our regular season so that’s one of my goals next season, to play in a European competition and play at a high level.

What is the mark that you want to leave everytime you finish your job with a team? What do you want to be remembered for by the fans of every team you’ve played for?

Being a competitor, I want my fans to feel that I’m going to go out there and compete, play hard and play to win. And I also want to be able to inspire the youth, wherever I play. Maybe some guys look up to players that are 6’8, 6’9 (203, 206 cm) and they see them do a bunch of things that they will not be able to do. But with me being smaller, I like to think that I’m something more realistic to look up to. With my style of play and grit, I feel like I can inspire a lot of kids. That’s one thing that I like to pride myself on, in each of my stops I’ve always had a big impact on the youth and I’ve been able to inspire a lot of those kids in those areas.

Last question that I was curious to ask you. You graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Management. I assume you will pursue a career in the sports business when your playing career is over…

Yeah, initially that was my goal and that is why I got the degree in Sports Management, because even if maybe I wasn’t able to play the game, I still wanted to stay close to it. I still wanted to have a part in the game, whether it was in management or as an agent. So I got the degree with that mindset. Right now it’s still up in the air on what I’ll do post-career. Me and the people close to me have been proactive with it and trying to see what fits me best, but definitely that’s the reason why I got that degree, because I wanted to be close to the game even if I wasn’t playing.