Willie Cauley-Stein (213-C-1993, college: Kentucky) is a 30 year old 213cm center from Kansas that is playing his first season overseas with Openjobmetis Varese (Italy-Serie A). He played in the NBA for 8 seasons totaling 428 games for teams like Sacramento Kings (4 years), Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets. He also played in the G-League last season with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers averaging 7.2ppg, 6.1rpg, 2.4apg, 1.1spg, 1.0bpg, FGP-2 (70.1%), 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 51.4% he began his basketball career at Northwest high school and then played at Kentucky (NCAA) from 2012-2015 and was drafted at #6 in the 2015 NBA draft. He spoke to germanhoops.com before a Fiba Europe Cup game against BG Goettingen.

Thanks Willie for talking to germanhoops.com. Where are you at the moment and how is basketball life treating you?

I was about to retire from hoops and the opportunity popped up and my family and I decided that It could be a fun journey, I had never been to Europe before and always planned on going sometime to travel and see a different part of the world and experience a different culture. So I said what the hell might as well go play one season and see if its something I can see myself doing for multiple years and getting to kill 2 birds with one stone by getting paid to travel Europe and play basketball seemed like a no brainer

After 8 seasons in the NBA, you have decided to come overseas and play with Openjobmetis Varese (Italy-Serie A). Why did you decide to come overseas? Did you lose faith in the NBA process? I can imagine the drive to win some titles also must of driven you?

I think winning a title is a bi product of choosing to experiment with the Euro market.

A lot of guys come overseas after starting in the NBA and do get back with PJ Tucker as the best example? How present is the NBA still in your mind now?

I’m just playing and trying to live in this current space in time. If opportunity presents itself and the money makes sense I would give it more thought. But for right now I can only be where I’m at now and so it makes no sense to think about the possibility of something that’s not reality

What kind of an experience has it been playing in Italy? The Serie A is one of the best leagues and Joe Bryant the dad of Kobe also played in Italy in the late 80´s.

My experience has been very welcoming, the fans eat, sleep, and breath this sport so it makes playing in these games incredibly fun and easy to want to play well and try to give them a win.

What have you learned to appreciate most about the Italian culture? Do you sense like you get extra service mainly because you played so long in the NBA?

I think just the amount of passion the people have. And there is defiantly a little extra something because of the success of my journey so far

The club has started slowly in the Serie A. Looking at the roster, it seems like depth is missing on the import positions. Has that been a reason for the slow start?

I think its just a whole new team and only 1-2 guys played real impactful minutes last year so with that and having a new head coach and new front office, the team has just been trying to figure it all out and going through some growing pains.

What has it been like being teammates with fellow ex NBA player Sean McDermott? Both of you are overseas for the first time. What have you appreciated most about his game?

It’s been a treat getting to work along side a guy like Sean. His work ethic pushes me to match his level and has made me a better player in itself. And feeding off his faith in God is very impactful for me as well. Both of us come from similar back grounds and having similar off the court interests help keep us grounded by being so far from home. And we are both girl dads and are very new to being fathers so we get to share parenting stories and theory’s on bus rides we sit next to each other, so there are lots of opportunities to just talk about real life things.

You have needed no adjustment time getting used to the game overseas. Your putting up good stats in the Serie A and Fiba Europe Cup. What has been your secret to being able to adjust so well?

I’ve been playing high level basketball for probably 15 years, so that’s half my life I have been crafting at this game, and having the trust from my coaches and front office and teammates has been the biggest factor for me. They allow me to be Willie Trill and not a version of who think I should be. I think the European game really caters to the way I was taught to play the game, I never was a really big 1 on 1 guy, and I enjoy the ball movement and how everyone is involved on the offensive side. It is a true breath of fresh air.

You’re a player that can score and rebound, but also block shots. How big of a challenge is it becoming a defensive stopper overseas for you?

I´m not really looking or trying to be a defensive stopper. Im a firm believer in just being present, and playing hard and letting the game take shape on how it was written. I just study the scouting report and learn tendencies of players and try to just make the game harder for the offense. It’s very naive to think you’re just going to stop someone from scoring every time so by not putting that added pressure on myself is the key in my mind.

You played at Kentucky (NCAA) from 2012-2015. What memories do you have of sharing the court with fellow freshman Nerlens Noel? Did the fact that you were his back up already teach you gto rind harder as a freshman?

Well funny thing is I was actually playing along side of him at the 4 in the beginning I was coming off the bench as Kyle Wiltjer’s back up. I didn’t have to start playing out of my position at the 5 until Nerlens tour his ACL, and then I had to start at the 5 for the remainder of the year. And I was a 4 star kid coming into college with a bunch of 5 stars and 1 and 2 ranking guys in the class, so I was already discouraged because my skill level wasn’t at the same level as the rest of them. I just made it a thing for myself that I was going to come in and outwork them. And use the abilities that you can’t teach to be able to compete.

It is difficult to think how the 2014-2015 team couldn´t win the NCAA title. You had 9 future NBA players and Devin Booker coming form the bench? Was that the greatest Kentucky team on paper?

And nahhh it’s not difficult to think that. You can’t win them all. There’s no doubt in my mind if the tournament dynamic was more than just lose or go home. We would win 9-10 games and they just happened to beat us on the first 1. I think it was one of the greatest teams in NCAA history with how we played a platoon system. No player got to play more than 20 minutes, nobody got to average big numbers, the load of the game was truly spread out through 10 guys. Even though we didn’t win a title going to the final 4 2 years in a row and actually making it to the finals the year before and then making it while being undefeated is probably only going to happen once every couple of decades.

Was the 71-64 loss to Wisconsin in the NCAA Final 4 your toughest loss as a player? What memories do you have of that?

I personally think the loss to Robert Morris my freshman year in the NIT was the toughest loss of my college career, also watching the final 4 my sophomore year due to a broken ankle was tough. We had made such an amazing run from being as an 8 seed to making it all the way to the final was an amazing experience and coming up short was pretty heart wrenching. I thought that if I hadn’t been hurt we matched up with UConn really well with my ability to switch out on guards and take away the switch advantage that Shabazz and Ryan created with me off the court and really took advantage of that.

How good was the bond then. Do you guys still keep in touch?

We was a very tight nit group which was why we had so much fun and success that year.

How did head coach John Calipari groom and prepare you best for a professional career?

The way he runs the program is pretty much mirrored from the NBA, so guys that go through Kentucky are already ready for what the NBA is going to be like. From workouts, to terminology, and defensive schemes are already being taught.

Who won a 1-1 in practice you or Karl Anthony-Towns?

Haha man I actually never played 1-1 against him, we always played on the same team in practice

What memories do you have of the 2015 NBA Draft night? It must have been like a class trip with 6 Wild Cats being drafted?

Just having all my friends and family there. Some of my family were there first time even in New York so just seeing them experience that was bigger than me being drafted.

You played your first 4 years with the Sacramento Kings. What do you remember being your wake up call to the NBA?

I think just the amount of games we play and how much you don’t actually get to practice. There is a lot of free time to try and navigate through as well.

You had some real NBA vets on the team with Caron Butler and Rudy Gay. Do you have a meaningful story with them?

Man I had so many great vets over the years. Spent a lot of time talking with Matt Barnes, Zbo, Vince Carter, Garret Temple, George Hill. All of these guys were high character guys and had very successful careers and gave a lot of gems to us young guys.

What was it like battling big man DeMarkus Cousins. Were you able to get some tips from him for your bag?

Hardest guy I’ve ever had to guard was Boogie. Learned a lot about footwork and how to use your body from him

In your third season you were able to call yourself teammates with Mr dunk Vince Carter. How did you experience him at that stage of his career?

He was damn near a player coach for us that year, learned a ton by just watching his routines

In your rookie season you beat the Lakers 3 times and in 2 games Kobe Bryant played. In only your second NBA game you played against him scoring 17 points while he had 13 points. What kind of a moment was that for you? Did you ever attempt small talk?

Dang hearing the stats like this makes me think about it a lot differently now. I regrettably never was one to fan boy over Kobe at the time. But due to his passing I wish I would’ve got a picture or autograph from him just to have in the memorabilia room at the home front.

In your fifth season you split time with Golden State and Dallas. What kind of an experience was it being teammates with Steph Curry. Many people have him on their NBA Mount Rushmore whereas in 2015 it wasn´t the case?

It was great to learn how to craft your game and how to carry yourself as a player and father. Just a super class act human.

You played parts of 3 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks. You witnessed Luka Magic close hand. What is the most amazing thing that you ever saw him do that TV camera´s didn´t capture?

I don’t know off the top of my head, I never really gave too much attention to what he was doing

In your last season in Dallas you finished with the 76ers. How tough was that last season as you didn´t get much minutes. How tough can that be mentally for a player?

I was going through a lot of off the court stuff with one of my best friends getting murdered right after I signed with G state, so navigating that grief, then being traded and not getting to play real minutes any more it was like having to start all over getting the trust from a new coaching staff and new teammates. And not even a month after being traded to Dallas my little brother passed away. And then going into the covid era I had my first kid and we found out my grandmother who raised me and my older brother had got diagnosed with cancer and we actually lost her that December which was around the same time I got released from Dallas. So given how life was moving for me basketball in those couple years wasn’t an escape anymore, with not getting to play and trying to navigate life without key members of my circle it was extremely difficult. I was just trying to keep my head above water at that point.

You played your 8th professional season with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (NBA G League) averaging 7.2ppg, 6.1rpg, 2.4apg, 1.1spg, 1.0bpg, FGP-2 (70.1%), 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 51.4%. How tough was this season after 7 seasons in the NBA? What did you learn about the business?

I learned that the business be lying, and that to take advantage of every opportunity no matter what it looks like

Who was the toughest player that you faced in the NCAA that reached the NBA?

I don’t even know off the top of my head haha most of the guys where on my team

Who were your 3 toughest players in the NBA that you faced?

everyone is such an amazing talent I can’t just choose 3

Please name your 5 best teammates of all-time?

Another tough question. I’ve had tons of great teammates, it would be impossible to choose 5

Please list your personal NBA Mount Rushmore?

Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, LeBron, Kobe, KD, Steph

Who is your GOAT and why?

My goat is Tim Duncan because the way he approached the game and just went to work, didn’t talk much, wasn’t a “raw” “raw” type of player which I find the similarity in myself with that. He just showed up, showed out and got the job done. Won 5 rings averaged a double double and he was the guy when I was a kid playing in my backyard that I was pretending to play against when dreaming about playing in the NBA.

Did you see the sequel to the classic Coming To America? Shouldn´t they have left it alone?

I never watched it. Shoot to be honest I don’t think I have ever even sat down and watched the OG movie as an adult yet.

Thanks Willie for the chat.