FRISCO, Texas – RJ Melendez’s time at Mississippi State only spanned 34 games last season, but the relationships he built in Starkville and the impact which Bulldogs head coach Chris Jans had on the young forward will last a lifetime.
“It was amazing, honestly. I’m so glad coach Jans took me into his hands,” Melendez, 22, said after an NBA G-League game at the Texas Legends on Nov. 28. “It really felt like four years. The year I was there felt like a family. I still go back and visit, did this summer. It was great. They stay in contact with me. It’s that family bond we built in one year, but that’s how coach Jans is, he loves his players.
“Nobody recruited me like him, and how he treated me when I was at Mississippi State, that was amazing,” Melendez added. “I wish I would have been with him all four years for sure. I’m grateful my last year was with him, and he was able to give me so much. He prepared me a lot to build my body, my mental toughness. He’s big on mental toughness. Being able to grasp that from him, it was great.”
Melendez, who had spent two seasons in the Big Ten at Illinois and another in the SEC at Georgia prior to his season at State, is now playing for the Mexico City Capitanes of the NBA G-League. And through nine games, including five starts, he’s averaging 1.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.4 blocks while playing 28.1 minutes per game.
“It (coming to the G League) has been a big change, a big change in basketball coming from Puerto Rico playing professionally there and then playing here right now. It’s a whole different game, but I think there’s a lot of possessions, a long game, and it’s a great level of basketball just to develop and being able to just grow from here,” he said. “Main goal is always get a (NBA) callup, try to change my life obviously, but my main goal right now is just doing the right things, being able to learn from everything and just adjusting.”
A native of Arecibo, Puerto Rico who played his high school ball in Florida, Melendez admits that getting to start his professional career where he was born was an incredible experience.
“Just being in my hometown, being next to my grandma every single day, being able to visit her pregame, after the game (those were the best things about it),” he said. “It was just great to have my family down there being able to be in my hometown playing for my home. It was just great.”
Of course, his goal is to add his name to the list of Puerto Rican-born players who made it to the NBA, a group which currently numbers eight.
“Definitely, JJ Barea, Carlos Arroyo, there’s a lot of players who came from Puerto Rico who are inspirations for a lot of young kids,” he said. “Just being able see them around of course now as I play is amazing.”
Melendez knows that if he is to realize his dream of joining his basketball idols from Puerto Rico in the NBA one day, it will be because of defense. He credits Jans for making him a much better defender during his senior season with the Bulldogs by pushing him to realize his full potential in that part of his game.
“He pushed me so hard every single day in practice just by getting better and playing defense. That’s what he wanted to create in me, just a three-and-D (player) and (someone) able to guard the best players,” he said. “I feel like right now, it’s thriving, what he created in me.
“I consider myself just a three-and-D, glue guy trying to get the guys together. Just being able to bring the energy to the guys defensively and them knowing that I got their back no matter what happens on the defensive side and just having that confidence in them (is what I bring to this team). Coach trusts me a lot on defense, so being able to take that role and step up in it has just been one of my main priorities.”
Earlier this season, Melendez and his teammates attended the Detroit Pistons/Dallas Mavericks NBA regular-season game in Mexico City.
“It was a really good game. People don’t realize, but the fanbase down there (in Mexico), they love any NBA team that will go down there and play,” Melendez said. “The stadium packs like 18,000 or 20,000 and it was almost sold out. Seeing the support that people got for the sport, it was amazing.”
That electrifying atmosphere he and his teammates experienced only reminded him of the similar vibes at Humphrey Coliseum while at MSU.
“Oh, (it was) amazing. I would have loved to have actually been able to play there this year, but it was amazing just being able to feel that energy from the Hump,” he said. “The fans, the family, everybody, it just feels like one out there. They make you feel like home. They brought me in. They made me feel at home. I can’t ask for anything better than that.”
Stephen Hunt is a freelance writer based in Frisco, Texas.
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