{"id":89538,"date":"2025-07-24T20:37:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T20:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/89538\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T20:37:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T20:37:09","slug":"nba-summer-league-gives-alabama-state-alum-tj-madlock-his-first-taste-of-the-pros-andscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/89538\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Summer League gives Alabama State alum TJ Madlock his first taste of the pros \u2014 Andscape"},"content":{"rendered":"

After Alabama State guard TJ Madlock<\/a> wasn\u2019t selected in the 2025 NBA draft, a last-minute call changed his summer plans.<\/p>\n

Instead of spending the summer working out while preparing to play professional basketball overseas, Madlock boarded a flight to Detroit to play with the Detroit Pistons in NBA Summer League from July 10-20<\/a> in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

Madlock was one of three players from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to participate in NBA Summer League this year. Former Howard forward Steve Settle III<\/a> played for Miami<\/a>, as did former Winston-Salem State guard Javonte Cooke.<\/p>\n

Former Winston-Salem State guard sees the opportunity in NBA HBCU Classic spotlightRead now<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe moment I found out I was on the roster I was too excited,\u201d Madlock told Andscape. \u201cI was actually on the way to a workout. I got a call from my agent, and he was like, \u2018I think we got a spot for you.\u2019 Man, as soon as he told me that it just made me want to hurry up and get to my workout and get better, get ready professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Madlock, a 6-foot-3 playmaker who earned All-Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) second-team<\/a> honors and helped Alabama State end a 14-year NCAA tournament drought<\/a>, is known for his versatility and defensive intensity. In two games, Madlock finished Summer League averaging<\/a> 6.0 points and shooting 50% from the field. His best performance occurred on July 19, when he scored nine points<\/a> in 15 minutes during the Pistons\u2019 consolation game against the San Antonio Spurs.<\/p>\n

He hopes his play in Las Vegas proved to NBA teams that he can hold his own against elite-level talent. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want to show everybody that I\u2019m a team player first,\u201d Madlock said. \u201cI would never go out there and try to be selfish and just think about myself. I try to be a team-first player that makes everyone better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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He played at Alabama State under his father, Hornets head coach Tony Madlock<\/a>, who raved about his son\u2019s basketball IQ but believes his greatest strength is on the defensive side.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a natural defender, he has long arms, and he rebounds really, really well for a guard,\u201d Tony Madlock said. \u201cThen he\u2019s physical [and] he\u2019s strong. He\u2019s got to continue to work on his shooting, but I think those things that I talked about will help him be able to get on the floor somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andscape spoke with T.J. Madlock about the opportunity to participate in Summer League, what he hoped to showcase to NBA teams in Las Vegas, and what lessons he learned while beginning his professional basketball career.<\/p>\n

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n

What was your mindset going into Summer League?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My mindset coming in was just to be a good teammate, good play overall. \u2026 Just do what I\u2019ve been doing my whole career and try to be myself. The coaches and the players told us to always play hard and always make the right play. Don\u2019t go out there and be selfish. It was a good [kind of] nervous, though, like, just ready to get out there, ready to live my dream for real.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How would you describe your Summer League experience and learning from the Pistons\u2019 coaching staff?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The way I\u2019m growing is just learning, learning so much from this coaching staff and these players that\u2019ve been here already, teaching me different defensive strategies, different ways to shoot, rebound and run. I\u2019m just learning so much that I haven\u2019t seen before.<\/p>\n

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What are some differences going from collegiate basketball to professional basketball?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some differences from college ball to professional ball is that a point guard has to be able to guard on defense. That\u2019s the main thing that point guards have to do, and [they also must] be able to facilitate. So just going out there and trying to go from a scoring guard in college to a point guard in the league, I\u2019m just trying to make that adjustment out there and feel pretty good. <\/p>\n

When I walked into the facility \u2026 coming here and seeing all the different stuff they have, coming from where I came from, it was overwhelming. Just seeing all the types of treatment they had and snacks and drinks and all that, man, it was unbelievable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How did playing at Alabama State and in the SWAC prepare you for your professional career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alabama State prepared me in a bunch of different ways. \u2026 Playing in the SWAC, you have to be a dog. Everybody that plays in the SWAC they play hard, and they go at it. So just playing there it really helped me get to this, the toughness level.<\/p>\n

What lessons did you learn under your father that you\u2019re applying to your pro career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

He taught me to always be a good teammate, no matter what I\u2019m doing. If I\u2019m playing 30 minutes a game or if I\u2019m playing zero minutes a game, always be a good teammate. Always try to do the right things on and off the court. So I think that helped me a lot, just taking everything he taught me wherever I go.\u00a0<\/p>\n

My dad told me don\u2019t go out there and be nervous or be timid. Go out there, relax and play the game that I\u2019ve been playing my whole life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What were your goals going into Summer League?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Earning a spot, man, obviously, that\u2019s been my dream \u2014 especially from an HBCU that has just been the most to me \u2014 to represent those Black colleges. I want to go out [and] represent HBCUs and show that we can do anything and play with anybody.<\/p>\n

After having the opportunity to play in Summer League, what advice would you give younger HBCU players to go pro?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I say always stay ready, always work hard, never give up and just be yourself. Don\u2019t ever back down from competition. Stay consistent. Stay in the gym; don\u2019t ever get out of the gym. It\u2019s muscle memory.<\/p>\n

Mia Berry is the senior HBCU writer for Andscape and covers everything from sports to student-led protests. She is a Detroit native (What up Doe!), long-suffering Detroit sports fan and Notre Dame alumna who randomly shouts, “Go Irish.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After Alabama State guard TJ Madlock wasn\u2019t selected in the 2025 NBA draft, a last-minute call changed his…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":89539,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[1260,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-89538","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-nba","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114910137057610491","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}