[00:00:14] Speaker A: Hello. Welcome to the Roundhouse podcast with Paul Solentrop of Wichita State strategic communications. Thanks for listening. Today we are going to continue our series on newcomers to the Wichita state basketball program. Our guest is Mate Bosniak. Mate will give us a proper pronunciation for his name here as soon as we can. I know that's important. He's the final newcomer for the men's basketball team. He arrived earlier this month, has been here a couple weeks, almost two weeks. He has a six foot nine center from Zagreb, Croatia. He played for Sibona, a croatian club team in the Adriatic Basketball association, last winter. Mate, pronounce your name for us so we can all get off on the right foot. People see you out on campus and they'll at least have a chance.
[00:00:59] Speaker B: Okay, so the real pronunciation is Mate Bosniak, but I know that for the english speakers, it's pretty tough. So anything close to that, I'm gonna take it.
[00:01:09] Speaker A: Okay, well, we'll do the best we can. How about the other words? Zagreb, Croatia. Did I get those correct?
[00:01:14] Speaker B: Zagreb, Croatia. But, yeah, pretty close.
[00:01:16] Speaker A: Okay. All right. Describe your home country. For fans who maybe aren't familiar, what are the top things people should know? Croatia.
[00:01:24] Speaker B: I mean, Croatia is like, it's a country on the adriatic coast. We're a pretty small country. We have around 4 million people. But, you know, we have a lot of talent for sports as a country in global we, you know, if you look at the money that is being invested in sports and product of our sports, we are, I would say, an unbelievable country, but it has a pretty, pretty nice coast.
Zagreb, the town where I'm from, that's the capital city, it's pretty beautiful. So I would recommend everybody to come check out Croatia.
[00:02:00] Speaker A: A lot of great basketball players from Croatia. We'll get to that later. What's your favorite croatian food?
[00:02:06] Speaker B: My favorite croatian food, it's something called teletinaispotpeke. That's croatian prostitution, but basically it's veal, you know, prepared in a certain type of croatian way.
[00:02:20] Speaker A: Did you prepare for american food or how's that transition going to be?
[00:02:25] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, I've heard a lot about the american, like, culture, so I was trying to prepare for, like, a couple of months, but, you know, it's always something new when you get over here, when it's the real deal. So I'm adapting, but I can think, I can thank our director of recruiting, Ogniena, or OG, as we call him. He has been pretty, pretty helpful to me with the american culture.
[00:02:53] Speaker A: Favorite croatian basketball player.
[00:02:56] Speaker B: Favorite croatian basketball player. Oh, my God.
I'm not gonna say the legends like Drazen Petrovich or Tony Kukuc, because I haven't seen those guys play, but my favorite one that I did see play is Bojan Bogdanovic.
[00:03:12] Speaker A: Okay. Is now with the ox. Nix.
[00:03:16] Speaker B: Nix.
[00:03:16] Speaker A: Knicks. Yes. Yes. Who's your favorite NBA player?
[00:03:20] Speaker B: Oh, that's a tough question. My favorite NBA player historically, Kobe Bryant is, like, my idol.
My biggest idol. But currently, I would say that's a really tough question for me, but Anthony Davis.
[00:03:43] Speaker A: Anthony Davis. Okay. What do you like about Anthony Davis game?
[00:03:47] Speaker B: I mean, it's because, you know, he's a beast both defensively and offensively. You know, he's a really, really, like, talented big man. Sometimes he looks like a guard, you know, in a big man's body. So that's something I really, really like about him.
[00:04:01] Speaker A: So, sports in Croatia, soccer is big. Basketball is big. Tell us, what's the. What's it. What's the atmosphere for sports in your country?
[00:04:10] Speaker B: I mean, soccer, you know. Yes. Soccer is by far the biggest sport in Croatia. It's like when the croatian national team in soccer plays, it's basically like on holiday, you know, in Croatia, basketball was, for many years, close second. But over the last couple of years, other sports have, like, caught up. I don't know, water polo, handball. You know, those are sports that we had a lot of success in. So I'm hoping that basketball will get where it was, I don't know, 2030 years ago.
[00:04:45] Speaker A: Did you play soccer growing up?
[00:04:47] Speaker B: Not, like, really played. You know, of course, I played with my friends, you know, in the school playgrounds and stuff like that, because it's inevitable to play soccer. When you're a kid in Croatia, your.
[00:05:00] Speaker A: Father played professional basketball. Tell me about his influence on you and you becoming a basketball player.
[00:05:08] Speaker B: He's my. My parents, you know, both of them are my. My, like, my. Two of my biggest role models in life. And, you know, not just in basketball, but in life generally. But, yeah, in regards to basketball, he's my. He's my biggest, like, inspiration. He's my biggest critic, but my biggest motivator.
A lot of stuff that I know I learned from him. So I'm really thankful to him, you know, for taking the time to learn all that.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: I know I might need your help again on the pronunciation, but you are a big supporter of the croatian soccer club Haiduk split. Haiduk split.
[00:05:45] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:46] Speaker A: Okay. Tell us a little bit about that and describe the eternal derby, which I guess is kind of the. That's the big rivalry.
[00:05:53] Speaker B: Yeah, the bigger. You know, it's a little bit strange because Heyduk's biggest rival is from Zagreb, so I grew up in Zagreb, but I'm the fan of the rival club.
Yeah. It's because my parents are from the coast and split is on the adriatic coast. And so I was brought up in that culture, you know, from my grandfather to my dad.
It's a. I don't know, it's bigger than life, you know, Heidiq is.
That's something that I cannot explain. You need to come there to see it. So we're going through a tough time for these past, I don't know, 1520 years. But that's the big passion about the club, because even though the club is in rubble, I can say, I mean, not rubble, really, but we have won the championship in, I don't know, 20 years. But still, the support is great, and we're loyal. So that's the big, big thing is.
[00:06:53] Speaker A: I always associate chanting with european soccer. Does Haiduke have a chance?
[00:06:58] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, we have the best fan group in Croatia called Tortida Split. So they're always, it doesn't matter, you know, where hey plays there. They're always there. So there's a part about Heidiq.
[00:07:18] Speaker A: Will you be able to watch them play here in the United States?
[00:07:22] Speaker B: I hope so. You know, it's. It's a seven, seven hour time difference, so it's a lot, but I don't know. We'll squeeze it in. I'll make time for it.
[00:07:32] Speaker A: And the eternal derby. Let's go back to that. Describe that rivalry.
[00:07:34] Speaker B: Oh, my God. You know, if it's played in Zagreb or in split, it doesn't matter where, you know, it's police escorts everywhere. You know, the streets are shut off sometimes it doesn't feel like. It feels like a hostile environment sometimes, which is, I don't know, for young kids, it's not pretty. You know, it's not pretty safe. But, you know, dinamo is beating us, I don't know, for the last couple of years, so we'll get him back eventually.
[00:08:06] Speaker A: You are also a fan of the NFL's Green Bay packers. How did that develop?
[00:08:11] Speaker B: I mean, funny. It's not a funny story, but, you know, when I was a kid, I was, like, going through YouTube and stuff like that, so I came, like, a mixtape of it, Aaron Rodgers. So I started, you know, to watch that, and I. I mean, it's the beautiful. It's beautiful just the way that he plays and started watching some games and I don't know. I just fell in love with the sport. I haven't played it.
I mean, I didn't play at all. I don't even know how to throw football, you know, but I watch, like, every game that I can, and I. And I love, and I love the packers, even though the Rogers is not even, is not even on the packers anymore, but I still got a lot for them.
[00:08:51] Speaker A: Okay, I'm sensing loyalty here then. You're sticking with the soccer club. You're sticking with the packers even without Aaron Rodgers.
[00:08:57] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:58] Speaker A: Tell us about your journey here to Wichita State. How did you choose Wichita State?
[00:09:04] Speaker B: I mean, I was like, after last season, when my last season ended in April, I was looking through my options, and I saw that the college option is open for me.
The people from Wichita, you know, mostly OG and coach Mills, like, contacted me. We had, like, a zoom call where they presented to me how they see me in the team, like, the culture of Wichita State, and, like, and I felt, like, good energy from them, like, from the beginning. So that's why I chose them.
[00:09:42] Speaker A: So this is your first trip to the United States. What's that like? Was that scary proposition at all? How did you approach that?
[00:09:52] Speaker B: I mean, it kind of was because this is my first time leaving home and, you know, for first time leaving home, you know, I don't know how many thousand miles differences is pretty big difference. But I was talking with my parents, my girlfriend, you know, and we came to the conclusion that this is the best, you know, development plan for me and my career and that I can finish up my degree that I started in Zagreb because education is important to me. So it was a no brainer, really.
[00:10:27] Speaker A: So we know you follow the NBA. You follow the NFL. Have you watched much college basketball over the years?
[00:10:34] Speaker B: I was more watching it before. I mean, first time that I've heard of Wichita State is when the team, I think 2013 went to the Final four. I'm not sure.
Yeah, that's the first time I watched some of it. I want to say that I was watching all the games, but I know mostly the game of college basketball.
[00:10:58] Speaker A: You knew the final four in 2013.
You were paying attention, definitely. Describe your game on the court. What do you want shocker fans to know about how you play my game?
[00:11:10] Speaker B: You know, I would say that I can do a little bit of everything. You know, I can shoot it from outside. I can go to work, you know, inside on a low block.
I think, you know, that I'm tough. I think the fans will decide when we started, you know, but all I can say to the fans is that I will give everything that I have on the court all the time, and.
And I wish for most of the fans to come to the games this year.
[00:11:41] Speaker A: We always hear that european basketball players are more skilled, that their fundamentals are better, shooting, footwork, passing, those kind of things. Tell us a little about how you learned the game. What was your practice routine? How did you go about becoming a basketball player in Croatia?
[00:11:58] Speaker B: I mean, learning the game of basketball in Croatia is basically, until you are, I don't know, 1314, everybody's doing everything. You know, it doesn't matter if you're. You're tall, you're short, or, you know, I don't know what, but everybody's doing the same, you know, dribbling, shooting. So then you see who can do what. But I can say that the principles of the workouts and everything is pretty different. You know, players over here are much more, you know, athletic, fast. They can jump higher and everything.
But that's. That's the part that I'm gonna need to adapt over here, and I'm pretty certain that I can do that.
[00:12:45] Speaker A: If you weren't playing basketball, what sport might you be playing?
[00:12:49] Speaker B: What sport? Ooh, I don't know.
I mean, I would say soccer, but I'm too tall for soccer, so I would say volleyball. I would say volleyball. Yeah.
[00:13:07] Speaker A: Okay. When did basketball become your favorite sport?
[00:13:15] Speaker B: When my dad brought me to my first game when I was, like, seven or eight. I'm not sure, somewhere around that time.
[00:13:21] Speaker A: So you will wear number 17 for the shockers. Tell us the story behind that number.
[00:13:27] Speaker B: So, number 34 is my favorite number. So that's the number that I wanted to wear. But when I saw that it was retired because of Xavier McDaniel, you know, I had no chance of wearing it because he's a legend. But, yeah, it's because my sister, who plays volleyball professionally in Croatia, she wears number 17. So it was pretty easy, you know, divide 34 by two. It's 17. She wears 17. So it was a pretty easy, you know, decision.
[00:13:55] Speaker A: We mentioned your mom and your dad, and now your sister. Give us their names.
[00:13:59] Speaker B: So, my father's name is Mario, my mother's name is Katarina, and my sister name is Donka.
[00:14:06] Speaker A: Okay.
You've been here a couple weeks. Is there a teammate that's really kind of helped you get adjusted to whether it's practice drills or whether it's where do I go out to eat? How do I get around town? Anybody that's been helpful?
[00:14:21] Speaker B: I mean, I really can't, you know, like, point out to only one teammate. All of the guys have been great. Really. I can't thank them enough, you know, for the way that they accepted me. We have, like, great chemistry in the team. I mean, for now, for this early part of the season, everybody's been great. Everybody offered the help, you know, with the adjustments. So I can point out one.
[00:14:45] Speaker A: Who is the best opponent you've faced any level of basketball? Who's the best guy you've been on the court against?
[00:14:53] Speaker B: Oh, best player that I played against. So when I played in the under 17 World cup, we played against the United States.
We lost by 70. I'm not really proud to say it. So it was a great team. You know, they had players like Jalen Green, Evan Mobleye, Scotty Barnes. So those three. And when I played against Turkey, actually, the toughest guy that I played against is Alper and Schengen. He now plays for the Houston Rockets. He was pretty tough to play against.
[00:15:30] Speaker A: Okay, that's some good names. You've been on the court with. Some good. Some good guys. All right, last question. We'll get you out of here with a kind of a tough one. Your team is down 1.20 seconds to play. Who do you want taking the final shot? Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, or Kevin Durant?
Whoa.
And I guess we can throw in Anthony Davis there, since he's your favorite. Although I don't know if you'd want him. He's good. I don't know if you would want him before any of those.
[00:15:57] Speaker B: No, not before those three guys.
I'm gonna give it to LeBron. You know, he's been there, done that, you know, for 20 plus years. I believe in him.
[00:16:08] Speaker A: Okay, solid choice. All right, mate. Bosniak, final newcomer for Wichita state men's basketball team. Thank you very much for your time.
[00:16:15] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:16:31] Speaker C: Great insight, as always. Thanks for listening to the Roundhouse podcast, courtesy of Wichita State University strategic communications. We encourage you to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can always find more roundhouse
[email protected].
[00:16:47] Speaker B: Martin.
[00:16:48] Speaker D: Left wing to Mike Jones, 8 seconds left. Smithson out to Mike Jones, 25 footer. Good. He got it. With 3 seconds left, Mike Jones from about 25ft out, hit another long jumper. 2 seconds showing on the clock. That may not be official, but Wichita State leads 6665. Timeout, Kansas, 2 seconds ago. Wichita State, 66, Kansas, 65.
