When Seton Hall senior forward Sandro Mamukelashvili retreated to a home in rural Shawnee on Delaware, Pa. this summer, he trained a little bit like Sylvester Stallone in Rocky III.
That’s the one where Rocky Balboa trained with Apollo Creed on the beach and in the low-budget, old-school Tough Gym in Los Angeles for the rematch with Clubber Lang.
Like Rocky, the 6-foot-10 Mamukelashvili didn’t do much except train two or three times a day. Unlike Rocky, he also played Fortnite, watched Netflix and posted a video on Tik Tok of two deer fighting after witnessing it during a walk in the woods.
“I just loved it, to be honest,” Mamukelashvili told NJ Advance Media. “I just focused on getting better. There was no distractions. My brother [David] was 10 minutes away from me so I loved it. To be honest, I miss it sometimes. It’s so peaceful out there, all you gotta do is focus on basketball.”
With Seton Hall’s season set to start in late November, the Pirates and the entire Big East are expecting big things from “Mamu.”
On Wednesday, he was named a unanimous selection to the All-Big East First Team. He figures to be in the mix for Big East Player of the Year honors after averaging 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds last season despite missing 10 games to a wrist injury suffered in the Iowa State game.
“I feel like my confidence is where it should be,” Mamukelashvili said. “I just try to be more versatile this year. Every time I try to catch the ball off a defensive rebound, coach [Kevin Willard] tells me to attack and find the open man so I feel like I’ll be handling the ball a little bit more and I’ll be getting more looks and trying to be a leader for the younger guys and the older guys. Just trying to establish myself as one of the best players in the Big East.”
After the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mamukelashvili opted to test the NBA Draft waters even though he and other prospects were unable to physically meet with or work out for NBA teams.
In the absence of NBA workouts, Mamukelashvili did his Rocky-training for several weeks outdoors this summer with Blair Academy assistant coach Jon DeJesus in East Stroudsburg, Pa. David Mamukelashvili teaches English at Blair, and Sandro has become close to the school and several staff members.
Sandro and DeJesus trained on a beach volleyball court for 40-minute stretches to work on close-outs and conditioning in the summer heat. They also hit an outdoor basketball court.
“We got together twice a day for two weeks straight and we just worked on things that he wanted to work on, ball-handling, some of his post game, finishing around the basket,” DeJesus said by phone.
“We just worked on my game a lot,” Mamukelashvili said. “He was trying to get me to the next level and get me more control in transition.”
In the absence of NBA workouts, Seton Hall forward Sandro Mamukelashvili (right) did his Rocky-style training for several weeks outdoors this summer with Blair Academy assistant coach Jon DeJesus in East Stroudsburg, Pa.
Mamukelashvili later found an indoor gym near his brother’s house where he worked out.
Through the spring and summer, Mamukelashvili also met via Zoom with 17 NBA teams, including the Knicks, but did not receive an invite to the virtual NBA Combine. By August, he announced he was withdrawing from the Draft and would return to Seton Hall for his senior season. In reality, he had already begun working out with his Seton Hall teammates in late July.
DeJesus said he believes Mamukelashvili is ready to show the league and the country how good he can be.
“As a fan, I’m excited to see what he’s capable of,” DeJesus said. “Like [All-American guard] Myles [Powell], he’s a phenomenal player. But I think now Sandro steps into that leadership role, that focal point, and I think he’s ready for it. He’s going to showcase his talent to the country.”
DeJesus also believes Mamukelashvili has made himself into an NBA-type stretch four.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I think he’s the typical stretch four man in the league. He can shoot it, he’s athletic, agile. He fits the prototypical NBA four man, especially the way the game is played now. He can really shoot. There’s no doubt in my mind, he’s an NBA player.”
Willard also expects the Georgian native to be “the man” now that Powell has graduated.
“I think this whole [NBA] draft process gave him a lot of confidence, a lot of information for what he has to work on and what teams are looking for, and I love how aggressive he’s been in practice so far,” Willard said. “I’m expecting a really big year from him because I think he wants it, and I think he’s ready for it.”
There has been some talk of the Big East going to a bubble format for the second part of the season, and potentially the postseason.
After missing 10 games last season and then training like Rocky in the summer, Mamukelashvili doesn’t care where Seton Hall plays. He’s ready to go.
“We just want to play,” he said. “We love playing basketball. We love being around each other so I don’t think anything will be a problem for us. As long as we’re together, as long as we’re doing what we love and as long as we’re with our coaches and staying healthy and safe, then whatever they tell us, we’re going to do it.”
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media.