Monmouth University has seen their fair share of athletes enter the professional sports realm. One of the most recent being former MU Hawks guard, Max DiLeo.
DiLeo entered the University’s basketball program during his freshman year at college as a walk-on point guard. He played high school basketball at Cinnaminson, where he lettered in basketball, soccer, and track and field.
Although DiLeo excelled in every sport, he ultimately chose basketball because of his family roots. “My mom was professional; my dad played in college, coached in Europe and the NBA, he was with the 76ers at the time when I made the decision to come here; my brother played at Temple and now as a professional in Germany,” DiLeo said.
DiLeo finished his MU career a .736 free throw percentage, 107 assists, 120 steals, 490 points and 1,803 minutes played. Although these numbers are respectable, it was his heart that really made him stand out on the court.
Josh James, MU junior guard, “Max brought a different kind of energy and spirit to the court. He had a motor that is rarely seen from many players,” said Josh James, a junior guard for the MU basketball team.
DiLeo’s determination and passion attracted the attention of the Oettinger Rockets, a professional basketball team located in Gotha, Germany.
The former Hawk played in his first professional basketball game on Sunday, Sept. 27.
“The style of play is much different; we have a 24 second shot clock, which was a difficult adjustment at first. Also most of the players on my team have played professionally for a few years leading up to this point and are extremely experienced,” DiLeo said.
During a normal week, the Oettinger Rockets will play in two games and practice regularly, but even the practices are much different than what DiLeo has been used to at MU.
“The practices are much more laid back than college. Most of the practice time is spent perfecting our plays and defense while playing live. In college, there were a lot of drills to help us get in shape and a lot of teaching drills. Here everyone is playing for a job so they are expected to come and stay in shape and if they don’t, they might not have a job the next year,” he said.
The Oettinberger Rockets have one of the most loyal fan bases in European basketball. DiLeo even noted that sometimes it gets so loud that children have to wear earplugs or headphones. “We sell out every game and every fan is screaming the whole time. The entire stadium will join in with synchronized cheers,” DiLeo said. Although the fan base has provided the Rockets with unyielding support, DiLeo still misses certain aspects of being a Hawk.
“Aside from the Scalas pregame meals, I really miss everybody from the team and staff and the bond that we had,” he said.
Not only has DiLeo been adjusting from college ball to professional ball, but also from speaking English on a daily basis to speaking German on a daily basis. Even though his mother is from Germany and DiLeo played some basketball in the country during high school, he said there were some differences that were harder than others.
“It was very difficult at first, especially because I did not know what to expect. The hardest thing for me to adjust to was driving, there are some different traffic rules here and I wasn’t too familiar with the road signs either,” DiLeo continued. “Also the time difference is difficult to get used to when trying to talk to friends from home. The language isn’t so bad, I know enough to get through simple encounters with people, but everybody on my team speaks English. I am now fully adjusted and used to living here, even though I do miss certain things that they have in America.”
While he is not on the court, DiLeo has been trying to experience everything he can from attending Oktoberfest to driving on the Autobahn, a road where people travel as fast as 210 kph (130 mph).
DiLeo has signed a two year contract with the Oettinger Rockets but there were certain options included that will allow him to opt out after one year. Even though his former teammates wish him nothing but the best, they cannot help but miss his presence on the court.
“This year without is really tough because you knew that every day, whether it be practice or game, Max would do something to make you say wow,” James continued. “But he left a little bit of it in all of the players that he played with.”
PHOTO COURTESY of Max DiLeo
