Yeah, I was probably 16 when that happened. I started working out a bit that first year of high school, and then that summer when I played AAU, I was on a really good team and we had a good weightlifting program. That’s when the competition picked up, and hanging out in that environment helped me too.

At one point in high school, I read you were eating north of 7,000 calories a day. Is that true?

[Laughs] 7,000 is an exaggeration, but I was eating a lot. Definitely more than I do now.

What calorie intake are you aiming for now?

The recommendation is 6,000, which is obviously still a lot of food. With the traveling lately while prepping for the draft, it’s been really hard to meet that and maintain a good diet. It’s difficult to not just grab whatever you can.

Before all the pre-draft travel, what did an average day look like for you?

I was never really big on breakfast, but lately I’ve been trying to eat something in the mornings. I don’t eat pork, so whenever I can, I grab some turkey sausage or turkey bacon. A lot of fruits—grapes and bananas especially. For lunch, when I came to LA to train, we had a chef that would cook up some food. I’d just take whatever he has. He’d bring in different boxes and I’d eat whatever was inside the box. One box for lunch, and then a couple hours later, I’d eat again, and then do the same thing again.

Are you more of a morning or evening person?

Most days, I like to work out in the morning. I don’t get much sleep in general.

What kind of morning wakeup time are we talking about? Like, 5 a.m.?

No, no, no! Some days I will definitely sleep in. And it’s not that early.

Has there been anything you’ve tried to limit or cut out from your diet of late?

Yeah, I was never really huge on fast food, but throughout this process, I’ve really cut down on that. I do love Chick-fil-A. I can’t remember the last time I had it, and I’ve been trying to eat a lot healthier than I used to. I’m avoiding fried food and things like that. But I’m not going to lie, I might have my cheat day soon and grab some. It’s been too long.

You first declared for the NBA Draft two years ago, but learned from NBA feedback that they wanted you to increase your stamina. How did you work on that in recent years after you returned to UCF?

I was fortunate that UCF has a great staff, and they knew specifically what to do. They helped me understand my body more. Everything I used to do was a little different than my teammates, including my conditioning regimen. I did a lot of injury prevention. And I don’t do deadlifts to avoid putting too much pressure on my back. My last year, everything was about hip strength, balance, my core, and lower body stuff. Just nothing heavy.

Speaking of precautions, I read you use two full-size mattresses pushed together to make a bed long enough to comfortably sleep.

Back at school, yeah, I did that all four years of college. Right now, I’ve been staying at an Airbnb in L.A. so I can’t do that.

What kind of bed is at this Airbnb? Is it at least king-sized?

I think it is, yeah! In a few weeks, I’ll get a way bigger bed once I’m settled and everything. But I’m not really picky.