UAM NEWS
The Boll Weevil in Boston
WHEN THE BOSTON CELTICS CLINCHED THE NBA FINALS IN 2024, IT WAS IN PART THANKS TO THEIR INTERNATIONAL SCOUT, UAM MEN'S BASKETBALL ALUMNUS BENAS MATKEVICIUS.
Benas Matkevicius phones in for this interview with UAM Magazine as he takes an evening stroll through the streets of Vilnius.
The former UAM Men’s Basketball player and 2005 graduate is in the capital of Lithuania for his work as an international scout for the reigning NBA champions, the Boston Celtics. As he walks, he describes the scene. “I love this town. It is a very cozy capital. It’s not too big, not too small, and it has beautiful architecture, beautiful cathedrals. Per capita, it must have the most cafés it could possibly have. There’s this good balance between the old, Middle Ages plastered streets and new, innovative buildings. It’s got this really good texture to it.”
This is what he does in his career, too — sees texture. The texture of people, of basketball players. “When you scout players, you kind of just observe the basketball part. But when you talk to them, when you interview them, you’re trying to get an idea of what their mental makeup is and how they function upstairs. You know? How they think about things. My communication degree really came into play because I learned to meet people on a different level.”
Matkevicius is passionate about communication. Born in Lithuania and raised in Germany, he speaks English, German, Lithuanian and Russian. “My soul is American and German, you know what I mean? When I speak those languages, that’s when I feel like Benas.” At the age of six, he lived in the U.S. for half a year. When his family moved back to Germany, he continued to work on his English by watching Disney movies.
He enjoyed Aladdin and The Little Mermaid, but Peter Pan was his favorite. “I watched them a lot. I knew what they were going to say because I watched the movies inside and out. Peter Pan was my favorite because I do feel like an eternally young kid. I don’t want to grow up. I don’t want to lose my youth inside. I want to keep that kid alive.”
His family’s international lifestyle stemmed from his father’s careers as both a professional basketball player in Lithuania and a head coach of a professional team in Germany. Matkevicius followed a similar path, playing professionally in Germany for two years before transitioning to a career in basketball off the court, eventually becoming an assistant coach for the Lithuanian national team, which included a trip to the 2016 Summer Olympics, and later an NBA scout.
He also runs The Benas Podcast on Spotify. “It’s a very nerdy podcast. It’s not for the average basketball fan. It’s definitely for the nerdy fan.” He says he wanted to create it to help younger professional athletes avoid making mistakes on their way up. “It’s about the behind-the-scenes looks, the dynamics, the communication mishaps that can happen.” It is his advice to professional athletes.
His advice to UAM students and others? Travel. “Absolutely, yes. It’s a big, big yes. Because even though I know it can be financially challenging, you can scrape money together by working jobs, and instead of going out to a bar or out somewhere else, you can just put money aside and go invest in your experiences because traveling teaches you about yourself a lot.”
For his work, he primarily travels through Europe, but he has also had the opportunity to scout players around the world, including Singapore, Australia, Senegal and Japan.
He remembers his time at UAM fondly, where he was very involved on campus as a member of Lambda Pi Eta, a UAM Ambassador, a Y.O.U. Peer Counselor and a student worker and assistant manager for UAM Intramurals. “I love, love the UAM community.” His favorite spots on campus were the campus patio and the MBSF game room, and he credits Mary Whiting, who was the director of the Admissions Office and the International Office, and Rob Leonard, who was the director of MBSF, for making him feel well cared for at the university. He also credits Dr. Linda Webster for inspiring him to major in speech communications because of her engaging classroom discussions on philosophy and human nature.
His basketball career at UAM was cut short due to injuries, but he looks at those events with gratitude. He’d been injured during his freshman season and worked hard to recover and return to the court. In his fourth game of his sophomore year in 2002, he scored 27 points in 17 minutes, including hitting seven of nine attempts from beyond the arc. In the middle of the best game he ever played as a Weevil, a player fell on him, and Matkevicius tore his ACL, ending his time with the team.
It was difficult to hang up his UAM jersey, but he’s gained perspective with time. “You never, never know how things would have turned out. But I don’t know if they could turn out any better. You know what I mean? If I would have played my whole career, I would be in a completely different place, and we wouldn’t be talking right now.”
The Celtics’ championship win last season has been the highlight of his professional career. He was in Boston for the game and described the atmosphere of the city as unreal. “And I’m fairly young for this business. There is a personal sacrifice. I’m sacrificing a lot of social life, a lot of personal life to travel,” he reflects. “But I’m the luckiest man in the world.”
When asked to choose between Weezy the Boll Weevil or Lucky the Leprechaun — the Celtics’ mascot — he lets out a big laugh. “It has to be Weezy the Boll Weevil because without him, I wouldn’t have met the leprechaun.”
(This article was originally published in the UAM Magazine, Fall 2024/Winter 2025 issue.)
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BENAS MATKEVICIUS
Photo at top of article: Benas Matkevicius (left) and his brother, Nikas (right), celebrated as the Boston Celtics won the NBA Finals on June 17, 2024.
Above: Benas Matkevicius with Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum
Above: Benas Matkevicius with the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy