AMES — Back in Germany, Dominykas Pleta waited eagerly like a child counting down the days until Christmas.
Unlike the set date that comes with the December holiday, there was uncertainty surrounding when he would officially get his visa in order to come to the United States and join his new Iowa State basketball teammates. Delayed visas impacted other international collegiate athletes, but knowing he wasn’t alone was a minuscule consolation prize once the Cyclones started summer practices on June 16 and Pleta was still on another continent.
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“That was a weird process, because usually you get a date and you know when to pack your stuff and when to fly, but I didn’t know when it was going to happen,” Pleta said. “It could have been three weeks or two days, so I was waiting every day.”
Pleta kept busy with workouts and practices with his team, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, in order to stay sharp during the wait.
“Every time I showed up, they were like, ‘Oh, you’re still here? I thought you were leaving tomorrow?'” Pleta said. “That happened for two weeks, almost every day. They were surprised.”
The 6-foot-11 forward finally got his visa and arrived in Ames on June 29, approximately three weeks after his fellow freshmen reported to campus.
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Since then, he’s been trying to catch up with his peers and adjusting to Division I collegiate basketball.
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“He’s a guy that has great habits in terms of blocking out and screening,” Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “He’s a smart basketball player. He takes pride in making the right play. He has skill and on the other end, he has personal pride in being able to give to our defense. He’s continuing to work on the speed of the game, probably a little faster and a little more physical than what he’s been used to, but we’ve seen consistent progress of him moving forward and a guy that understands he’s going to continue to improve.”
Pleta is not your typical freshman. The 20-year-old forward brings versatility to the frontcourt and arrives after playing several years at the professional level in Germany.
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He will have all four years of eligibility. Pleta is part of a new-look frontcourt that features standout returner Joshua Jefferson, but includes newcomers Blake Buchanan and Eric Mulder from the transfer portal.
“I still have to adjust to the playing style, with everybody and everything,” Pleta said. “… I would say (the biggest difference) is the physicality, especially under the basket. You’re getting hit a lot, some contact would be fouls in Europe or in Germany that are not being called here, and the shot clock. In Europe, it’s 24 seconds, so sometimes I’ll look up and think the possession might be over, but we still have like 10 seconds.”
Before coming to Iowa State, he simultaneously played for both MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in the German Basketball Bundesliga, the top professional league in Germany, and for Porsche Ludwigsburg in the German ProB league.
Pleta dominated the competition in the ProB division, averaging 19.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks during Porsche Ludwigsburg’s 22-game season, which ended on April 12.
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He also played 14 games for MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, but he was more of a rotational piece. His top showing came against Weissenfels, when he scored 11 points and grabbed two offensive rebounds in 13 minutes before their season ended on May 11.
“He has an innate ability to score the basketball, he knows how to seal and create angles, and he does a terrific job of creating space,” Otzelberger said of Pleta’s impressive traits. “Those things have been very beneficial for us. He also has the habits to go to the glass every time, which is important to keep possessions alive and get second-chance points.”
Aside from the on-court adjustments, Pleta is acclimating to life in Ames and America off the court.
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Having similar-aged teammates has made the move much easier. In Germany, he had teammates ranging from 16 to 40 years old.
“The meals are just different and new to me, but I really like it so far,” Pleta said.
Of all the new dishes he’s tried, he’s taken a liking to macaroni and cheese. Perhaps once summer practices finish in August, he’ll get to branch out and sample other Iowa goodies — a Maid-Rite, Casey’s pizza, pork tenderloin sandwiches, or take a lap around the Iowa State Fair, where he’ll see culinary combinations he previously couldn’t even imagine.
However, throughout this feeling-out process and first month in Iowa, he’s still just taking things one play, one day, or one dish at a time.
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Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Dominykas Pleta is adjusting to Iowa State basketball after visa delay
