ASU's Jordan Bachynski training for a 'phenomenal' June

• Bachynski has been training in Las Vegas
• His first baby is due in June

Former Arizona State center Jordan Bachynski is one of 60 players at this week's NBA Scouting Combine. I caught up with Bachynski, last season's Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, a few days before the event to discuss his preparation:

What have you been doing to get ready for this event and the NBA Draft?

"I've been working out at IMPACT in Las Vegas. (Former ASU teammate) Carrick (Felix) came here for a week or two last year, and my agent has had guys working here before. Basically, it's a month and a half of two-a-days. It's really tough on your body and it's just getting you ready for the workouts. In the morning it's a lot of skill work, just working hard in groups of one or two. I'm working on expanding my game a little bit to face up because I am athletic for my size. That's what you need to do if you want to be successful in the NBA, so we're working on out to 15 feet, just being effective from out there. And then just focusing on the little nuances that are different about college basketball and the NBA."

Such as?

"The thing that we worked on this morning was how you can defend in the post. Pretty much in college once (the opposing post player) gets the basketball, everything has to be off, all you can use is your chest to defend. But in the NBA you can actually give them a whole forearm and an open hand touching them if their back is to you. So that's something I have to get used to, as well as using your elbows more to create space because guys are strong, and if you don't protect the ball and keep it up, then it's going to get stripped. I'm actually really fortunate to work with a guy named Mike Ruffin. He played in the league for like 11 years and he's just been sharing tons of wisdom."

Who's all at IMPACT with you?

"Josh Huestis and Dwight Powell from Stanford. Justin Cobbs from California. Lamar Patterson from Pittsburgh and DeAndre Kane from Iowa State. Those are the guys who have been here the longest, and now we have a few NBA guys coming. A large part of the NBA workouts is 3-on-3, so we're doing a lot of that as well."

Where is your weight right now?

"During the season, I was playing so many minutes I had a really hard time keeping weight on and I got as low as 242. Now I'm almost back to 250, and that's the right weight."

How are you approaching the combine?

"I'm excited because I know that I'm going to be able to show well there. I'm quick for my size. I'm athletic for my size. Working with the guys here and learning from as many people as I can I feel like I'm right where I'm supposed to be and I'm going to surprise a lot of people. And that comes down to the great coaching I had at ASU to build a base, and over the past month the coaches here are doing a phenomenal job teaching me. The work I'm doing with Mike Ruffin is just invaluable because it is so hard to understand the little things in the NBA. There are so many things you don't even notice when you're watching, and to have somebody break it down, step by step for you is huge."

A couple months have passed since the Sun Devils lost in the NCAA Tournament. Have you watched the Texas game?

"Yeah, that was such a freak play."

No, no, not the last play. I'm talking about your overall performance -- 25 points, seven rebounds. It was one of the more aggressive games you've played.

"I think that was a really good game for me. Our coaches did a great job. The big emphasis was to get the ball inside because they knew I'd have an advantage against their bigs. My teammates did a good job getting me the ball, and honestly, that's the first time all season that everybody was firing on all cylinders. Jermaine (Marshall) was making all his shots. Jahii (Carson) played well. Everybody played well, and it came down to a freak play. … But talking to my agent, it was a good game for me to go out on because I played really well offensively and defensively, and it was a career night for me. It makes me feel really good about my career at ASU – it sucked that we lost and I'm still mad about it – but I feel like it was a good performance to go out on."

You and wife Malia are expecting a baby soon. How is that going?

"Fantastic. She just had her checkup. He's looking really good. She's about ready for him to get out, but I want him to cook a little longer. He's due June 8. (With the NBA Draft on June 26), June is going to be a phenomenal month. It's going to be really stressful, but I can't wait for any of it."