Elite Eight: The March Interview Series: Part Two

Question: Who is the toughest player you've ever played against?

Junie Sanders. He was a New York guy from Brooklyn, and I played against him in the Rucker League a couple of times when I was younger and he absolutely killed me. I couldn't do anything against him. It wasn't just me, though - he killed everybody. 

Nobody was really that tough.

I have played against a lot of tough players like Kevin Love, Trevor Booker and Tyler Hansbrough. They all bring something different to the game so you just have to come ready to play every day.

I think the toughest player I ever played against would be Craig Smith from Boston College.  We played them my freshman year and I remember I would try and box him out or push him and he wouldn't even budge.  He looked like he could of been an NFL linebacker but he's playing college basketball.

Question: Who was your favorite player growing up? Did you try and emulate his game?

My favorite player growing up was Tim Duncan. The two things I tried to emulate from his game were how hard he played and his dedication to making all of the simple plays that might not be flashy, but helped his team win games. I still enjoy watching him play today because he remains consistent and always has the Spurs contending for a NBA title.

Shaq. Yes, I always tried to emulate his game growing up.
 

My favorite player growing up was a tie between Michael Jordan and Pete Maravich. I didn't get to see Pete Maravich play but I would watch the movie Pistol Pete and try and emulate everything he did, from drills to the way he played.

My favorite player right now is LeBron James.  I would love to have watched Michael Jordan play in his prime.  Everyone always talks about Michael Jordan and he was my favorite player growing up.  When I watch encore games and stuff like that, that’s my favorite. I've tried jumping from the free throw line like MJ, but that’s about it.