I always tried to be an all-around player. In college, I felt like I needed to add to my game to get to another level, to get to the NBA. The NBA has really turned to positionless basketball, so it was very important to me to have an all-around game so I could stand out in front of other guys.
In high school, AAU, even prep school, I didn't really know how to play basketball. It was kind of like, 'Let's throw the balls out, go get buckets, just score, and go play.'
ESPN puts out anything for clicks now, it kind of seems like.
Can't blame the coaching staff for everything. It's mutual, of course. Players mess up, coaches mess up.
My favorite commentator, NBA-wise, is probably Doris Burke.
I'm a competitive person.
Being in the weight room has helped me. Defensively, it helps because I'm not getting backed down easily. My legs are stronger, so I can move my feet better.
Flint is a big, industrial city. But when I was growing up, they had the recession, lead in the water, and all this other stuff. The city was really depleted.
Flint is a very tough place to live. The environment is definitely a different type of environment than anywhere else in the country, I feel like.
I think I can bring to the NBA versatility. I feel like the league is going toward four men that can pass, dribble, shoot, rebound, defend. I think I can do all that and bring that to the table at the highest level.
I'm really looking to facilitate, find my teammates.
Sure, there's a lot of negativity, but basketball is such a huge thing in my community. Flint has a very rich tradition in basketball.
I have a very high love for the game. My mom would always drop me off at the YMCA downtown in Flint, and I'd stay there all day. If she couldn't take me, I'd take the bus there and be there until she'd pick me up when she got off work. I've always had the love for basketball.
I don't want to be one of those guys who makes it somewhere and forgets where they come from. Flint is very important to me.
Coming from Flint, I was really immature on the court and off the court.
Growing up, I was a Detroit Pistons fan, being from Flint. During not the Bad Boys but Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace era, and growing up, I always wanted to be a Piston.
Being from Flint, especially in the basketball community, is a big deal. Basketball in Flint, you're pretty much like a god there if you play college basketball or are lucky enough to make it to the NBA.
I wanted to explore the world and explore life. I wanted to have more to life than Flint.
Once I got to college, I didn't know defensive rotations; my footwork was sloppy. I used to travel every other play.
I've always kinda guarded perimeter guys. I'm a little bit more comfortable guarding guys off screens. It kinda keeps me engaged in the game, locked in.
