Nkrumah Journey to the League

Up next, we got a loaded episode, lotots to talk about. We got the NBA finals, My reaction to game two looking ahead to game three to start the show. And then I got a series of interviews. We had some draft prospect interviews later in the show with Bennett Sturts and Aron and Kruma, a first rounder and a second rounder entering this year's draft. And then before that, I got Chris Hayaines talking about this upcoming off season Janas, what's going to happen there? What's he expecting? And then I got De Andre Jordan talking about the evolution of the bigig man and the NBA. That's all coming up right now It's the best time of the year in the NBA right now with the conference finals, then the finals, then the draft and summer League And on gameime, you get the advantage as a fan. It's the hack for unlocking amazing tickets and just a few taps. 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Terms do apply again Create an account and Rdeem code KOC for twenty dollars off. Download the gameime app today I'm Keiana and I leveveled up my business with Shopify Once I figured out that Shopify was a thing, I never turn back. I can create a site with my eyes closed. Shopify thinks ahead of us, you know, and it thinks about the customer more than anything. Every day I'm thinking about some other new business, but Shopify is doing it to me because it's so easy to use. It's like I can't stop I'm addicted Start your free trial at shhopify d. com You know, recommendations can be great. Maybe someone recommended this podcast and here you are But home projects are different. If a podcast isn't your thing, you lose a few minutes. If you hire your cousin's neighbor to mount your TV, you might end up with a lopsided screen and wall damage Maybe I know a guy just isn't enough for your home. That's why thumbtack works. It matches you with top rated local pros with photos, reviews and credentials all in one place For your next home project, try Thumb Tack. Hire the R Pro today. We all knew twenty twenty six soccer Pickam is here just in time for the world's biggest soccer tournament pick each round, earn points and climb the leaderboard, play solo, create a private group with friends, join a public group to play with other fans or even join our Yahoo sports group to see if you can beat us. Join at Yahoofantasy. com slash soccer pickam Welcome back to the Kein O'Conor showow' to talk about the Nicks one hundred five one hundred and four game to win over the San Antoniopurs. It is hard to fathom The next took both on the road to go up two heading back to Madison Square Garden. I've never seen the Kicks play a game at MSG when they were good. So I'm fired up. to be there Monday and Wednesday night next week for games three and four, who knows They got a chance to sweep. We're going to talk about both sides of the Nicks and the spurs right now, starting with the Nick side because this turnaround is just hard to believe thirteen. wins in a row now after being down to one against the Atlanta Hawks of the CJ McCollum pull up jumper in game three of that series way back on april twenty third. And here we are thirteen wins later. and after the game, Mikel Bridges is asked about how he's failing. He's like, it's like zero, zero still, you know No complacency We're not giving up. you know, he's like, I need to be better. There's like this this edge that he's playing with whereas you juxtapose that against the firsturs to fon castle after game one. they lose and he's saying we still think we're the better team I really like the Nicks perspective and the way these guys are really rallying around each other. You can feel the experience. you can feel the confidence Carly towns towards the end of the second quarter after a play he made of many against Victo Weminyama said, he can't mess with me. He's not on my level. And Kat, the confidence with which he's playing with is just genuinely beautiful to watch. I thought Aside from the buckets Aside from the way he's just attacking those closeouts blowing by Vikor Webanyama, aside from the defense that all aside, the playmaking he is showing the pass he made. he grabbed an offensive board in the second or third quarter underneath the rim and it looked like he was looking up at the rim for a p back. And then suddenly he just wrapped the ball around four spurs defenders for a corner three. And I'm like, this dude is just seeing the game at a slow level. It is moving in sllow motion for him and Through these two games, Carl Anthony Towns In my opinion is very clearly finals MVP through two games. We'll see how the remainder of the series goes, but That has just been sensational And he is outplaying Victor Wbenyama on both ends of the floor. He looks like a fully realized version of himself And I mean, for a guy that has taken so many hits over the years for this reason or that reason, whether it's the way he acts or whether it's some of the mistakes he's made, some of the playoff failures. L year, I'll tell you what I was one of the people that thought the Kicks should probably try to trade Carl Anthony Towns in the summer. I thought he might be holding them back on both ends, especially defensively I mean, he's making me and a lot of other people eat their words because of the way he is performing. now and good for him, man. like I'm rooting for that guy. It's hard not to root for him the way he's been vulnerable talking about the loss of his mother and what that means for him. It's it's pretty cool to see him use that stage and open up in the way that he has and yeah, the guysy just playing basketball at a high level. and I think that ball movement We feel with the Kicks, right? I mean, ever since they put the ball into the cats hands in that first round series against Atlanta when he came out and he had like fourteen points and ten boards game for and it's all snowballed from there the next ball movement in that third quarter possession where They had five attacks into the paint and then a final kickout from Brunson to the for the corner three and it's like just this good to great to amazing basketball that they play. It is so selfless. It really, I mean, I saw the Villanova basasketball account quote tweeted a video of that play. and they said Villanova basketball. And it's true. You can just see the chemistry. You can see the movement with players' bodies and the ball itself decisions. this next offense is playing and an elite level. and I'll talk about the defense in a second, but sticking about sticking with the the offensive side endnd of the third quarter You have Car Ly towns and Fl trouble, which I mean, those are some nice try Tony brothers. Those are some horrible fils on cats Jalen Runson out as well. He needed a breather in the next se a lineup of Bridges, shamit Bride Alvarado Mitchell Robinson, Weby was still out there for the spurs on the other side That moment of the game I'm thinking of myself Here comes a sppurs run That's not what happened Over the next four minutes, the remainder of the third quarter and the first minute of the fourth quarter The next outscore the score is eleven to three He had an eleven to three run. and I looked at the offsides tr They have a great box score trackor you can customize and find cool custom stats live during games. and I look at it this morning for what happened during that stretch And it's crazy. the Spurs only took five shots During that eleven three run, the next tok ten. The ms were five of ten During that stretch. they had three offensive rebounds. Mitchell Robinson was inhaling everything at the rim Mcau Bridges hit those two beautiful pull up jumpers. Spurs are only one of five. Cn't get anything going offensively against this really tough hard nosed Nicks defense and with neither of their stars out there. and I thought that end of third quarter run into the fourth kind of led to what happened in the final ninety seconds of the game Th Spurs made a fourteen over run, a miraculous run to make it a competitive ending of the game. And then in the last ninety to one hundred seconds where things collapsse for Wendby for the spurs, what did we see Mike Brown do? Who was on the other side of those Wendby jumpers It's Mitchell Robinson Cat as incredibly as he's defended Weemby throughout this series and done a good job containing his drives and a good good job bothering him everywhere on the floor Mike Brown goes with Mitchell Robinson on these plays where Weemby took a a face up jumper from the left side of the floor and then the right side of the floor the one that he missed to end the game. And Mitchell Robinson is right there using his massive seven plus foot frame to extend and heavily contest those Wbey shots I wish I were in the arena last night just to ask Mike Brown about that decision I wonder like specifically, did he expect Weenby to settle Is that why he went with a longer armed guy to heavily contest those shots? Because Weemby certainly was settling And I think for Mike Brown, he continues to coach his butt off in these games in these whole playoffs with those decisions. And then on the other side, Mitch Johnson In the spurs, it felt like a collapsed to me. Weenby in particular, The first face up jumper he took with around forty five seconds left in the game, that Spurs were trying to do a two for one. I didn't think the possession had any offensive imagination Then on the last play You have Fox dribbling the ball a little bit too long and then Wendby taking a pull up jumper and No time remaining for a of rebound opportunity, just feel like a team in the final ninety seconds playing with urgency or intelligence and those two plays aren't even the ones that really are the most symbolic of what we're talking about here Wendby with about one hundred seconds left in the game. He grabs the ball around the left baseline and dribbles behind the three point line for a step back Corner three with like eight seconds left on the shot clock and he airballed it. And it was a terrible shot. I had to meet E Hassan on my show after game one And Am mean, I thought about him immediately because Amin said to me that thirty footer wheny took against OKC that helps in his forty and twenty game and overime that tied it up Ammans said that was a bad shot. I don't totally agree, but I do Imin's point. It's not the highest shot quality shot to take in that moment. like you can find more efficient shots That shot, the corner three by Wimby was even worse He should have found something better. I thought the Spurs should have found something better with the face up jumpers Weby took. I think they fed Wemby too much. I think they underrated having a different guy take that shot and allowing Weemby to be on the offensive boards crashing. And then never mind the turnover They get to stop on Jayalen Brunson. they Wendy grabs the rebound. Castle's looking back towards him, wondering if the ball is coming his way and turns his back on Wendby, who passes it off of Castle's back. There's five different video angles of this. S taken from the crowd, some from the broadcast. If you're divvying up the blame here I think on the court Wey deserves the most blame I think he got a little frazzled in that moment. I think he was a little bit nervous in that moment Castle does deserve some blame.re You're a guard. You should be looking for the ball. You shouldn't just turn your back and kind of just hustle just jog up the court a little bit if you're going to hustle, hustle, it felt like he wasn't really even pushing the pace at all in that moment. But most of all though I still think Mitch Johnson, you just got to call a time out in that moment Can you really trust You're seven foot seven big man. in his first NBA finals win. handandful of seconds remaining in the game Find the highest quality shot in that moment with all these young players on the court around him, some struggling as well to create quality shots I think Mitch Johnson. needs to call a time out in that moment get the team gathered and have a good after time out play ready to go. All that said, he hasn't shown much of an ability with some great highly creative ATOs And that's my issue with those other plays, but that turnover play. I mean My God, like it was really the LeBron James J. R. Smith meane all over again, but with Wemby and Castle doing it to each other because you can point the fingers at each other. I just think ultimately Weemby rushed that pass a little bit too much. more than anything else and it's just been a struggle. It's been a struggle for him in these games. Carl Anthony Towns is straight up out playing Victor Wbanyama straight up just destroying him. And like when he has the raw numbers, you can point to those and say he's still producing. But the fact is as you watch the games with your own eyes Weemy isn't making the type of impact that we have seen him make before. defefensively, we're seeing a bit of the formula here. Carl Ananingtown spacing him out the ability to drive past him If there's one hole in Weenby's defense, I know this is something that the skeptics of him talked about throughout the season. It was perimeter defense, isolation defense, close out defense. That's exactly what we're seeing against Carl Anthony Towns. And then offensively, Wendby doesn't have a go to move That we we've known that already. It's already been a question. It was the argument against him for MVP, the fact he's not a self creator. He's a finisher, not a starter, not a creator off the dribble. We're seeing that. He's got sloppy footwork. He needs to get better. He's still not at elite efficiency as a pull up shooter or as a driver to the basket He needs others to create for him, which is why I don't get The Spurs not running more things through They' guards in that last ninety seconds. You have Harper and Castle and Faox Three guys Harper and Fox specifically that I think it would make sense to run some playth through in the end of that game Maybe Dylan Harper is your Kbe to one Victor Wemanama being your Shaquille O'Neil Maybe that's what it is in these end game situations. and yet They werere just playing through Weenby there're letting him take the face up jumper, even though he's a sub forty percent guy from mid range this year. either letting him bring the ball up the floor with ten seconds left in the game, even though you have all these guards on the roster. and I I just I'm a little baffled by that decision making down the stretch of the game and It just speaks to the inexperience of the coach and of the players more than anything else. And ultimately, you know, Dylan Harper did not have the type of game that he did in the first quarter of game one or the rest of game one. and yet still a plus twelve in the game. The offense just feels like it flows more with him out there. He's a great defender with size and strength. We saw how he could move his feet laterally causing the back court violation on Jayalen Brunson in that game as well. They got to play Harper more more than thirty two minutes and game two, more than twenty nine minutes from game one. They got to just feed Harper a bit more and see what you can get out of him. I also think Other than that, Mitch Johnson Playing ten guys might not be it. You might have to make some tough calls here. Kelvin Johnson looks borderline unplayable. The cornet minutes are terrible again. and I think you have to also wonder about What do you do with Julian Champenny? Champenni. veryer important as a shooter. Do not get me wrong But the Kicks are able to hide Jayalen Brunson on Champagne basically the whole game Brunson is just able to stick the champanne. No champanne,'s not going to do anything off the dribble. He's just going to shoot threes And it's not working for San Antonio. So I wonder if we'll see them go more to The three guards. That's a lineup they rarely ever use during the regular season. We've barely seen it at all during the playoffs with Fox, Castle and Harper out there. And maybe Devin wasll at the four in some minutes, Keldin Johnson in some other minutes, but I think having as much creation around Wemby as possible is what will really stress that Nix defense that is just executing to perfection. They are Nail in the game plan Every time Wendby rolls hard to the rim, there's four guys on the paint. They are collapsing inside. They're bumping Weemby on his drives to throw off the timing of those pick and rolls. They They are just nailing this game plan Ultimately, if maybe having more ball handling on the floor guys who can make plays off the dribble, make quick decisions, maybe that's something that could work against this N defense in the same way that the Kicks are causing issues for the sppurs defense with that play I talked about earlier where they just attack close out after close out after close out leading to a corner three of point one left in the shot clock and Look, man, like I I talk about the way they're bumping Weby Richard Jefferson, I get all the respect in the world for you, but I cannot believe what he said during the broadcast where he's like, I think there's too much physicality What are you talking about? To me, I mean, look, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder teach their own, but to me I am loving this style P. It feels like a perfect blend between the physicality that people have nostalgia for in the nineties game today with the space in the flow. It just blends together in a way that I think is like a really genuinely gorgeous style of basketball. I am having the time of my life watching these playoffs with how physical And how much spacing and pace we're seeing is just a perfect blend. I hope they don't change it. What they do need to change is Tony Brothers with those tii tack files on Carl Anthony Towns to get them out of the game in the third quarter. iculous Absurd. I couldn't believe it. I mean, good for the Kigs win in this game too. and that's in part why It was just such a heartbreaker. for the sppurs. you get a chance to win the game O a night, the officiating was in your favor and you blow it. home after a fourteenz comeback in the fourth quarter When the mix collapsed, Is there any reason to believe the Spurs are going to come back in the series? I don't think so I don't think the Spurs are going to be able to win four out of the next five with the Kicks having three. homeome games at Nasen Square Garden just to need to win two of them tooist the Larry O B I don't see it happening if there's any hope, you know, you lost just by ten In game one, you lost us by one and game two, you stopp pressuring Brunon down the stretch of the game during that fourteen O run that helped. There's got to be, I would think, rotation changes, perhaps lineu changes For San Antonio, you get to just try everything. at this point. you can't just do the same thing expect it to be any different because by the way Jayalen Bronson could be due for a highly efficient banger of a performance too He very well could be Due for one of those. It might not just be Kat and Bridges and Alvarado and Ducec Bride. OGN and Oi and all these other guys on the Ns There could be a Brunson game coming And so I would fear that if I'm the San Antonio first. I think we might be seeing a sweep This feels like it very well could be zero seven LeBron U, where he get he gets matched up with the San Antonio sppurs after a miraculous playoff run beating the pistons, the favorites on the way. just like Wey beat the OKC Thunder. It feels like that. It just feels like that. I just It just brings me right back to that time And just like with the moment with LeBron growing twenty five straight points against the pistons and you're like, oh my go He's the best player in the world, just like the forty and twenty game against game one and game one against the Thunder. It just feels exactly the same It just feels exactly the same as that series That's what I think we're going to get That's what I'm expectinguring in game three, but We got two really awesome games so far in the finals. These have been incredible to watch I can't wait for game three on Monday night in New York City Mison Square Garden. I'm fired up about it. I I've seen a lot of great concerts there I've yet to see Great next team play a great game. So I can't wait till Monday. All right up next, we got Chris Haines talking about this upcoming NBA Off season. Chris Haines and I talked for about ten minutes about Yatis's future, what to expect on draft night as well. That's a very fun conversation. I I got Deandre Jordan forormer NBA all star still an NBA player. He told me he's not retiring yet wants to play. DJ and I talked about the evolution of the bigig man position and some other stuff as well. And then after that I got two Draft prospect interviews. We got Bennett Sturts. He's a potential top twenty top twenty five pick in the twenty six draft. a point guard out of Iowa spent four years there. I was very impressed by his interview. And then I talked to a local kid, Aaron and Kruma Eron is from Woosta. I'm from Brockon So we talked about that and his journey to League, which has been a crazy roller coaster ride. So that's today's podcast. That's all coming up right now With my Sapphire preferred card, we took a trip to a desert Oasis, earning five times the points on Chase travel, two times the points on all other travel, plus a one hundred dollars hotel credit. Chase Sapphire preferred, a card that's preferred for a reason. Card issu by J.B Morgan Jase bank and amber ofDSC is subject credit approval terms of apply. OnDeck is built to back small businesses like yours. Whether you're buying equipment, expanding your team, or bridging cash flow gaps, Oecks loans up to four hundred thousand dollars make it happen fast Rated A plus by the Better Business Bureau, and earning thousands of five star trust pilot reviews, ONDeck delivers funding you can count on. Apply in minutes at OndDeck. comot Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by ODeck or Celtic Bank. OndDck does not lend in North Dakota all loans and amounts subject to lender approval My name is Shannna Mald Donato. I'm the fnder of Yai, I giveift shop on the lens of artists and handmade objects. I chose Shopify because when I was testing other platforms, it was definitely one of the most user friendly. It was important to me to think about where we would be in the future, all of the tools for reading your sales like planning inventory, they're just right there on your dashboard. For anyone starting a small business, the biggest thing I can tell you is it doesn't have to be perfect. Shopify can help you build upon it Start your free trial on Shopify. com All right now joining me andBA reporter Chris Hs, Chris's up man. Hold on man. before we get to all that, how did you lead Jayalen Brson off your allall in BA? I'm a dummy. I'm a dummy, okay? I overthought it. I picked Jallen Johnon, Danny Aviat Tireus Max. I'm not mad about the Maxy choice. I thought Maxi Maxi. I think I had him on my team as well. I think that was fair. made A big boo boo Ands like Denny Avi. I thought two way play. Jaylen Johnson, versatility two way play. I overth thoughtought it. You overthought Also listen, I didn't I know you made a comment about it. I didn't get your rationale, your explanations. so Did you accidentally leave themem off? No? It was purpose. Oh, it's purpose.. All it makes it worse. All.. You don w't put down the mic and leave, I' understand.re you owning it, so I mean,. I mean, we all make our choices there. Look Like we have the old bat. How to give some crap there. I mean, look I don't blame you, man. It was a mistake. I'll tell you what though, I wish they would release those ballots in the middle of April. instead of f. Yeah, bad time of man. I mean, I feel good about when BMBP. I feel horrible about Jal and Durn Mos fruit player. him second team. God Yeah change some of these things. We had do you have chet are you all inBA? I had chet thirteenam. Yeah.. I think save you had changed that now too so much. It is playayoff awards T teams, the top ten players in the soCC S like they had too many awards. I can't keep up anymore. That's fine. But that's fine. That's fine. You might my God. Yeah. I mean I sh this likewise, man. So I'm curious This off season Number one team you're watching for to do something big this summer Probably well four. If you would ask me this a week ago want to say Miami I just think u They've tried Luring guys they tried to, you know, semi trade for guys. I don't know necessarily that they've always put their best foot forward and trying to attain guys And um I just felt like this was the year that they really had to goo for it all and get a big fish And when I'm talking about big fish and talking about Jannaant Kpo. Now the way OKC went out That makes me I have to put a spotlight. Ordil Um I don't know necessarily if it's For Yanis But I definitely think They need to do something the way that they fell off, you know,, you know, in in what's the conference final secondcond apron penalties conutive pies tax extxtensions kicking in. So that that's the team I'm looking for. So I will I would teams that I'm looking at Miami OKC you know, I think the OKC conversation is interesting because I understandably sorry if you're talking about a twenty four year old former champion, second and defensive player of the year and Chad Hunger. Yeah. It's understandable why an OKC fan would be like, why would we even think about trading him? But we're talking about Sam Presty who traded Josh Gy a good young player for a role player Alex Caruser who traded James Harden three months after they made the NBA fininals, he has never hesitated to make big, daring decisions Facing financial difficulties with the hardarden trade and then making a balsy move flipping giddy for Caruso Whisky. you can make a you can make a case that those are probably more ballsy moves than if they are. to trade You know, how would you say that? Well, I think, you know, when when they made the when they made the move for Giddy, right? So Giddy was a trying to think at the time because I had at one point the warriors were looking at Gdy at one point for whatever reason, but when um When they move Giddy. T Tiss it was it was Chicago Yeah Chicago that They were going to first of all, Gidy was caught off going a little bit by that. He didn He didn't know that he was going to move at that time. So I think, you know, you talk about Harden and Gdy. Those are guys that I didn't necessarily see happen. I don't know if you may have heard things elsewhere But with Chent, I think the way that things folded and the fact that listen Second and defensive player of the year voting First team all D Wimby is going to still be there And so I think if you're going to make a balsy move to move him yourour rationale is that We still got that guy in San Antonio deal with. So it probably makes sense. for us to put ourselves in a better position to just have some more versatility and for Gidy in that standpoint You added Caruso. and there was a lot of people that didn't like that move at the time But you add Caruso, who is a defensive specialist Th D guy. who's somebody who's going to just fit with the team Gidy need the ball in his hands. So that's why I think, you know, I think a lot of times we get mesmerized with the guys who can pretty much do it all. And then when you get back, I would say maybe a utility guy It's not seen it's not seen as a favorable it's not seen as a favorable move, but It was a move that Okay, so needed How much power does Gianas have in dictating where he goes? Ton of power ton of power. I mean, obviously he has so After next season he has a player option for the twenty let me see twenty twenty seven. Yeah, twenty twenty seven, twenty eight. So basically Next season is the end of his of his contract playler options after that. So if a team that he doesn't want to go to say, Hey, we want to, you know, talk tell Milwaukee. Hey, we want to trade we got the assets. We're to do this W is going to get back to Jonas in his camp. and he's going to say You know what? you can do it But you're only getting me for the season or if they try to trade in season, you only get me for a six month rental And I'm out You know, it was a similar situation with Koi Leard in Toronto They ended up there making a deal. They won a ship out of it, but, you know, it was a one year rental. I don't I don't think that they'll I don't think Toronto Have any second thoughts about making that move. It worked out in the short term, but also Sal didn't give up any you know, crazy assets to get quiet in the first place partart because the Spurs decided they want a more proven player you M over young raraw Calen Brown type of packaging Do we have any indication of what the bucks are desiring in a return? Yeah, they want young promising players. So you know, so obviously a team like Orlando, I'm looking at Orlando see seeing what they're going to do. Pllo Bank Pllo Bank Caro, I would think will have a Banko not a Jayalen Brown, That type of thing. Yeah, apologize It's a third team for a young player. cororrect cororrect. Yeah. correct. I don't see Jalen Milwauke. You have to be another team U Alanta, Atlanta, something like that. Yeahah. And then, um againgain, OkayC is that does Does that interest him? And I don't know. I don't know that, um from the framework of skill sets from Say and Janis I don't know that they will be able to coexist You know, we'll see, but again, that's Another reason why I'll have the spotlight of OKC with the draft as soon as the wizards won the number one pick the conversation was about are they going to try to draw down? Is Utah going to try to move up? We see now in recent weeks, Utah has worked out Mike Kel Brown who has projected pick outside the top five. We've seen the Bows are going to have a workout with Nate Ayman off course they pick fifteenth as well. mayaybe he'll be there. mayaybe he'll be top ten These teams in the top four seem to be turning over every stone.. Is there any chance that we see one of these teams in the top four move out of the top four Potentially potentially I haven't heard anything concrete yet Even with Washington's pick. there from what I've told. They're open to doing business. If if they're if they' if there's a deal out there to be hat where they move off of that number one pick. They're open, but definitely, I mean, they These work arts aren't happening for reasons. First of all, like these agents really dictate these workouts and who goes where. So the agent is not going to approve for his client to go workout for somebody who work out for a team that doesn't have really any serious interests of moving back or moving up to attain that guy. So these things are real teeams often say, tellell me where we need to get to. Yeah straight out. Yep to straight up. Exactly. and that's what happens. That's what say. ages are very important in this process. So if you do see a player who may be a player who may be Working out for a team That's outside the top five. anyone like man,, this player is a top five guy Well, you know, it can be some some move. It's not for nothing.s that's what I would say. Chris, I'm very excited for these next few weeks. B time to the final draft off season. Yeah. No, it'ss it's coming up. it's exciting and the fact that hold on before you let me go now you leaving me. All, hold on, Kle. How do you feel about the new draft I'm excited about it. No, the draft the new the way that the Yeah the lottery I'm excited. Are you sited about it? I think it's going to hopefully squash out tanking. My thing is I'm not so sure that this is going to last more than a three years. Yeah. I mean, what are we really doing here if this is just a temporary thing? And then in twenty twenty nine, we're talking about whole new system. But that's Adam Silver. he's always incremental all Yeah. Yeah, But, you know, I just have a problem with their they're going to be bad teams that are Legitimate bad teams. I like the draft for relegations zone though, because you're going to have teams competing at the end of the season. I are trying to win. but there's always going to be a team that can't compete. I know. Okay. I know. My god. now that team might end up with the fifteenth or fallfects alone. Yeah guess those. Thank you so much. Jord Thank you.. Thank you. All right, than you to Chris Hanes up next, we got De Andre Jordan A now joining me Diandre Jordan. Deiandre. How are you doing hot hot. Yeah, it is ninety degrees in Texaso. It is like hot and humid. can't hide in the shadows There's no how I'm from Houston though so I'm kind of used to it, but I've been in LA. for the past eighteen years. so I've kind of gotten spoiled, you know? Oh I know. I mean no better weather in America than than in Los Angeles. I lived there for for eight years. Sometimes I wonder why I mo back to the Northeast. but I mean, hey, that's the choice I made. I'm curious Deandre, you entered the league at a time where Bigs didn't have to shoot. they still don't have to shoot necessarily. But the way the League has evolved, you are a drop coverage big man. that's how you had so much success in the defensive end of the floor. If you were coming into the league today as a rookie What would be your different priorities as a young big in the league? I would work on everything. I work on everything, the guards were on, everything, the foullboards were on. and then keep some center dirty work in the post kind of work. just because the game has evolved so much There really aren't positions anymore. And when people talked about that at first, it was kind of a negative thing and know siners are being eliminated from the All Star ballot and I think it's a cool thing now just because of how progressive the game has gotten and it's evolved and it's He's done so many great things internationally for the game or basketball and U It makes our league even more excited You mentioned the internationational A. There's been what eight straight international MVPs. Yeah, some like that Yeah. Why has this happened I mean, the game is is evolving, you know, and I think that, um You know, it's's it's really cool to see you know game being dominated by everybody it's cool to see like Nicola has wn some NVPs and Say and Yanis and a ton of different guys and I think it' It just shows how contagious and how worldwide the game is, how people want to continue to play this sport and how good people are at it Now I'm curious, you know, is there difference you observe observed with those international players and their approach mindset compared to American players or I mean, the mindset and the approach has to be the same if you're a professional athlete and you're even in in now, but also to be in the NVP conversation, you have to have You know, obviously a skill set, your team has to be good, different things like that, but U I think the mindset between any professional athlete whether they're domestic or abroad is is the same, but you just see talent level of the game rising so quickly and at a rapid rate. I think it's really cool for the game and I'm sure that they'll be An American NDP here at some point prettyz. Yeah It might be someone from this upcoming draft class. Maybe you keep tabs on the draft at all theving plot players? A little bit, especially like, you know, when you start to see these guys play more in the tournament and big games on TV, I'll check out But um During the season now I watch a lot of NBA basket Yeah. I mean, you played this shot last year with Derek Queen. We talk about skilled bigigs. He comes in in Maryland, he hits this like miracle shot leaning floater jumper and he epitomizes, I think kind of the growth of how big the bigigs have grown doing more stuff on the permimeter. defensively, he has some growing to do What are the ways you saw him grow over the season in New Orleans? L he talked more? think that that's huge, being able to communicate to yourself to your teammates, Different coverages, plays, responsibilities from guys That connection, it really It gives everybody confidence on the floor when you're connected like that. And as a young player's kind of it's tough you don't want talk loud. you don't want to you may not want to be wrong and that's you know, a little discouraging for guys, but At the end of the day, you're trying and I think that you're going to make mistakes. you're going to have growing pains and U different things like that throughout the course of your Rkie season, But I think that He and Jarline both really did a great job this year on talking and being more vocal and demanding things from theirselves and other guys on the floor tour D defensively, is that something you had to learn how to communicate Yeah, Marcus Cany was on me every day about it And I really owe a lot of mind I guess defensive IQ to him. He was extremely vocal, calling our plays, calling our players tendencies. He knew five most ramp plays of the opponent. I think that He even knew like, side out of bounds and baseline out of bounds, which I thought was I thought he was like, a witch or a wizard. You know, I was like there's no way that you know all this, but he studied the game and It was contagious to me and I wanted to be able to be just like that or even better What did you have to do to become like that? watch basketball. over and over watch film of not only yourself, but the entire game Because when I was younger, I would be like, Hey, just pull my minutes. I only want to watchh my minutes and see where I can get better. But it's also I'm coming in a different flow of the game. we may be on a run. the other team may be on a run. So I think for me being able to go from justust wanted to watch myself on video to me watching the game in its entirety. kind of help me. polish myself on different lineups and changes ways they attack and they just it open my mind up to different things. You mentioned if you were big coming in today, practicing everything I'm curious about something JJ Reddick talked about a long time ago. He said he tried to convince you to switch shooting hands. Yeah, he did. Yeah. What do you remember from those conversations? I mean like I think at that point in time So many people want to help you and I think it's great. too much information can be bad at the same time, you know, So it's like when I go to the line, I'm thinking about what this guy told me, what this guy told me in I toouck my elbow and now I' thking about my high school coac, and then I just missed two in a row earlier. so then you go up and you're like, well, I don't even know what to do. So let me herear. you just Let me give this over U, but I think as I got older, the repetition, the confidence just kind of And then then at the end of the day like you're either going to make it or miss it. So. It doesn't it really. So you weret you weren' you were like. Yeah, because then it's it's a whole story. Oh, he switched hands mid season. Th then it's like this whole rabbit hole. What if he became an eighty percent shooter? Then maybe I sort to switched hers I didn't want I wanted to stick to what I was. becausecause that stuff, I think it's more of a mental thing because you see guys like Shack and these like black and made twenty five, thirty foot do in their own practice uil you get to the game, that's something different And um It's It's just a for me, it was more reps and to make you like a gain like situation and That has helped me a lot. I mean, it is interesting. Like for me, it stood out when JJ said that because personally, early in my career when I was doing NBA draft stuff, the Ben Simmondons I noticed when he was in LSU, over seventy five percent of his non dunks were with his right hand as a left handed player. and I was like, wait, floaters, hookhots host upops, like is different. Everything was with the right hand and he had a quote at the time where he said my dad put the ball in my left hand when I was a kid. and now it's all natural. It never became natural, obviously for him And then when that came out with you about your play, I washed off back all your dunks that year. And over eighty percent of your dungs so whatever year that was, twenty sixteen, over eighty percent of them were with your right hand, like off your left foot So I thought there must be something to this. Yeah. I mean, people I have heard that a term but then Ive doneg a t with my left hand. I think it's also like My hands are being socked duck with either hand. it's just I don't know I think Dunking is more like a comfortability thing. You know, when you're a left handed guy, you see people do things majority of the time with their right hand. that's why for some crazy reason, I Gl right handed Um, and there's just certain things rightite right hand. No, I can't I can't write I did, I can't spooded with a fork or spill in my right hand it just falls off Um, but I'm the only left handed person in my family. so I thing There are certain things I just saw my brothers and my cousins doing. I'm like, Oh, maybe I should do this way because everybody does it that way. But Basketball is and certainly I just I'm a lefty. Yeah. I mean, also just one of the greatest dunkers we've ever had in the history of basketball. What is De Andre Jordan's best dunk ever? Oh my gosh. probablyrobably something in practice if I'm being honest. Re? Yeahah, yeah. Blake and I would have a ton of dunks in practice and you know, post practice and scrimmages during practice, but Everybody's going to say the Detroit one which I thought was really, really cool too. Um But I don't know, man. I've had it to Maybe when I was a rookie Uh I got DRat Liff which was You know, being him being an all time gr shot blocker and defensive anchor, I thought that that was pretty cool too I mean, you've had a lot of them. I mean the pons one Ive sort of got in prison for that one. Yeah. that was fun though. Yeahah. That was a go. Diodre, thank you so much joining having me.. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to Diodre Jordan for joining me up next. We got Bennett Sturs talking about his journey to the NBA This year's girls trip to Tell Y you ride was the best. We went up ourselves. withith my Spphire preferred card. And with five times points on chase travel plus three times points on vacation homes with top brands, we got this incredible cabin. It was imagine. And with three times the points on dining, we ordered a wagu steak dinner. And that pistachio gelato was too good. So where should we go next year I've got ideas. Chase Sppire prereferred. the card that's preferred for a reason. Cards issued by JK Morgan Chase Bank and any a member of DIC, subject to credit approval, terms apply All right now joining me, first round picking the twenty twenty six NBA draft Bennet Sturartts, Bennet. How you doing, man? s doing great. Thankks for having me on. I Appreciate you joining me today. I like to start out with this question here because there's a lot of people who listen to this pod who may not know your game much. They just watched the NA. So how would you describe your game to somebody who's never seen you play Yeah, it might depend because I have the ball in my hands a lot, but I can play On the ball, I can play off the ball and I can shoot it pretty well. So pretty dynamic on the offensive end and got a lot of people doubting me on the defensive end and just want to prove people wrong on that. So Yeah, my gam just overall, I think it's pretty strong and make my teammates better. I to like to pass the ball a lot. I mean yeah, I'm glad you mentioned the versatility aspect because with your game, you did control a lot the ball a lot in college, both at Drake and in Iowa. and I have a stat from CBB Analytics that I think kind of illustrates that You created forty five percent of your teams offense while on the court and you accounted for twenty six percent of Iowa's field goal attempts, including twenty five percent of their free throw attempts, thirty percent of their assists. So the ball was in your hands a bunch But you're also a knock down three point shooter for you that ability to play on ball and off ball. is that been something that's been teams have question you about at all? Like what's been that kind of process to show them like, hey, I don't just need the ball in my hands all the time First off, shout out to the Anna Legue team. That's pretty impressive. That's a goodass set, right? I got some more for you later Yeah, they're questioning it because I always have the ball in my hands. like they don't know how I play off the ball. So That's like the only reason I question it and prettytty much every interview I've had, they've every team's asked me that And my answer is I feel like I'm better off the ball And just because of my IQ, my ability to shoot it and just knowing when to cut and stuff like that I took some pretty tough shots just because people were all over me this year So I think my percentage it was this year. I think it can be a lot better just with just the amount of space that I have will have and then be, I think it would be a lot easier. Yeah, I mean, like Statistically over four years in college, so it's a large sample size granted you were on ball mostly. You shot you made forty six percent of your catch and shoot threes and those just aren't standstill three pointers. Th are off of movement, like no dip threes from the corner. You have a clear of talent off the ball and definitely as a cutter as well. And I think for a point guard like you with with your ability to feel the game, read the floor, you also translate to cutting as well And I think Part of it that's interesting with you too is the conditioning. You never come off the court. you play ninety two percent of your minute possible minutes at Iowa last year. That was the fourth highest in the country down from ninety seven percent of the minutes at Drake, the highest percentage in the country. What's behind that conditioning? Is there something you've done to be able to maintain that ability to stay on the floor for such long durations while possessing the ball so much Well, first off, I got to shout out my mom. She ran track at K st, so I've got that in my jeans. And I've always liked running, ran cross country and track. in middle school and high school. so at Like I like running. like most people can't say that, but I just think it's enjoyable. So I pride myself in that And I just I just don't like being off the court. I like being there for my teammates and I like winning. so being on the bench I just didn't have control of anything. so I wanted to be out there for him. I know I'm going to be on the bench more And I'm getting that. question in a lot of interviews, but u I feel like I had to pace myself these past two years. And like I'm excited to play harder. I'm excited to not be worried about fouling so much. So Yeah, just a a lot of excitement in this new chapter. Can you talk to me a little bit about that aspect trying not to fall because that was a thing with like Zach Ei D different position, different type of player, but at Purdue, they didn't want him trying to block shots, picking up foul trouble and getting forced off the floor because he was so important to their offense. And I think that's the thing with like a lot of star level players at the college level. And then they go to the NBA and Boom, suuddenly they become a competent defender or a really high level defender. Is that something that was kind of instructed for you at the college level? likeike hey, you can't get in fall trouble at all Bennet It was coming from Coach Mac and then my agent as well just yelling at me not to get in foul trouble because Like the first big ten games, I had to sit because I got in foul trouble and I just thought it was annoying not be able to use my hands on defensive end. They always put me on shooters because U I excel in that. so I had to run around a lot, but u Yeah, I'm just excited to just be more physical on the defense beenin. Did you always have a high work etleic? You mentioned your mom was a runner two So growing up, you clearly had that influence, but did you always have this work ethic since you were a kid Yeah, no, I didn't I my middle of freshman year in in high school. I got up, I started getting up at like six A to go to the gym and shoot before school and everver since then, it's just been a dream of mine to play in college. I had dreams as a kid to playing NBA and never thought they'd be real So u NBA really started to become a thing. after the Drake year, but yeah, work ethics always been there. sophomore year. A pop quiz for you. This is another stat from CBB Analytics. Over your four years in college, you played five thousand one hundred and eighteen minutes. This is the most minutes played by any college player in a four year span across He NCAA division since. blank Who do you think? U Oh man Any division men's, women's, anything Oh men's am anything. Okay I think someone sent me this tweet I think my grandpa sent this tweet is it Kelsey Flong? It is Kelsey Flum It is Kelsey Plum twenty twenty thirteen to twenty seventeen with Washington. It's pretty wild How minutes did she have? She had fiveive thousand one hundred and ninety Six minutes Epressive. Yeah, I know. that's kind of crazy So she slightly best of you for four years. Now with your with your college, Journey Bennett, you go from Northwest, Missouri state to Drake to Iowa you had that college dream, you said when you were an underclassman in high school and the NBA dream, you know wasn't really truly real until after Drake. What was the transition from high school to North Missouri state? Like was there not high major offers at the time where you overlooked Why was it kind of a late blossom for you Yeah, I thought it was overlooked personally. It was during COVID, so And the transfer portal started. so they were looking at people in college. So that's when that all started. too be honest, I didn't think I was very good. I thought it was like I was okay. I was a estate player, but like I didn't think I was D one good And u yeah even like went to D two, u Like trying to prove myself like I didn't think I was going play or anything like that. Like went in thinking I was gonna redhirt Soh, because they won three straight national titles before I got there. So, um, Yeah, just keeping my head down, getting the respect of my coaching staff and teammates Um just working at it. And uh Yeah, not not taking anything for granted. and u Ptty much it. It's crazy journey. I mean it definitely isn't like each level that the competition gets better and then you go to Iowa last year following your head coach and it's an awesome opportunity against even a higher level of competition. What's a big thing you learned about yourself this year that it doesn't show up in the box score? Biggest thing, I think my leadership. That really had to take a step up because past three years We had leaders on that team. I wasn't A leader or anything like that I was a sole leader at Iowa this year so That obviously didn't show up in the box score and it wasn't all pretty. like first big ten game was at Michigan State and we got twenty ball So we had a lot to learn and Um, like being the leader, I took a lot of pressure in that and had to learn and had just learn how to be confrontational to guys who I didn't think were working as hard as they should be or playing as good as they could be Uh So it was really uncomfortable at some times, but u yeah, I think the leadership really help me out this year. Is it important for a point guard to be able to be a vocal leader like that Yeah, for sure. just because You've got the ball in your hands all the time and people are looking at you. and you've got to facilitate You gott to call the plays Obviously the coaching staffs going to be a All of them are going to be leaders, but like They are playing on the court. likeike you've got to be, you've got to be the leader as point guard. I mean, or at leastoc for sure. I think that's very important Vocal. I don't think you can be necessarily just like the quiet guy in the lockerom. you can be that in certain roles, but not as a lead guard. That's important. Like I think that's That's part of what's interesting with you is I think like we almost started this conversation talking about what you didn't do in college with the offball stuff. But ultimately, if a team's going to draft you in the late lottery or the top twenty, they're going to be hoping that Bennett Sturts can be their point guard for a long time or one of their lead ball handlers. So I'm curious about your perspective of the league today with kind of the evolution of the point guard position. There's not necessarily that ris Paul, the John Stockton type in today's game as much. There's just a lot of ball sharing offenses with multiple initiators. How do you view yourself in role wise in the NBA? A there any players you look at around the league and you're like, I could be plugged into that spot. Yeah, player comp wise, I think two that come to mind are Jamal Muray, just what he plays with pick and roll with Yokitch or get to a spot, midrange game Uh, and it's pretty different but Tiderome those's two pretty different different players, but Ty Jerome with his pace uh, his frame how he gets to his spot, how slow in his pace I think those are the probably the two main ones Um But u Yeah, the other part of your question, like what I think of Sang Gars today I think every good team has two point cards and they can play off the ball or on the ball and can shoot it. So I think that's pretty valuable that just have another guy who can do that. I mean, isn't that kind of like what we see every year as the playoffs go deeper this year OKC like they run out of ball handlers. AJ Mitchell gets hurt and Jayen Williams gets hurt. They're running out of those guys and the Spurs have handling. ross positions the Kicks have a bunch of guys who you feel comfortable with who can handle the ball The Celtics two years ago. OK see last year when they were healthy, Indiana granted they lost. I mean, every single team ac cross positionss it's guys who can do that, right? Have you watched much of these this post season this year It's been super fun What's stood out to you. What what have been your observations about the playoffs? U pace of play and then just how physical they are just compared to like the regular season. like These dudes I love it because it's so physical and they're not calling me fouls. I love how ust competitive it is and how fast they play and just the shot making. difficulty of these shots they're making just it's so fun to watch. I mean it's pretty nuts. I mean, you saw the hard guard hard guard. Did you see that video of Kayla Bilson at Game one it kind of went viral on social media? He was reacting that Brunson. leeaning shot,'s like a kid kid watching it. He is a kid He is a teenager, but We're going be we're both gonna to be rookie. Yeah. I know right. How old are you right now twenty two. twenty two. I mean, that's still super young though, right? No Do you feel that ageism at all when it comes to conversations with teams? how they N not at all. Okay. No one's really like concerned about it either, whichich is good. And I don't think teams should be. I mean, everybody's trajectory different, right? You know I'm curious that you mentioned some player comps and this may not relate to any of your comps, but I'm curious, regardless of position If you could download a specific move from any other player in the league, what would that move be U Golly Proably Lebron fadea away good good to have. ability like just curry. is shooting in his range but specific move The fawn castle slow step That's pretty random. That is Red O. Yeah. I mean, he does that at a high level on those drives. Yeah Castle's an interesting player because like when he's two foot leaping around the basket, he just turned into a rocket ship That's crazy. Yeah. You gotta guess which one he's doing. Yeah, right, exactly I mean, so you' mentioned Jamal Murray earlier as a guy. And I think that's an interesting comp for you because I never thought about you kind of in the Murray lens as a player, but if you were paired with a big man, Who could facilitate? I think that's where kind of those flashes of your ability as a cutter and as a mover without the ball would almost become realize where we haven't been able to see it in the past. Was there ever a time in your life or playing at a different level or that you did play That type of style. Not really. I mean, we had a big man my D two days West Streamer who like facilitated and made it so easy to play with But since then, like ot really had a bigig that like got me shots. Like I'm always the one giving people's shots and there's nothing wrong with that I like doing it, but like it's just it's just a lot easier like Yokit justust facilitate and getting dude shots Um So I think it'd be super fun to play. H any H any teams brought that up your D two days when they talk about your game and all I'm curious They do their research now. Yeah Theyve rorought it up what do they observe about that time U I didn't shoot it. Like I didn't have the confidence back then, so they were asking about that Um, That's like the only only thing they brought up, but They like asked me like, why is that important in your journey H mentioned the shooting, the confidence aspects. was wasas it purely confidence then or was there something mechanical that you've changed over the years to become more of an elite shooter Ely confidence. like I knew I could shoot it It was just like I just didn't have confidence and it started being better after the Charleston classic, Drake, my junior year played Miami FAU and Vanderbelt, and that's like the first powerower five teams played in my life and We beat all three of them and that's like reallyally where it started like, Dang, we can do this. I can do this. I can play with. I can hang with these dudes So yeah, that's kind of where it just started my confidence and launched off from there. Has it been sort of like a snowball? Like you almost started working harder, became more motivated withith the success that's come Yeah, I would say like free would be the word. Like I'm playing more free. L there's no pressure, not worried out there and not nervous. during the game, I'm obviously nervous before the game Got these nerves, but She playing more free and trusting my shot. Does it matter do you get to get drafted high No Um, don't No't matter how high I get drafted up, I want the right fit want a team who really wants me who really likes me and u Yeah, just sees a lot in me for my future. Iess I have random questions for you Bennet Number one, what's your biggest motivator Biggest motivator. I think it's my faith. I rely a lot on that and God's given me a lot of talents So Yeah, just playing for him out there. Hey were you raised in a religious family as I saw both of your parents Well whoo introduced you to basketball between your parents? My dad my dad was my high school coach, so I always grew up around the kid, around the game. Kid. You have a ball in your hands for like pictures of you as a baby with a like little kid, right Do you have siblings at all? I do. I've got two older brothers and then one younger brother. They must be all pretty fired up for you right now this time of year, huh? Oh yeah, the best. What's your biggest pet peeve Every NBA team has asked me that. I really don't have. Nothing like nothing makes me mad Um I'll say like people who argue to the rest like too much. obbviously can argue to the rest like everyvery play like you don't gott to argue to the rest. I know who you're not a fan of. We don't need to say names. but I know. What's some music that you like that would surprise some people U Christian Rp. is Mo Christian Rp Here's some rap. Yeah. I love that. It's Yeahah People don't know a lot about it, but before gamees so. Wow, Okay, that's cool. Is there a favorite artist Leray What's your weirdest habit U weirdest habit. I like to play disc golf Okay And I play that too much We played golf once before with Mark Titus. You know the name Mark Titus, andm right? Yeah We played together when we were both living in L.A. It's fun. suuper fun I had a good time. It's free. Yeah. I had a great time doing it, man What do you do besides dis golf? What do you do besides basketball? What are some other interests of yours? Yeah, disc golf is big. I'm not like a big movie or TV show guy. So Hang out with the guys on the team, hang out with my fiancee. Yeah. I like to be out in nature. so hike go on walks, fish, be out in the water. Yeah. If you could have a superpower, what would it be Re people read people minds. Okay. You can't already do that as a point guard. the way you read the floor? Come on. I here to get that ability. You to tell that to the NBA teams they'll take you number one There you go What do you love about basketball the most the competitiveness and how much it It gets out of you just a stupid round ball gets you places. It's just crazy. So it's takaking me a lot of places. so super bare for it. Well Benon, I can't wait to see where it takes you moving forward from here. Ecited for you, man, rooting for you. and thank you so much for joining me I appreciate it. That was fun. All right, thank you to Ben and up next, we got Aron and Kruma talking about his journey to the league. All right now joining me twenty twenty six NBA a draft prospect from Tennessee State. Aron and Kruma, Earon, what's up man? okay, I appreciate you having met. So we have something in common. We're both from Massachusetts. You're from Wter I'm from Brockon Oh yeah. It's not too far off. It's like an hour, I think Yeah not too far at all. What's the worst pronunciation you've ever heard of Wsta? I've heard Warester like so many times Oh yeah. ye Worester is probably the most common one for sure. Yeah, yeah. but ye yeah, it's yeah, we're not too far. You grew up a Selvix fan? U A little bit. like I like the O eight team, like Rondo KG, Ray Allen You know, so U ye, I guess I was a bit of a sales expan S you were just a kid then though. I mean, I was born in nineteen ninety. were what o one baby or somethinger one. Yeah, I was like seven years old, but I still, you know, understood a little bit knew what was going on so Were you someone more that lik to play basketball more so than like just watching on TV Yeah, I just played like every chance I got like recessed, like I was a big recess like hooper so You've had quite the journey. You started your college career at division three Nichols College. you transferred to division three. W stab' to pronounce that way. Wter state. You w player of the year there jumped to Tennessee state. you won Ohio Valley confonference further. You got to the NCAA tournament as a fifteen seed and then you didn't get an invite to the Portsmouth invitational You got a late invite to the G League combine. You then you h thirty three points over two games, earn an NBA draft combine invite I'm curious, Aron. I mean, you've esssentially just been kicking down the door every single level of basketball When you have the season you had, you make the tournament You don't get the invite to Portsmith. How do you keep that from breaking your confidence time and time again Um I mean, you know, opportunity will come knocking when, you know, you're ready. so u I just feel like You know, even though I' deserving the opportunity, but again, it'll come at the right time. So I was happy I got it and just trying to make the most of it. so What's the biggest difference between the player who stepped on the court at Nichols College and the guy who forced an invite at the NBA draft Combine? U, just more confident guy. I mean, I always knew I could play growing up. It was just more so being like a raw talent Just stay in the gym, putting hours of work so It all paid off and I'm excited for the opportunity I have now so Now for people who are not familiar with your game How would you describe your game to someone who's never seen you? What's the Aaron and Krumasctin report U My scym report, I don't know it iss tough I know in the OEC, like It was Really all around like You couldn't Brrought me off the line because like I'm a good finisher. I make good decisions You couldn't leave me open, like I'll hit a shot. like it was kind of It was tough, but my sccout report, I just feel like it's all around. You know, I'm so versatile. I can do a lot of things on the court whether it's play M with the Bond of hoop or hit a tough shot. so Yeah, I just feel like this's we're all around. How many work How many workouts have you done so far this month and last? Um I've had five so far Um, So yeah, I think I have a total of like thirteen Somet like that so. It' been the most surprising or even consistent piece of constructive feedback you've gotten from executives so far Um, they're really they're really straightforward honestly. They kind of just say like play your game, you know, you're here for a reason, Don't go into the situation overthinkking your game You know, they've seen what I could do on tape. they broke me down pretty well. so Just not going into work I was trying to do things out of the ordinary, just be myself. So. What's the number one thing teams want you to get better at U Number one, I'll probably say like suoting, decisions is off the balance And just keep my defense where it's at, but obviously enhance it So, I think there's beenom for improvement in all aspects of my game. so Last season, you made thirty six percent of your catch and shoot threes, which was the best number of your college career. It was twenty eight percent in the previous three years. Have you been working on that catch and shoe jumper this off season? Yeah, yeah. It was one thing I put the most emphasis on. I kind of just stay in the gym. you know, shooting on the gun, whether it was swoting with teamates, coaches, like I just really put a lot of emphasis in that and Yeah, the numbers don't lie, so it's progressed over the years, but There's still room for improvement. so What are some of the things that have been gone into as just simply reps or is there something mechanical that's gone into it Um, yeah, it's just reps, you know, shooting the same shy you when you're tired. Yeah, disrupts all reps. so Okay, I see. And with you, like you mentioned the decision making off the bounce and how good you are to attacking close outs, I playing within the flow of an offense. like you can see that with the way you cut to the basket, your awareness off ball, you rebound, you you run the floor hard, you make the right pass and you kind of have like some creativity off the dribble as well. How do you envision your role in the NBA moving forward Um, I mean My role in the NBA could be anything, honestly, just because of how versatile I feel like I am. Sosly whatever organization needs, like Well it's for me to be a three and D, you know, hand of the ball whatever they need I'm pretty sure it's probably gonna be more of a three and D type guy. so Yeah, I just got to be able to defend at a high level and hit shots at high rates. so Would you say defense is your best skill right now Um I don't know. I think all my skills are the best skills Oh Yeah Really yeah. I so how would you describe yourself as a defender I'm a good defender. I'm a good defender Um I'm a good slider I'll sit like Iable switchable. Yeah, very switchable. yeah You mentioned you'll sit down and your stand. So like there's a have you always been somebody who hustles, plays hard on defense, stays locked in Um In high school, not really after like in high school I was kind of just like a score. You know, as you learn more about the game as you get older, like, you know, defense is what wins game so So you got to you know, really dial in on that end. so That's what it's been for me How much have you watched the NBA playoffs It's a lot a lot Let's stood out to you what have your observations been It wass really just a physicality, you know, You know, stakes are high, guys play what A lot of emotion you know, it just really been the physicality on side making ability on communication, like those things. Yeah, that's really what's been stood out to me What teams have you liked watching U My favorite team to watch in the playoffs is the Wriors, obviously they didn't make it this year. so I've been watching OKCOI The sppurs obviously in the finals with the next frame down. so I watch the spurs of the whole play off. w is just different animals. so How did you first get introduced to basketball Um Brother Like. He didn't really play basketball, but he played like his friends at the park and stuff. and like I was always tagging along with him.