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DraftExpress DraftStation: Media Day, Part II

DraftExpress DraftStation: Media Day, Part II
Jun 28, 2005, 01:31 pm
Channing Frye

Interviewer: What will the team that drafts you be getting?

Channing Frye: I'm going to give them a professional. I'm going to do whatever I need to do to help my team win, whether it's dive on the ground, score baskets, block shots, rebounds. Pretty much I'm unmerciful, I've pretty much played basketball my whole life and I think I know what I'm doing out there. I'm a versatile big man, but at the same time I try to stay humble. I respect the game, I respect the veterans and I try to play the game the right way.

Interviewer: Talk about your versatility.

Channing Frye: With my versatility, I think I'm able to run the court, I'm able to bang with some of the best of them. I have a strong work ethic. I really try to stay humble and hungry.

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Interviewer: Are you ready to play right away in your mind?

Channing Frye: I really do. I think I have some things to learn. I need to catch up on some aspects of the NBA game, but other than that I think if I stay healthy, keep working hard and stay in the gym like I have been, I think I'll be all right.

Interviewer: Have you gotten any advice at all from your Arizona Wildcats teammates who've recently been through the same process?

Channing Frye: They said the only thing worse than not being in the NBA is being an NBA rookie, so they're really supportive of me, of how far I've come along. So they're just excited for me, which is awesome. They've both been in the league for a couple of years, and I'm kind of like the little brother of that group, you know, so it's good to see them out here supporting me in return.

On why Arizona players seem ready to play in the NBA upon arrival...

I think it's because Coach [Olsen] has a professional system down there at U of A. He treats us like men, he gives us opportunities to become better on our own. I think the way he sets up his program is that he constantly has good players behind you and in front of you so that you're constantly challenged every day in practice. And I think if you want to play, if you want to start, you've got to work on your game a lot more than maybe the next person. Having that type of caliber [player], you're always competing, always trying to get higher up on the ladder. It's always for the good of the team to come there and play, it's like a collective five in the coaching. You learn everybody's position and how to really play the game.

Danny Granger

Interviewer: With all your recent workouts, your stock has been on the rise. Can you explain what it's been like for you the last couple of weeks?

Danny Granger: It's been interesting. As you say, my stock has risen and that's pretty intense. It's one of those things where, it's really winding down. The Draft is tomorrow...

Interviewer: What can you bring to a team? Why should someone draft you?

Danny Granger: I think I can bring a lot to a team with versatility. I'm good at a lot of things. There are ways I can affect the court, with my defense, my ballhandling, my shooting.

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On where he'll get drafted...

There's so much talk about trades -- speculation about who's going to trade up, who's going to trade down -- I don't think nobody knows where I'm going to go. Except where Marvin (Williams) and Andrew (Bogut) are going to go, other than that, you don't know.

DraftExpress: Danny, with all the changes to the NBA lately, have you thought about the fact that you might have to play in the NBDL a little bit to get experience?

Danny Granger: I'm aware of that. It's not my first choice, but, yeah, I'm aware of it.

DraftExpress: Are you ready for your life to change being a full-time basketball player?

Danny Granger: Definitely. I mean, it'll change a little bit. My whole life I've been a full-time basketball player, especially in college. I think now we just won't have to go to school.

DraftExpress: Are you going to miss school?

Danny Granger: I will miss it. I love New Mexico, my time in New Mexico. It was a great place to play basketball. So I think that'll be the only difference now...now, you've got to understand the NBA, you know, it's a business.

DraftExpress: What are some of the workouts you did?

Danny Granger: I've done a lot.

DraftExpress: Any one that stand out in your mind?

Danny Granger: Once you get into these workouts, they kind of get routine. You go from one to the next, you go to your hotel room, you don't know which hotel room you're in because you were just in another city before. So they get really routine. I can't really recall.

DraftExpress: How was your workout in Toronto?

Danny Granger: It was great. I had a really good workout in Toronto. I liked the city, liked the coaching staff. It was a good workout.

Marvin Williams

Interviewer: You've been asked this question a lot, but do you care where you get drafted?

Marvin Williams: (Number) one or two, no. I don't care about that. But what position or what team it's going to be, definitely. I feel like in the end that's more important than whether you're going one or two.

Interviewer: What are your thoughts on the impending age limit? Do you think it makes a difference?

Marvin Williams: Oh, no. I don't think 19 is much different than 18, that's my personal opinion. One year of college, you know, for a lot of guys, it helped me tremendously, so one year of college can help.

Interviewer: Everybody's got you either the first or second pick, can you talk about the honor that makes you feel?

Marvin Williams: It'll definitely be an honor. It'll be nice. But I'm more concerned about fitting in with the team that picks me.

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Interviewer: The Hawks haven't had a pick this high in 20 years and haven't made the playoffs since 1999. Did they convey to you when you were there for a workout that you'll have all eyes on you?

Marvin Williams: I think so. I knew that they hadn't made it to the playoffs the past few years, and that's something they're going to try and get back to. It's a big pick for them, and Milwaukee has a big pick, too.

On whether Bogut will be the top pick...

I'm not really sure. It does seem like Milwaukee is heading towards Bogut a little bit, but I don't blame them. Andrew is a great player, he'd be good for Milwaukee, so that would definitely be a good fit for him.

DraftExpress: Are you prepared for the chance you could drop out of the top two?

Marvin Williams: Yeah, oh yeah. I would never sit there and say I would only be one or two and that's that. I wouldn't be surprised at all if I went lower.

DraftExpress: Are you ready for the lifestyle change that comes with being a pro basketball player? No more hanging out in the dorm.

Marvin Williams: A little different, yeah. There'll be no more school, though, so that's not too bad. No more finals (laughs). It won't be too bad. I'll have fun, definitely.

DraftExpress: (pointing to GIANT diamond in his ear) Is that earring new?

Marvin Williams: Yeah, brand new.

Raymond Felton

Interviewer: How difficult is it for a young point guard to come in and make an impact in the NBA?

Raymond Felton: I'm not saying it's difficult, it's difficult for anybody to try and come in and make an impact, but that's what you have to do.

Interviewer: Could you have made this jump to the NBA coming out of high school?

Raymond Felton: Could I have made this jump? I mean, I might have could have made it talent-wise, I was talented enough. Physically and mentally, no, I couldn't. I wasn't ready for it.

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Interviewer: Are you part of a generation that stayed in school and succeeded in getting drafted?

Raymond Felton: I think so. It got to the point where so many guys were coming out of high school and getting drafted that great players in college were getting looked over. There's not but so many spots, everybody's not going to be picked. So it makes it tough. There's a lot of talent, there's going to be guys that get picked in the second round who just as well could have gotten picked in the first.

Interviewer: Do you think the changes to the labor agreement are going to help college basketball?

Raymond Felton: Definitely. It's definitely going to help college. College basketball is going to be that much more talented, that much more exciting. It's going to be more talented, there's going to be a lot of kids that's going to be able to go to college.

Interviewer: What do you think the Bobcats are going to do?

Raymond Felton: I don't know. They're very interested in me, they're interested in all the point guards. It's just a decision on who they take.

On the time leading up to the draft...

Oh, man. Just chill, but sometimes I just sit and daze off. Am I really going to wake up one day? Is this really true? Is this really happening? Coming from a small town, I always dreamed about this, but I never really in my mind -- I never doubted it in my mind it would happen -- but at the same time, I never thought it really would happen. The place where I come from is a small place. Dreams come true, you know. If you work hard enough, you can accomplish whatever you want to accomplish.

DraftExpress: What do you think your chances are of going in the top 5?

Raymond Felton: I mean, it's a 50/50, 75/25 good chance. It's a great chance.

DraftExpress: With the proposed changes to the NBA, there stands a possibility that some young guys may have to spend some time in the NBDL. How would you feel if you were asked to play there for a time?

Raymond Felton: Man, my opinion on that is they need to go back to school if they've got to go to the NBDL league. I mean, not knocking the NBDL league, but at the same time, if I was in that situation, I'd just go back to school or go to college if I'm not in school. I wouldn't even go to the NBDL league, just try to shortcut into the NBA.

DraftExpress: If the team that drafts you asked you to spend some time in the NBDL to train, what would you say?

Raymond Felton: Spend some time in the NBDL league? Um, no, I wouldn't accept that. That's just the competitive person in me. I wouldn't accept that. I would just work hard just to prove to them that I wouldn't need to be down there.

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Hakim Warrick

Interviewer: When did getting drafted stop being a dream and start becoming a reality?

Hakim Warrick: After we won the National Championship (in 2003), I started to think that if I work hard, I have a chance to get to the NBA. I just continued to work, get some buzz on my name, got a little bigger, just kept getting better than last couple of years. The next thing I know it, I'm here, invited to the Green Room.

Interviewer: Your name has been mentioned a lot in regards to the New Jersey Nets. What can you say about playing with Jason Kidd?

Hakim Warrick: I think it's great. I know that playing with him would make my game a lot easier. Playing with a great point guard like that, I'd love to do that. Just the thought of that brings a smile to me, to play with such a great player.

DraftExpress: Do you have the size to play power forward in the NBA?

Hakim Warrick: I think right now, I'm getting a lot bigger and if I continue to lift weights, I'm going to get bigger and could play the power forward, especially in an up tempo system.

DraftExpress: Hakim, you've been mentioned prominently with the Golden State Warriors. How do you feel you fit in with their style of play?

Hakim Warrick: I think I fit in great with their style of play. I think an up tempo system fits my game, my athleticism. It really suits me best.

DraftExpress: What about playing less zone in the pros, are you prepared for that given Syracuse's emphasis on zone?

Hakim Warrick: Yeah, that's going to be another adjustment for me coming in. We played a lot of zone, but it's something I think I can get used to.

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