Category: Interviews

Staying level-headed: Georgia’s Carson Beck reflects on intangible growth, mentality of being Bulldogs QB

Georgia QB Carson Beck recently spoke on what he believes leadership as a quarterback means and how he shows it.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart noted one area ahead of the season he wanted to see his quarterback improve in, and that was in terms of showing more ‘fire’ and emotion on the field.

While Beck is mentally more of a cool customer than an excitable leader, Smart wanted to see his teammates feed off of his energy.

“That’s not comfortable for him. That’s just not who he is,” Smart said. “But his teammates need to see that fire and grit sometimes too.”

We asked Beck after the game about how he feels he’s lived up to that request. He hasn’t changed his identity but thinks he’s done a good job of making some improvement intangibly at such an important position.

“I think the big thing is that’s just not really me,” Beck said. “That’s never going to be me. Otherwise, it’s fake. But I think there is a level if you’re rating it from one to 10 where you can get a plus two of that emotion. That looks different, that shows different. I think I’ve done a good job of that.”

To Beck, there are good things about being a calmer, more laid-back type of leader — especially when the team gets into tough spots.

“I think I do a good job of staying level-headed and that’s important in my position, especially when things are going badly,” Beck said. “But I think that’s something I’ve been working on is trying to stay more positive and up my energy and enthusiasm. Showing confidence in the guys around me when we do well and instill positive injury into them.”

If there’s anything that’s apparent, it’s that despite some of the criticism Beck has drawn for two multi-interception games — the only two of his career — he has the respect and approval from the two most important groups of people around him. Those are his teammates and his coaches.

And really, it’s hard to fault Beck for throwing multiple interceptions in a game on two occasions. Alabama played up to standard on secondary where it had previously struggled the first time it happened, and the common thread between that game and the win over Mississippi State is that he threw the ball  so many times that it looked like Air Raid numbers.

It is the simple law of probability at play.

Beck finished out this game 36-for-48 passing for a career-high 459 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Those 36 completions tied the program record

In the Alabama game, Beck was 27-for-50 passing for 439 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Smart was pleased with him then as well.

“Nobody really understands what Carson (Beck) does in our offense, and you can’t really appreciate it unless you know what’s going on.”

Beck and the Bulldogs will look to stay on the right side of the win column as they’re put to a major test against No. 1 Texas on the road next week.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Sam Cassell: Nikola Jokic ‘wouldn’t stand a chance’ versus Hakeem Olajuwon

“I believe Hakeem [Olajuwon] would have an answer for whatever [Nikola] Jokić tried defensively,” Sam Cassell says of his former championship teammate.

After winning a pair of championships with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995, NBA veteran Sam Cassell is understandably biased in favor of his legendary teammate at center, Hakeem Olajuwon.

While Denver’s Nikola Jokic is currently the gold standard among NBA big men, having won three of the past four Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, Cassell doesn’t view the Nuggets star as in the same caliber as his two-time champion and Hall of Fame teammate.

Speaking to Draymond Green — a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year with the Golden State Warriors — on Green’s podcast, Cassell said of the comparison (as transcribed by EuroHoops.net):

Hakeem is a beast in every sense on the floor. He’s in the Top 10 in every NBA category — steals, rebounds, points. I think Jokić would score more points, but Hakeem would win because he would constantly pressure him. Jokić wouldn’t be able to do damage in the post; it simply wouldn’t happen.

On the other end of the floor, Jokić wouldn’t stand a chance. Joel Embiid gives him problems, and he wouldn’t have any hope against Hakeem. I believe Hakeem would have an answer for whatever Jokić tried defensively.

Now an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics, it’s worth noting that Cassell previously spent three seasons (2020-23) as an assistant in Philadelphia. There appears to be a rivalry between Embiid and Jokić, and that experience working closely with Embiid and the 76ers might have further tilted Cassell in an anti-Jokić direction.

Cassell’s complete podcast comments can be viewed below.

[lawrence-related id=125422,125285]

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama opens up on his offseason so far

Wemby sat down for a recent interview with French YouTube channel “Brut”.

Before his rookie season, one of the biggest knocks against star San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama finding success at the NBA level was his rail-thin physique. He has since silenced those doubters for now with his play on the court, but was asked about those doubters in a recent interview with French YouTube channel “Brut“. Wemby answered said doubters with a simple reply (translate by YouTube from French), saying “as long as I know I have it, there’s no reason to worry.”

Asked if he doesn’t fall for such distractions, he replied that it was “not true, I think it’s normal to have small weaknesses at times. But I don’t know of any distraction that could harm my career.” He did admit to a weakness for reading science fiction and fantasy books, however.

“It’s true, it’s really the only one, almost, for the moment, the only genre that I read well here. I love it. It fascinates me; the last book that I finished is the sixth book of ‘The Witcher’.”

As to his thin physique, Wembanyama also admitted he’d put on some weight in his rookie season. “10 kilograms — no, 4-5 maybe.” He’s also doing yoga, though not to improve his flexibility, as the interviewer suggested.

“That’s wrong; I am working my mobility, that’s it — it allows the body to move in a whole new dimension in terms of capacity, athletic capacity, so it’s really very important.”

A whole new dimension of athletic capacity for THIS guy? No wonder he warned the world after winning silver in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Kenny Smith on 1990s Rockets, Bulls debates: ‘You can’t erase history’

Kenny Smith on Michael Jordan and 1990s Rockets-Bulls hypotheticals: “He did play. The team they lost to, the Orlando Magic, we swept.”

The Rockets and Chicago Bulls were the NBA’s only two champions from 1991 through 1998, and Houston’s two titles in 1994 and 1995 immediately followed Jordan’s temporary mid-career retirement in October 1993. Neither team ever faced the other in an NBA Finals.

Given Jordan’s status as arguably the best player in league history, many fans have wondered whether his Bulls might have won eight straight titles, had that odd 18-month retirement never happened.

The reality, however, is that Jordan was back and playing by the 1995 playoffs. His Bulls lost in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs to Shaquille O’Neal and the star-studded Orlando Magic, who were later swept in the 1995 Finals by the Rockets.

In a new interview with Greg Rajan of the Houston Chronicle, Kenny Smith — the starter at point guard on Houston’s 1994 and 1995 championship teams, and now an NBA analyst for TNT — was asked if he thinks those Rockets get their proper due, seeing as how their titles came in between a pair of three-peats by Jordan’s Bulls.

Smith replied:

You can’t erase history. I don’t know if you get proper due, but you can’t erase history. Everyone always says “Well, Michael was out.” No, he wasn’t — he was wearing No. 45 (in 1995). And everyone is saying “Oh, he was rusty.” No one was saying he was rusty when he had 55 points at Madison Square Garden that same year. He had 55 points against the Knicks, who were arguably the best defensive team in basketball at that time. No, he was Michael Jordan. (The Bulls) just weren’t as good a basketball team. The team they lost to, the Orlando Magic, we swept.

I never look at it as getting respect. You can’t erase history. And we’re here to stay. He did play that year, so there was only one year he wasn’t there. He did play (during the second title run), he was there and we just didn’t get an opportunity to meet them.

To Smith’s point, the Bulls had something of a hole at power forward in 1995. Horace Grant, who started there during the first three titles, joined the Magic (who went on to beat Jordan and the Bulls).

Dennis Rodman, who ultimately replaced Grant and started at power forward during Chicago’s second three-peat, wasn’t able to join the Bulls until the offseason after the 1995 playoffs.

As for Jordan and any allegations of rust, it’s worth noting that he averaged more points, rebounds, assists, and steals per game in the 1995 playoffs than he did in the ensuing 1996 championship run — all while shooting a higher field-goal percentage in 1995, as well.

The bottom line is that even with Jordan in elite statistical form, the 1995 Bulls simply weren’t good enough to beat the Magic. Two rounds later, that same Orlando team was swept by Smith, Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and the rest of a gritty Houston squad.

As Smith said, that history can’t be erased.

[lawrence-related id=124091,113732]

Dwyane Wade sees big things in San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama’s future

‘You have to watch him play the game to really appreciate it,’ said Wade.

Former Miami Heat champion wing Dwyane Wade has seen the future — and the future is San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama.  After the US National Team won gold against a competitive French National Team, Wade shared some thoughts about Wemby’s Team France and the future of Olympic basketball via Sports Illustrated’s Scott Salomon.

“The game is growing around the world, they (France) will be back in four years,” said Wade. “It is the U.S.’s game, but this is not 1992 anymore. It’s a different day,” Wembanyama in particular caught the former Heatle’s eye in international play in Paris. “The way he shoots. The way he throws down the lob, we are going to see him on this stage for a long time,” said Wade of Wemby’s play for Team France.

“He is the future of the NBA, and he is the future of international basketball,” added the three-time champion boldly. “What your eyes see, your eyes shall believe … You have to watch him play the game to really appreciate it.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Trae Young doubles down on praise of Houston’s Reed Sheppard

Hawks guard Trae Young, a three-time NBA All-Star, tells Paul George that Rockets rookie Reed Sheppard will be “a hell of an NBA player.”

Trae Young, a three-time All-Star with the Atlanta Hawks, openly admired Rockets guard Reed Sheppard during the Houston rookie’s sensational debut at the NBA’s 2024 summer league.

Now, nearly a month later, Young is doubling down on that praise in a new episode of “Podcast P” (presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment and hosted by longtime NBA superstar Paul George).

Here’s what Young said while commenting on the league’s 2024 rookie class, as captured by Chris Gorman:

Reed [Sheppard]… is gonna be a hell of an NBA player.

Young’s full comments on this year’s rookie class can be read here, and the complete George-Young podcast can be viewed below.

As for Sheppard, the No. 3 overall draft pick in the 2024 first round, he averaged a team-high 20.0 points (50.0% shooting), 5.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.8 steals in four summer-league games.

In his 2024-25 rookie season, Sheppard will compete for minutes in Houston’s backcourt behind incumbent starters Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green. Other reserve options for those minutes are likely to include Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore, and Aaron Holiday.

[lawrence-related id=125173,125033]

Kendrick Perkins explains how James Harden’s 2012 Team USA stint led to his trade to Houston

In a new podcast, NBA analyst and former teammate Kendrick Perkins explains how James Harden’s 2012 stint on Team USA laid the groundwork for his trade to Houston.

The October 2012 blockbuster trade that sent James Harden from Oklahoma City to Houston resulted in the Rockets acquiring a player widely viewed as the second best in franchise history (trailing only Hakeem Olajuwon, a two-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer).

On the “Road Trippin’”  podcast, Kendrick Perkins — once Harden’s Thunder teammate and now a league analyst for ESPN — says that historic Harden-to-Houston deal got an assist from high places.

As Perkins recalls, it was Harden’s gold-medal run with the United States men’s national team at the 2012 Olympics that laid the groundwork for his Oklahoma City departure. According to Perkins, it was Harden’s distinguished Team USA teammates — namely, legendary players like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade — who convinced Harden that he was worthy of an expanded role.

Via Clemente Almanza of Thunder Wire:

“(Kevin Durant) said, ‘Man, (we’re) about to lose (Harden)’,” Perkins said. “… At the Olympics (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade), all those guys were telling James, ‘Bro, (you’re) too nice to be coming off the bench… You need to have your own team.’”

The full podcast and the Olympics snippet can be viewed below.

A few months later, Oklahoma City’s then-sixth man rejected the team’s contract-extension offer. From there, the fourth-year guard was traded to Houston for a package heavy on cheap, young prospects and draft assets. That deal allowed the Thunder to avoid any risks associated with keeping an unhappy Harden — who could’ve become a restricted free agent a year later — on the roster.

Eight All-Star appearances and a Most Valuable Player (MVP) award later, it’s clear that Houston won that transaction. Then-general manager Daryl Morey was the architect, but it appears that James and Wade may have played a behind-the-scenes role, as well.

[lawrence-related id=39621,44936]

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama warns the basketball world after France wins silver in Paris

In a word, goosebumps.

In his first year in the NBA, star San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama managed to win Rookie of the Year and make All-Defensive first team, a new league record. He would spend the next summer at the 2024 Paris Olympics, helping the French National Team win silver and being competitive for gold despite a dominant Team USA.

Is Wemby cowed by the resistance he is starting to feel as he spreads his wings at the NBA level? Truth be told — anything but. In fact, after Team France won silver, the French forward had a warning for his peers on the basketball court.

“I’m learning, and I’m worried for the opponents in a couple of years,” said Wemby ominously via the San Antonio Express-News’ Mike Finger.

Asked if he meant in the NBA or at FIBA events, he added the coup de grace — “Everywhere.”

In a word, goosebumps. The NBA and the world of basketball those players inhabit is full to the brim with such claims. But we believe Wemby can back it up.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Amen Thompson on Rockets teammate Dillon Brooks: ‘Coolest dude’

“He works hard for everything,” Amen Thompson says of Rockets teammate Dillon Brooks. “He prepares for games like he prepares for war.”

Going back to his days with the Memphis Grizzlies, veteran forward Dillon Brooks has always been something of a lightning rod for criticism. Teammates love him, but rivals? Not so much.

That trend has continued with the Houston Rockets.

In a recent interview with HoopsHype’s Sam Yip, rising talent Amen Thompson spoke of several topics related to his rookie NBA season in Houston. Regarding Brooks, Thompson said:

DB, he’s the coolest. It surprised me, to be honest. He’s the coolest dude. Really chill. He works hard for everything. He prepares for games like he prepares for war, so I see it in that aspect. Coolest dude for real.

Thompson, who helped Brooks fortify Houston’s perimeter defense last season, said the veteran shared some useful advice with him.

“Just always do something every day,” Thompson said of the professional perspective from Brooks.  “If that’s not basketball, working on your body. He’s big on that. He does that every day.”

Thompson’s complete Q&A interview can be read here.

[lawrence-related id=125132,125127,124179]

Brazil’s Bruno Caboclo on facing Victor Wembanyama at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Caboclo has had a good look at Spurs star forward Victor Wembanyama.

Former Houston Rockets forward Bruno Caboclo has had a good look at San Antonio Spurs star forward Victor Wembanyama as the two have been suiting up for their respective national teams of Brazil and France for the 2024 Paris Olympics. And Caboclo likes what he sees in his fellow forward, though, admittedly, he is far from alone in his sky-high praise for Wemby.

“I think he didn’t miss in the second quarter, and France was relying on him. So they took advantage of that,” said the swingman of a recent tilt he played alongside Wembanyama for Team Brazil via the Athletic’s Sam Amick.

“In the second half, he didn’t score very much, so guys had to make plays,” he added. “We tried to make a run to get the score down, but France played better.”

“I think they tried to figure out how to play with him and Gobert together,” recounted Caboclo. “He’s getting his rhythm as well to play for the national team with these new guys.”

“I think it’s going to take time to know what everybody can do together, and I think they have a bright future. It’s just a matter of time (for Wemby). He’s just going to keep getting better. He’s very young, and the sky’s the limit for him.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]