“The love that the 12th Man showed while I was there, now that I’m gone and I moved on to a professional career, it’s just never changed.”
Texas A&M alumnus Tyrece “Boots” Radford made his NBA debut this weekend as a member of the Spurs during the California Classic at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Following Sunday’s game against the Kings, Radford spoke one-on-one with Aggies Wire for an in-depth conversation about his collegiate career and first two exhibition games with San Antonio.
Question: After you split your time between Virginia Tech and College Station, how do you look back and reflect on your college career in its entirety?
Answer: “I think it prepared me for this moment. The change I’m going through, coach Buzz always preached change is good and everybody needs change. That’s kind of the phase that I’m going through right now. Every day that I wake up, I’m prepared for change every time.”
Q: Primarily in your days at Texas A&M, what were some of the biggest takeaways that you had?
A: “Everything, like I said, prepared me for where I’m at now. Coach Buzz and his whole staff is ran just like an NBA organization. Here I’m a rookie so it’s different. Being in Aggieland was an amazing experience. They probably have the best fan base that I’ve ever been apart of or played with. I think for the most part, Buzz’s organization and the way he runs it has ultimately prepared me for this. All the talks, the workouts and how they’re so organized with how they run it.”
Q: With the experienced that you’ve garnered, what’s a piece of advice that you’d give yourself as a day one college freshman?
A: “I would tell myself to ‘be patient.’ Going into college as a freshman, everybody wants to play immediately and thinks they’re prepared for it. You have to preach patience because your time is going to come. My time came, I played and I was a starter in college. Now it’s a total reset. My experience in college from a freshman to a senior was to be patient. Now starting over, I can tell myself to be patient, it’s a process. I was talking to coach (Devin Johnson) the other day and it’s just about being patient but staying ready. The role I’m taking on right now coming off the bench, I pretty much never did that in my life besides probably my first year of high school, and that changed within a couple games. But now this is different. It’s a line, you gotta be patient, try your best to stay ready and whenever your opportunity comes, take full advantage of it. That’s where I’m at mentally.”
Q: When it comes to the 12th Man, how did they support you once you came to College Station, but also since you’ve left?
A: “The love never changed. When I do get on X, there’s a lot of people saying that ‘they’re a Spurs fan now, the Spurs got a good one and I look good in that silver and black.’ Today I logged on right after the game and I saw somebody said that ‘you can’t be a Mavs and Spurs fan at the same time, but the Spurs have a good one and Boots is there.’ Like I said, the love that the 12th Man showed while I was there, now that I’m gone and I moved on to a professional career, it’s just never changed. That’s the kind of university, to have that kind of fan support, those are the type of universities you want to attend and live in a culture just to see how it is. I can talk about it and tell you how good it is but you really have to experience it. Looking from the outside in, you can see it, but I feel better that I lived through that. It’s a blessing.”
Q: I started writing about Texas A&M last year so I don’t know the backstory behind the “Boots” nickname. How’d you get that and what’s your thoughts on it?
A: “They’ve been asking me that since I got to San Antonio. To make a long story short, Buzz gave me that name back at Virginia Tech. I’m just tough as boot leather. You’ll never catch a pair of boots with a hole straight through them. They have steel-toed, combat and they take so much wear and tear. You can try to get through them and you probably won’t. My game is as tough as boot leather. I take that as my personality but also in the games.”
Q: What’s it been like playing for the Spurs so far?
A: “Man, it’s been amazing. I won’t lie to you, it’s not too big of an adjustment off the court as far as how they run their organization. On the court, it’s a change that I’m trying to get use to and I’m going to get use to. Playing for the Spurs is a blessing for one and an opportunity. I’m just trying to take full advantage of it. I’m thankful that they even gave my agent a call to get me there. It worked out perfectly. I recently had a son two months ago, Tyrece Martel D’Von Radford Jr., when I got the call from San Antonio, my girl’s family is from San Antonio. They live 30 minutes away from the arena so when I got the call it was like 6 p.m. and I drove straight there. It all fell into place because I was able to drop my son and my girl off to her momma house and I was able to go to the facility because they were right there. If I do what I’m supposed to and God stays the same, everything fell into place for a reason. I’m going to continue to work and try to take advantage of the opportunity that the Spurs have given me.”
Q: What do you know about San Antonio in general when it comes to the city and fan base?
A: “I know the Spurs have some diehard fans. As far as the city, they have a lot of construction going on right now but it looks like a nice city. It’s laid back and out of the way like I want it to be, but also if you want the other type of life, it’s out there too. Me for the most part, I’m looking for stability. If I am able to pick up a contract here, I would love it. I’m familiar with it, I’m not moving across the country and we have family there. Mind you, my dad’s side of the family is from Texas in the Dallas, Plano and Fort Worth areas. My family is familiar with the area, it’s a nice city and I love it.”
Radford and the Spurs begin the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas against Portland on Saturday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
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