I think playing the way I played, and knowing the game the way I know it, I think I'm going to have a better idea as to what the mindset of each player was.
Look, I think playing the way I played, and knowing the game the way I know it, I think I'm going to have a better idea as to what the mindset of each player was.
I always try to find better ways to do things. Whether it's a game plan, a practice, a meeting, an interview, whatever it is. I'm going to find a way to find a way to analyze it and find a better way to do it. That's my mindset. I've never been satisfied with anything. That's just my mindset. I'm always trying to find a better way to do things.
I played sometimes about as dull as you can play it. I did things the right way, you know. I think I modeled my playing ability after one of the all time greats, Joe DiMaggio. You always found Joe, when he played, you know, he always threw to the right base. He ran, he caught the ball. He did all the right things. He was an idol of mine in the outfield. He played the game the way it was supposed to be played.
In my first press conference I said, 'I'm here to win.' If you don't think that way, or any player thinks that way, why are you playing the game?
I think, as a coach, you have to be willing to do what's best for the player. And you say what's best for the player: is it better to give him a game suspension, three-game suspension, no suspension. I think each case may be different in that.
If I changed the mindset of some players or my mindset helped some players to be better - maybe. But I don't think it was me changing anything for the club because playing for Manchester United means playing with the pressure, playing with the responsibility.
Because [Russel Westbrook] is so rare and impacts the game in so many different ways, you see the usage and the amount of time he's playing and say, 'is this sustainable?' I look at it the other way. Are we playing the right way, are we playing together as a team, and what are his minutes like? This is not a guy that's playing 42 minutes a night. When he goes out there he's going to play to who he is, and I think he also understands that in order for our team to be the best we can be he's got to incorporate and help everybody grow as players.
The purpose of this is not show that I can do it better, because I think Superman is perfect. The original creation of Superman nobody could have done that better and I think Batman is pretty much a perfect character... The same with all of them. I'm just going to try to find a way to say, "If that wasn't the original idea, what would be another way to do it that would be more in my style?".
I'm just playing basketball, the same way I have always played, from juniors and even back to middle school, I'm just doing it the same way. Nothing different. Just a team game, playing and having fun and trying to play the right way.
I think that's the difference in my game compared to some other guys. I just believe in playing in the flow of the game, playing the right way with ball movement.
The way I look at it within myself, why not? Why can't I be the MVP of the League? Why can't I be the best player in the League? I don't see why-why-why can't I do that? I think I work hard, I think I dedicate myself to the game and sacrifice a lot of things at a young age and I know if I continue to do good, what I can get out of it and if that's me going out or doing whatever, I'm willing to do it because I know in the long run, it's going to help me.
The reason I am here, they tell me, is that I played the game a certain way, that I played the game the way it was supposed to be played.
I think that my IQ level grew as a player. I think that I [run] the game a little bit better. I'm waiting for the game to come to me, and I'm picking and choosing my spots instead of just going out there and just doing whatever because I don't have to do that with this team?
I would loved to have played with Scholes. He plays the game the way it should be played and at his peak he was the best midfield player in the world.
I think basketball has changed tremendously and for the better. I think that obviously the game is better. I think the skill of the players are better, the strength, the overall athleticism, the teamwork involved. I think coaching is better. We have more exposure for our game than ever. You know, our sport has grown significantly in really the last five years. It's pretty amazing.
I've tried to improve - defending, attacking, pressing, trying to think before a game, to be more clever, do something before the defender can think of it, to become a better player. That makes me feel good, that hunger to improve in every way.