A Quote by Trevor Ariza
Like I've been saying the whole time I've been in the NBA: anything the coach asks me to do that I can do, I'm going to try to do. Whether it's to score the ball or guard the center, I'll do it.
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When the coach told me I was playing, I said: 'We're going to Brazil.' It doesn't matter how. If I'd had to score with my hand, the ball would have been in the back of the net.
I feel more comfortable with the ball in my hands, playing the point guard. But I like playing the 2, too. I think I bring tough defense and the ability to score and also get my teammates the ball to score.
If you're versatile, there's no reason a coach can't have you in the game. That's what my dad's philosophy was, so from a young age, he taught me to be a guard first and a big second, though I don't think he had a crystal ball to be able to see what the NBA would become.
I'm passionate about coaching and being able to mentor young men in a lot of different ways. I think it's good to be able to do what you love to do. It's been in me since the beginning. I was telling my college coach what to do and he trusted me. When I got into the NBA, I started having conversations with coaches. Coach Gregg Popp(avich) brought a lot out in me. Coach Don Nelson gave me an incredible opportunity to spend some time with him and he molded me but at the same time allowed me to be myself.
I will dive on the floor for a loose ball. That's how I'm trained. I can guard a guard if I want to. That's just that price. I'm not gonna sit here and let you score on me. That's in my blood.
If someone's going to throw me in, I'm not gong to try and hit a ground ball to third, you know? I'm going to try and hit it in the air. If someone's going to throw me away, I'm not going to try and hit a ground ball to second, I'm going to drive it to right-center.
I've been blessed to coach alongside and play for some of the best coaches in the NBA, and consider it a privilege to once again be a head coach with an excellent organization like the Suns.
I remember when I went to try out for the Olympic team in 1972, Coach Iba told me he didn't care how many points I could score because if I couldn't guard anybody, I wasn't going to make the team. I knew to make the team I had to become a better defender. If you can play offense, you can defend. It just comes down to competitive will.
My dream was to be in the NBA. I wasn't really focused on being a star player on a team. I just wanted to make it to the NBA. I've been blessed for the opportunities to be in the Finals, been in the playoffs ever since I've been in the NBA.
Now you've been in the playoffs once, you know what it tastes like, you know what it feels like. You know, going through the season when Coach is preaching physicality, how hard you gotta play, how you gotta take care of the ball, why he's saying that. Because all that comes into play in playoff basketball.
40-minute game at Duke - they got soft rims - I'd probably score 84 or 85. I wouldn't pass the ball. I wouldn't even think about passing it. It would be like a 'NBA Live' or an 'NBA 2K7' game: you just shoot with one person.
If you are getting into coaching right out of college, you're not one of the coaches because you're not really, like, a coach yet. You're someone who's in limbo all the time. Navigating that is not easy. If you try to be too much like a player, then the coaches are like, You're not too serious about coaching. If you're going to be too much like a coach, the players are not going to confide in anything.
My whole life, I've felt like I can do anything on the basketball court, from playing point guard in high school to having to play center one year in high school, doing everything in college and going through different roles in Philadelphia.
I think it's the hardest part for about 80 percent of the guys in the NBA. That's just the way it is in the NBA, unless you're a mega superstar. You're just going to play wherever you go. You try to find the right fit and the right team with the right system and the right coach at the right time.
The Internet is like walking into a room in your house you never knew was there and, like, it's full of thousands of people who have been listening to everything you've been doing and saying the whole time! Scary.
When I was younger I used to read everything. 'Why is this guy saying this, why is this article saying this.' That's one of the things Coach Saban has taught me, he does not listen or read anything that's out there at all. He says 'why am I going to waste my time?'
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