“I feel this emptiness in me, like I still got something to prove and I still got so much stuff to work on in my game.”
“I’d never think about not hooping. I’m always thinking about doing something with hoops or what can I work on today that’s going to make me better for tomorrow.”
“You hoop with a certain expression. That’s your art. You’ve crafted it, so it is your art.”
“I have to be mentally right every time I take the floor.”
“One of the best ways to express yourself is the way you dress.”
“I feel like potential is limitless. It’s as far as you want to take it.”
“I got some skills I can build on; I can be an all-around player.”
“I have a mental coach, which is super cool, but it’s also kind of eerie at times.”
“I remember the Vince Carter Raptor days: playing all the video games with him. Playing against him is one thing; having a chance to learn from him is a whole – another level of excitement.”
“You get a chance to get the ball every time, you’re gonna do better quicker, and you’re gonna gain experience faster.”
“I think I just gotta get more selfish.”
“When I get to Sacramento, I’m going to work my tail off trying to become a complete player and hopefully bring a championship to the city.”
“I’m talented enough to do a lot of different things.”
“A lot of NBA GMs have asked me about me why I changed my middle name to Trill. Actually, the reason why I filed the paperwork to change my name was so that I could officially add my mother’s last name, Stein, to my own. My mom is my best friend, and I wanted to honor her.”
“’Trill’ is a combination of ‘true’ and ‘real.’ It’s my philosophy.”
“I had to sit out for 21 weeks. I got to feel what it would be like if I didn’t play, and I can’t imagine not playing.”
“If you want to be a good shot-blocker, you’re going to be a good shot-blocker. It’s simple. You can’t teach it. You’re either good at it, or you’re not good at it. If you’re good at it, then be really good at it.”
“Wherever I’m needed, I’ll go and play. It’s that simple.”
“Being a playoff team that got championships, it’s going to bring something different out of you.”
“That’s two different influences… The Warriors nation as a fan base, that’s a whole lot of pressure. Then you got the pressure of playing with some greats.”
“The outlook is for me to grow.”
“Normally, I know what I’m doing.”
“If I didn’t love the game, why would I play at the University of Kentucky? Why would I ever come here? It’s a serious program.”
“You got to be interested in other things. If you focus on one thing, you’re going to eventually – like, you’re going to get bored with it, or you’re going to get burned out on it.”
“My grandparents have taught me that since I was younger: just to be involved in a whole bunch of different things so you don’t get burnt out, and you know what you like to do and what you don’t like to do.”
“I don’t enjoy art.”
“My life revolves around the ball.”
“I like thinking and being able to answer questions that are tough to answer. You have to try to figure out how to get a good answer and look intelligent.”
“I understand what it takes to be an elite player in the league.”
“I’m athletic enough to do guard stuff, so if you were to mold me into having guard moves and footwork in a big’s body, that’s revolutionizing the game.”
“Like, I did baseball, football, or track – I never really worked on a sport every day for years like most kids that hoop.”
“You can do anything. Put the time in to do it, and you could do it.”
“Being able to guard the pick and roll makes you a high asset in the NBA.”
“Being able to hedge on a ball screen and the guy coming off and being able to guard him for a brief second and then go back and block a shot in one possessions, that’s big. There’s not many dudes that can do that.”
“Defense is natural. Defense is a reaction. Offense – you’ve gotta do the moves; you’ve gotta get it down pat.”
“I got a call from my agent; I’m out in the boonies. They’re like, ‘Where you at? The Warriors are trying to call.’ I’m like, ‘Hold up! I’m on the lake, and I ain’t got no service.’ So I had to drive two miles up the road so I could get service and take the call.”
“I’m real. I’m completely authentic.”
“Golf is so mental. It gets my mind right before the game.”
“I love being at Kentucky. I love the fan base. I love the community. I love the people there. So it’s like, why not stay until they make you leave?”
“At Kentucky, you have to be a competitor. If you’re not, you’re going to look weak. You’re going to look like you don’t belong.”
“There’s no part of me that doesn’t like basketball. I love it.”
“I don’t see myself not playing basketball. I don’t see myself not around basketball.”
“I wish I still had all of my old schoolwork. I’d just have all the sketches around the schoolwork, and none of the schoolwork done. Just sketches all around. I was always doodling something.”
“I have a lot of art in the house, but it’s mine, friends’. Not necessarily – like, I didn’t spend thousands of dollars to attain it. It’s authentic, at least.”
“I can play three positions – five in college – but realistically three in the NBA.”
“I think that’s one of the things that intrigues people the most: my defensive versatility. My movement and mobility is something that piques everybody’s interest.”
“Everybody knows that I can play defense. I’ve showed at times that I can score, but I just think they want to know, ‘How consistent are you in your moves?’”
“I love football.”
“I just wanna show people I’m a hooper.”
“I don’t wanna be labeled as just a defensive player or a rim protector or someone who can dunk. I feel like I can do everything.”
“Some of my conversations with Jay, I’m not really saying much, just listening. It’s really just learning. I’m trying to have Jay Z’s money.”
“Since I got to college, I wanted my own shoe and clothing spot. It’s called ‘Catalyst.’ That’s the ultimate goal. I wanna put it downtown Sacramento. It’s poppin down there. They don’t have anything like that.”
“People say I don’t have a jump shot, so that’s what I’ve been working on.”
“I think it’s getting proven I’ve got good mechanics; I make my free throws. I handle the ball, too. I can do a lot of things I didn’t do in college.”
“Being more vocal – I think that’s something, as a professional, you have to be really good at. You have to be able to speak your mind.”
“Seeing my teammates happy is more fun than me actually doing something.”
“I’ve gotten better every year. I’m only going to continue to get better and better, and I’m just scratching the surface. I’m 25 years old, and I’ve been hooping at a high level for a long time.”
“I just want to hoop freely.”
“You’re a pick-and-pop guy sometimes. You can get rolling with what the defense gives you.”
“Numbers don’t lie. I think it’s pretty cut and dry what consistency is.”
“I’m just unique. I do my own thing. I live by my own rules.”
“I used to be super self-conscious about my height. I mean, going everywhere and someone just looking at you – you’re never not in the spotlight.”
“I don’t like to be in the spotlight. I like to just chill and observe other people.”
“The way I dress, the way I talk, the way I do things, what I say on Twitter – it’s just like, that’s who you are, so don’t try to mask who you are just because of what other people think of you.”
“I don’t think I’m as good as people say.”
“Some weeks, I’ll go super-hard at practice for two straight days, but then the third day, something happens away from basketball, and I’ll lose focus. I’ll say, ‘I just want to get through practice. I don’t want to conquer it today.’ But then I’ll go home and realize I missed a chance to get better, and it’ll bother me.”
“You’ve got the power to change people’s lives just by talking to them for a few minutes or by smiling at them. It makes you feel kinda weird, but it can also make you feel really good.”
“With my grandparents, it was almost like a hippie lifestyle. I could do whatever I wanted. If I didn’t want to do my homework, I didn’t do it.”
“I’m getting drafted because I can guard multiple positions. Anything that comes other than that, there’s no pressure there.”
“I don’t really care about my game, honestly. I just want to win.”
“I’m just trying to win something… I play with a chip on my shoulder, a real passion.”
“I play hard all the time and bring a lot of energy to the table.”
“A lot of kids my age can make a lot of mistakes, but college athletes that are in the spotlight, you have to grow up so much faster than regular students or regular kids your age because you are a public figure, so you get one shot, sometimes two.”
“I’m really straightforward. I’m going to tell you how it is. I’m going to speak my mind.”
“I’m real mentally strong, so there’s just not a lot that people can say to get me off of my own self and lane, and my confidence.”
“I’m trying to be a franchise player one day.”
“When your teammates are telling you to score and telling you to shoot 3s, when you ain’t shot a 3 in your whole life, that’s cool. I mean, that makes you feel good. and, like, all the work you’ve put in, they are telling you to show what you have been working on.”
“I’m too athletic to play the dunker role at center.”
“I have an advantage over most big guys – I’m quicker and faster.”
“Call me whatever you want, but I’m eventually going to play like a power forward.”
“I’m not your cookie-cutter athlete, and that scares people. People don’t know how to take that.”
“I love the game, but I’m not going to play the game for the rest of my life, so you need something else you’re good at, another passion. You have to be well-rounded, or else you’re going to burn out, and you’ll lose passion for what you’re doing.”
“I’m not your average athlete. I’m good at other things. I’m not just a basketball player. I’m multi-talented.”
“The only problem that I had in my younger years and in college was not knowing if I had the confidence on the offensive side to just take over.”
“If I really want to be the best player in the country, all I have to do is work at it, and eventually, you’re gonna get there.”
“I see myself as the No. 1 player in the draft, but it is what it is. You can just take it day-by-day, put in the work, and the draft is going to be the outcome of whatever the draft is.”
“How you balance class and school and other stuff outside, then working out twice a day – as a freshman, you’re thrown right into that. It’s good for you. It makes you go through adversity.”
“The chip comes from people saying I’m not good enough, or I can’t score, or I’m not a real basketball player.”
“I don’t know how you can be an All-American in this country and not be a good basketball player.”
“Nobody else can tell you what you are.”
“It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. You know what you’ve done and what you’ve been through to get to where you are.”
“A lot of the quote-unquote interests that I have are not really interests.”
“Every game is a playoff game.”
“Basketball is everything, but I love fashion, too!”
“I have a tattoo on my arm that says, ‘The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.’”
“Every possession matters, and everything goes down to the wire.”
“I come from a town of 800 people, and you just listen to Jay Z there. You never think about meeting him. Then suddenly, one day, you’re in his office, hearing stories about his whole journey.”
“I probably started painting when I was in preschool.”
“Whenever I really want to, I can paint. It kinda just goes by my emotions and feelings at the time.”
“How I dress is the way I feel. If I’m wearing bright colors, I’m probably in a great mood.”
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