SDSU Men's Basketball Media Day Quotes

Quotes from Kawhi Leonard, D.J. Gay and Billy White entering the 2010-11 season.

​On how the team is feeling leading into the season:
White: “Everyone is excited. We’re ready to play our first game, but right now we have to go through our first practice. It is our first practice today, so everyone is going to go hard against each other and we’re going to try to get better one day at a time. I think everyone is excited and just anxious to play that first game.”
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On being picked to win the Mountain West Conference:
Leonard: “I look at it as a positive. I know everyone on the team is, too. We know that we can be the best, so we are out here every day working hard and putting in hours so we can be the best.”

Gay: “It just puts a big target on our backs, and it’s going to force us to produce day-in and day-out. We are going to receive the best play from our opponent, which is going to force us to play our best as well. It is a positive, and it is going to make us play even harder so we can produce every game.”

On being ready for the challenges ahead:
White: “I think we’re ready. It’s a big year for us. The spotlight is on, and I think we can take that. We are prepared and ready to go.”

On off-season improvements:
Leonard: “I worked a lot on my core so that I can last the whole season and play to my full potential playing my hardest. We’ve been in the gym every day working on what we didn’t do so well last year, such as free throws. We worked a lot on the little things that help you win games.”

Gay: “I’ve been focusing on making a consistent shot. Billy (White), Malcolm (Thomas) and Kawhi (Leonard) are going to see double teams every time they touch the ball, so you have to be ready to knock down the open shot. Shooting the three is also something we as a team have to work on. Like I said, we expect there will be a lot of double teams so we have to hit the open shot.”

​White: “I try to shoot and run every day over the summer. I like to work on my dribbling skills and do some defensive drills so I can keep getting better.”

On team chemistry:
Gay: “There’s a big difference between last year and this year. As you know, last year we got off to a rocky start, and we didn’t really know where people were going to be at on the floor during certain times. With a year under our belts, especially with the great finish to last year, good team chemistry carried over. We’re already so far ahead of where we were last year, and that’s something that we’re going to be able to show on the court.”