Demar Derozen Interview

You walk into the gym. You hear basketballs slamming against the hardwood, dropping off the backboard, rotating through the net... Then, fresh from nowhere, a blur flies by you. The rim shakes. The ball slides through the nylons. Your face has sweat on it.

Just a regular, run-of-the-mill T-Bag, courtesy of the most vicious high-flying shooting guard in the nation.

Demar Derozan has taken basketball by storm. From the days when he was giving free facials to big men at Compton High, to making ESPN invent new superlatives for his jaw dropping dunks, Demar has been king of the court. You might expect an All-American caliber player to have a big head and walk around with an entourage. He might even be real stand-offish… Not Demar. He's a down to earth, normal 18 year old guy...with a sweet jump shot…and a filthy crossover…and STUPID hops...and nice lateral quickness on defense… Okay, so he's not normal, he's a phenom. Remember when he brought the house down at Mission Prep? Or how about when he won the McDonalds All-American Dunk Contest? Dude's got urban legends already. "Man, I heard dunked on a whole frontcourt," "He has range from half court." At the Sayno Classic, I got a chance to kick it with him:

JW: You're fresh off a great high school career, and now you're on your way to USC; when did you decide you wanted to get serious about basketball?

DD: Probably when I really started understanding the game… I was thirteen and I began to understand a lot of great things can come out of it, like more than just the game; it just opens a lot of doors. I treat it as my job, as my life, so that's what I've been doing for a while.

JW: You recently played at the Nike Hoops Summit on the USA Junior National Select Team; tell me a little bit about how it feels to put on the USA threads and play some international cats:

DD: It feels great man, like playing against everybody in other countries, the top players overseas and putting on that jersey for the US, that feeling you get playing for The Unites States; it's a once in a lifetime opportunity and I just want to represent my country and do the best I can.

JW: Everybody always talks about how crazy your dunks are…And a lot of the members of the site want to know what drills or lifts you do to get those hops:

DD: Really… to be honest, I never really worked on [my hops] lately, so you know it just came naturally, I was blessed.

JW: Tell me something about your game that not enough people know about.

DD: Mainly that I work on my all around game and defense really; I do more than just drive in the lane and dunk, I want to lock down the best player on the other team, and I'm just aggressive on both ends.

JW: Tell me about the Kobe Skills Academy

DD: It was amazing, playing against the greatest player in the world (and my favorite player), and last year we played on the same team and I watched him and OJ go at it. This year, we played on different teams and the crowd wanted us to go at it, and we did.

JW: I heard it through the grapevine that you dunked on Kobe; what's your take on that?

DD: Man, everyone keeps asking me about that. I mean I dunked during the game, but it wasn't like on him, it was more around him. Kobe is the best player in the world; it was just great to play with him. But no, it wasn't like some people are saying. At first, I didn't even know what they were talking about. I was like…when was this?

JW: List your all-time starting five:

DD: Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Myself, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Russell…He's got 13 rings.

JW: What was it like to play in the McDonalds All American Game?

DD: It was big for me, because I remember I used to watch the game every year and I wished I could play in that game… and when I got closer and closer to my senior year I got nervous then I found out I was going to play and I just went nuts. It's such a big thing.

JW: Alright, last thing before I let you go; Rihanna…or Beyonce?

DD: I say Rihanna… I have to go with her. I like her accent, that's the one thing she has over Beyonce