Feb. 11, 1998

Q - How did you start playing basketball as a child and who taught you the game?

A - I started like most kids started, playing basketball in the neighborhood. Nobody really taught me the game until high school. That's when Bill Ellerbee became my coach. He started teaching me the game and how the game is supposed to be played. Coach Ellerbee was a great coach, but he was really more like a father figure to the players. He taught us as much about life as he did about basketball. He got about five or six guys into Division I basketball and he really got us ready for the next level.

Q - What person whether it is a player, coach or parent, has had the biggest impact on you as a basketball player and as a person?

A - My parents have had the biggest impact on me, because they stuck by me through thick and thin. When I was down they helped pick me back up again. My parents helped me in basketball by keeping me on the right path in academics and in life. When other kids in the neighborhood were doing negative things, they kept me on a positive role. They kept me on the right path.

Q - When did you start getting serious about the game, realizing you had both the talent and the desire to play at the next level?

A - I probably starting getting really serious in my freshman year of high school. At that time, I didn't make the varsity team. During that next summer I really worked hard so I would make the varsity team the next year. That is when I also started thinking about the next level and the work that it would take on my part to get there.

Q - What was it like leading your team, Simon Gratz High School, to the Public League Championship and achieving such individual honors at the Philadelphia Inquirer's City Player-of-the-Year award?

A - Winning the championship was the greatest feeling ever. It was better than any individual honor that I have ever won. We had lost in the championship the previous two seasons, and it was hard because every year we lost a lot of seniors. Each year we knew it would be hard to make it back to the level we did the year before. In the preseason before my senior year, we discussed what we had to do. It was our last year, and we just refused to lose. We had a winning mentality.

Q - What was the recruiting process like for you and why did you choose Villanova over the other schools on your list?

A - It wasn't a lot of pressure until it came down to choosing. People would call the house at all times of the day and you have to learn how to talk to those people. After I narrowed it down to the area schools (Villanova, Temple, St. Joseph's and UPenn), it was much easier for me. I felt as though I wanted to and could stay close to my family and still go to a good school and play big-time college basketball. I chose Villanova because the Big East was the best conference for me to play in. Villanova was home, but at the same time a little bit away from home. This was a good environment for me and they have good academics here. The coaching staff played an important role too. When it came down to it though, it was the history of the program, the winning and the NCAA Tournaments that really pushed me to come here.