24 Seconds with David West
:24
IS: Did you surprise yourself at all by how you much you improved this season?
DW: I wasn’t surprised really. I mean, I’ve always been confident in myself. I just needed to get healthy and stay healthy. That was the biggest thing.
:23
IS: What was your most memorable moment or game this season?
DW: There were so many great moments. I guess it’s when I first started to draw double-teams. That may be hard to understand if you don’t play the game, but when teams start to put two men on you to try and stop you or slow you down, you really feel like they respect you.
:22
IS: You worked on strengthening your knee and your jump shot last summer. What will you work on this summer?
DW: Just more of the same really. I’m always going to keep working on my game, but I think I just need to become more consistent and maybe extend my range.
:21
IS: What sort of music do you listen to while working out?
DW: I’m big into hip-hop and R&B; I like Jay-Z.
:20
IS: How many songs do you have on your iPod?
DW: I’ve got about 5,500 songs on there. I’m always downloading new songs.
:19
IS: Any good tuba music?
DW: No! No tuba music. I don’t play the tuba any more.
:18
IS: But the Hornets’ media guide says you’re an accomplished tuba player.
DW: Man, that was so long ago [laughs]. That was like when I was 10 years old. I guess that’s just sort of stuck with me.
:17
IS: So were you an accomplished tuba player at age 10?
DW: I don’t know about that. It was just one of those after-school programs they get you signed up for.
:16
IS: We saw the Hornets were giving out “Hornets Heroes” posters at a recent game, with cartoons of you, Chris Paul, Speedy Claxton and coach Byron Scott all looking like superheroes.
DW: Yeah, I saw that. That was cool. I need to shoot one of those to my nephew. He’ll enjoy that.
:15
IS: If you could have any actual super power, what would it be?
DW: I’d want to be Magneto from the X-Men movies and be able to have power over metal. I think that would be cool. I could stretch out the rims and make sure all my shots go in.
:14
IS: Who is the greatest superhero ever?
DW: I guess I’d say Batman. The new one. You know, he’s just like a normal guy. He doesn’t have any crazy super powers and he’s not from another planet or anything like that.
:13
IS: We hear you had a secret identity back in high school…
DW: Oh you did, huh? What was my secret identity?
:12
IS: Bag Man!
DW: Oh no. No, no, no [laughs]! That was just one of those things, my family needed some money, so I got a job bagging groceries my senior year of high school. I did the shopping carts, the whole deal.
:11
IS: What was the best part of that job?
DW: The best part was probably getting free groceries. At the end of a long day, they’d let us take home some milk and some food. You know, the stuff that was a couple days away from expiring. I’d take that home and my mom would cook it up and make a nice dinner for us.
:10
IS: The worst part?
DW: Just being a 6-8 bagger. That just doesn’t look right, you know? And then my friends would come into the store and ask me to double-bag their Starbursts, giving me a hard time.
:09
IS: Paper or plastic?
DW: Plastic, definitely. Plastic is just easier to deal with. You know, the old ladies still want the paper bags, but just about everybody chooses plastic nowadays.
:08
IS: Do you shop for your own groceries?
DW: No, my wife does all the grocery shopping for us. She handles all that. If I were the one going, I’d probably come home with Twinkies and Ho-Hos.
:07
IS: Good idea. You being a big star now, you might get mobbed going out into public.
DW: Nah, it’s not bad when I go out.
:06
IS: What’s the most unique fan encounter you’ve ever had?
DW: Probably at the hospital. My wife was in labor with my daughter and people kept coming up and asking if I could sign something for them real quick, or take a picture. I’d be like, “Well, it’s not really a good time, but okay.”
:05
IS: How have the fans in Oklahoma City treated you guys?
DW: They’ve been great. The people have really embraced us. They’re enjoying having a pro team to support and it’s been nice for us having sold-out crowds. Even the referees have made comments about the noise level in there.
:04
IS: What have you missed most about New Orleans?
DW: The weather and the food. You know, it rarely gets below 70 degrees, which you can’t beat, and I love all the different kinds of seafood.
:03
IS: What do you think the Hornets team means to the city?
DW: I would say that we’re a distraction, in a good way. They can come and watch us play, and have a good time, and just forget about all they’ve been through, all they’re going through.
:02
IS: The 2008 All-Star Game will be in New Orleans. What would that mean for the city?
DW: That would be great. Again, it would just be a nice distraction for the people there. It would give them something to look forward to and help take their minds off their situations, and just enjoy a fun weekend.
:01
IS: You keep playing the way you did this season, you might be in that game.
DW: I don’t really think about things like that. You know, I just want to keep working on my game and keep improving.
IS: Did you surprise yourself at all by how you much you improved this season?
DW: I wasn’t surprised really. I mean, I’ve always been confident in myself. I just needed to get healthy and stay healthy. That was the biggest thing.
:23
IS: What was your most memorable moment or game this season?
DW: There were so many great moments. I guess it’s when I first started to draw double-teams. That may be hard to understand if you don’t play the game, but when teams start to put two men on you to try and stop you or slow you down, you really feel like they respect you.
:22
IS: You worked on strengthening your knee and your jump shot last summer. What will you work on this summer?
DW: Just more of the same really. I’m always going to keep working on my game, but I think I just need to become more consistent and maybe extend my range.
:21
IS: What sort of music do you listen to while working out?
DW: I’m big into hip-hop and R&B; I like Jay-Z.
:20
IS: How many songs do you have on your iPod?
DW: I’ve got about 5,500 songs on there. I’m always downloading new songs.
:19
IS: Any good tuba music?
DW: No! No tuba music. I don’t play the tuba any more.
:18
IS: But the Hornets’ media guide says you’re an accomplished tuba player.
DW: Man, that was so long ago [laughs]. That was like when I was 10 years old. I guess that’s just sort of stuck with me.
:17
IS: So were you an accomplished tuba player at age 10?
DW: I don’t know about that. It was just one of those after-school programs they get you signed up for.
:16
IS: We saw the Hornets were giving out “Hornets Heroes” posters at a recent game, with cartoons of you, Chris Paul, Speedy Claxton and coach Byron Scott all looking like superheroes.
DW: Yeah, I saw that. That was cool. I need to shoot one of those to my nephew. He’ll enjoy that.
:15
IS: If you could have any actual super power, what would it be?
DW: I’d want to be Magneto from the X-Men movies and be able to have power over metal. I think that would be cool. I could stretch out the rims and make sure all my shots go in.
:14
IS: Who is the greatest superhero ever?
DW: I guess I’d say Batman. The new one. You know, he’s just like a normal guy. He doesn’t have any crazy super powers and he’s not from another planet or anything like that.
:13
IS: We hear you had a secret identity back in high school…
DW: Oh you did, huh? What was my secret identity?
:12
IS: Bag Man!
DW: Oh no. No, no, no [laughs]! That was just one of those things, my family needed some money, so I got a job bagging groceries my senior year of high school. I did the shopping carts, the whole deal.
:11
IS: What was the best part of that job?
DW: The best part was probably getting free groceries. At the end of a long day, they’d let us take home some milk and some food. You know, the stuff that was a couple days away from expiring. I’d take that home and my mom would cook it up and make a nice dinner for us.
:10
IS: The worst part?
DW: Just being a 6-8 bagger. That just doesn’t look right, you know? And then my friends would come into the store and ask me to double-bag their Starbursts, giving me a hard time.
:09
IS: Paper or plastic?
DW: Plastic, definitely. Plastic is just easier to deal with. You know, the old ladies still want the paper bags, but just about everybody chooses plastic nowadays.
:08
IS: Do you shop for your own groceries?
DW: No, my wife does all the grocery shopping for us. She handles all that. If I were the one going, I’d probably come home with Twinkies and Ho-Hos.
:07
IS: Good idea. You being a big star now, you might get mobbed going out into public.
DW: Nah, it’s not bad when I go out.
:06
IS: What’s the most unique fan encounter you’ve ever had?
DW: Probably at the hospital. My wife was in labor with my daughter and people kept coming up and asking if I could sign something for them real quick, or take a picture. I’d be like, “Well, it’s not really a good time, but okay.”
:05
IS: How have the fans in Oklahoma City treated you guys?
DW: They’ve been great. The people have really embraced us. They’re enjoying having a pro team to support and it’s been nice for us having sold-out crowds. Even the referees have made comments about the noise level in there.
:04
IS: What have you missed most about New Orleans?
DW: The weather and the food. You know, it rarely gets below 70 degrees, which you can’t beat, and I love all the different kinds of seafood.
:03
IS: What do you think the Hornets team means to the city?
DW: I would say that we’re a distraction, in a good way. They can come and watch us play, and have a good time, and just forget about all they’ve been through, all they’re going through.
:02
IS: The 2008 All-Star Game will be in New Orleans. What would that mean for the city?
DW: That would be great. Again, it would just be a nice distraction for the people there. It would give them something to look forward to and help take their minds off their situations, and just enjoy a fun weekend.
:01
IS: You keep playing the way you did this season, you might be in that game.
DW: I don’t really think about things like that. You know, I just want to keep working on my game and keep improving.
