As told to: Travis Tate, Hornets.com
February 4, 2010
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The team really came together and won a bunch of games last month (12) and I’m glad to have been a part of that. Now we have a new challenge with CP3 out for a little while – I’m ready to pick up the slack and keep this team on track towards the playoffs. A lot of people are telling me that I’ve been playing really well whenever Chris is injured… I guess I just know I’m not going to come off the floor much. When you come off the bench, you have limited time out there and when you’re a starter you don’t look over your shoulder at the bench as much. It’s the same game, no doubt, but the minutes are a different situation.
We had a game the other night in Memphis and came back from 21 points down. I don’t remember a game where my team came back like that. That experience in Memphis showed me how resilient we are. Anybody can win any game; you just have to keep playing until the final buzzer. That’s a difference from college – it’s definitely harder to come back in college. There’s shorter time there and here in the league there are so many more possessions. We were all right behind each other and we all fought and we all played some big-time basketball down the stretch. That was a great game.
WHO DAT
Of course, the Saints are the talk of the town. It’s crazy here. This is one of the most supportive cities for a team that I’ve witnessed. I was in a restaurant for a regular season game, not even a playoff game, and everyone started going crazy. I was like, ‘why are they going so crazy?’ The Saints had just gotten a first down. Not even a touchdown! Just a first down and they were nuts! It just shows you how supportive the New Orleans fans are with their teams, so the city has been great to play for and live in.
A WELCOMED BREAK
The All-Star break is coming up and it’ll be a nice break for us. I haven’t really ever lived away from home before, so I’ll get a chance to go home and talk to my parents and visit relatives and relax. I will definitely be watching the All-Star weekend and then the game on Sunday. I think Peja should have been in this year’s three-point contest – he’s one of the greatest shooters in the league. In the dunk contest, I like Nate Rob to win it again but I think Shannon Brown is going to have some tough stuff to match up with. If there was a guy on our squad I’d want out there, it would definitely be Juju. He’s done some crazy stuff in warm-ups and practices this year. Definitely Juju.
December 4, 2009
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My first real breakout game was when I scored 20 points against the Blazers on Nov. 13 – we lost that game, so it didn’t really matter that I played well, but it did feel good to sort of begin to break out a little bit and get some freedom going in my game. It was great – it felt real good to do that in the league. It was nice to come out of that shell and put up a couple of points to help the team. I’ve had some good games since then and it’s cool to do some scoring – that’s probably what I’m best at in the NBA.
LIFE ON THE ROAD
DC and I have had some attention from fans and media about being rookies – we always have to carry around these Disney bags and stuff. We also had to do some dancing and different things in the summer, but it’s cool. With the rookie stuff that we have to do, you’ve just got to do it. You’ve got to pay your dues. Once you do it and do what you’ve got to do, it’s all good.
So far, being on the road with the team has been real cool. We’ve been to New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami and Atlanta, among other stops along the way. On the court, it’s hard to pull out road wins in the league, but just seeing different places, hanging out with the guys, going from city to city, it’s been everything that I dreamed of.
October 16, 2009
Hey Hornets fans! Darren Collison here – I’ll be writing a little bit about my life in the NBA this season. As you have probably figured out, I’m one of two rookies this year, along with Marcus Thornton from LSU. I’m from California and went to UCLA for four years. Our team made three Final Fours while I was there, so, hopefully, I can bring in a winning attitude and try to help out the Hornets however I can.
There weren’t any rookies on last year’s team, so I think we’re getting the rookie treatment for two years’ worth. In Lafayette at training camp, the team made Marcus and me dance and sing “Single Ladies” by Beyonce in front of about 800 fans during the team’s open practice! Check out the video of us breaking it down - it’s funny stuff! At first it was embarrassing, but then when they started encouraging us it became a little bit more fun. It’s all fun and games, anyway, I’ve just never had to do anything like that before. Hopefully our team comes together and we can use the experiences – however embarrassing they might be! – to help us win a bunch of games this year.
Like, the veterans will be cool with you, start laughing with you and the next thing you know, they’ll have you do something. The guys are constantly planning practical jokes, but hey, that’s all a part of being a Hornets rookie.
Our season has started with some preseason games coming up, but for us, every day we’ve just got to watch our back. When we go in the locker room they might try to pull something on us. I can’t wait to see what these guys have in store for us!
Until next time, Geaux Hornets and wish me luck with these wily vets!
