A Conversation With David West
After playing on the Hornets’ second unit as a rookie and missing 52 games due to injury in 2004-05, power forward David West has been one of the NBA’s most improved players this season, bumping up his scoring average by about 10 points per game.
theBuzz magazine’s Jim Eichenhofer recently sat down with West to discuss a range of topics.
theBuzz: You recently said that you aren’t paying much attention to the Most Improved Player award discussion, even though many consider you to be the front-runner to win it. You obviously aren’t preoccupied with the talk, but do you still take a measure of pride in being mentioned as someone who worked hard on his game and made major improvements during the offseason?
David West: Well, more than anything else, I’m happy to be playing and being out on the floor. My goal this whole year was just to stay healthy. As long as I could stay healthy, work hard and be productive, that was what I was looking for. We’re a young team that has a lot of growing to do. We’ve got a lot of guys – myself included – where this is their first time getting major minutes. It’s one of those things where I just had to put some time in, and you hope it pays off.
theBuzz: The injury you sustained last season limited you to just 30 games. Even when you did suit up, you weren’t necessarily 100 percent. When you look at your production this season, do you think you could have made a similar improvement in 2004-05 had you been healthy?
West: I think so, because (last year’s team) was a similar situation, and I think the opportunity would have been there. People talk about how this year (the Hornets) traded Big Cat (Jamaal Magloire), but last year Big Cat got hurt and missed a lot of games.
Last year I started four or five games, then I got hurt. My numbers
were
better than I anticipated in those four or five games, but I got hurt.
Last
year I thought I was going to have a chance to have more of an impact,
but
the injury made it so it didn’t really work out. But this year,
especially
going into the summer, my main objectives were to get healthy, get my
knee
strong and make sure that wasn’t even a factor. It was important to
come in
with a lot of confidence, looking to be out on the floor and making
positive
plays.
theBuzz: You have displayed increased range on your jump shot to the point where you are a consistent shooter from 20 feet. You also seem to rely more frequently on your left hand on drives to the basket. What were some of the specific things in your game that you worked on this summer?
West: This summer was all about repetition and getting shots up and getting that confidence back. There were times during my rookie year where guys were definitely yelling at me to shoot the ball. Even one of the coaches told me that the closer shot isn’t always the better shot, because a lot of times (when you try to penetrate), you’re going to end up with a turnover. For a majority of the summer I worked on my shot, and that’s helped with my range and my overall game.
I’m actually probably a lot better penetrator than I am a perimeter shooter. Once my jump shot starts falling, guys start pushing up on me.
theBuzz: Have you noticed opponents making any specific defensive adjustments against you, considering how much more productive you’ve been this season?
West: A lot of guards are helping a little more because maybe the bigs can’t get out to me. That’s where I’ve got to keep working, because you know teams are going to make adjustments. They’re not going to let the same guy hurt them over and over again.
There are a variety of ways you can help a basketball team outside of scoring. Right now teams are focusing on me shooting the basketball.
As far as my left hand, I’ve always had a strong left hand and always felt comfortable playing on the left side of the floor. Since I’m right-handed, guys are going to play me that way, but I can easily go either way.
theBuzz: Just curious: You have a degree in communications from Xavier. Do you have any plans to go into broadcasting or some related field after your playing career?
West: Well, my focus with that degree was partly on political communication, and the other part was organizational communications in businesses. I guess people always talk about my voice being good for radio (Editor’s Note: West’s possesses a deep voice).
I did a couple radio spots (during college), small things, in Cincinnati. That was something I was really into in school.
theBuzz magazine’s Jim Eichenhofer recently sat down with West to discuss a range of topics.
|
David West: Well, more than anything else, I’m happy to be playing and being out on the floor. My goal this whole year was just to stay healthy. As long as I could stay healthy, work hard and be productive, that was what I was looking for. We’re a young team that has a lot of growing to do. We’ve got a lot of guys – myself included – where this is their first time getting major minutes. It’s one of those things where I just had to put some time in, and you hope it pays off.
theBuzz: The injury you sustained last season limited you to just 30 games. Even when you did suit up, you weren’t necessarily 100 percent. When you look at your production this season, do you think you could have made a similar improvement in 2004-05 had you been healthy?
West: I think so, because (last year’s team) was a similar situation, and I think the opportunity would have been there. People talk about how this year (the Hornets) traded Big Cat (Jamaal Magloire), but last year Big Cat got hurt and missed a lot of games.
|
theBuzz: You have displayed increased range on your jump shot to the point where you are a consistent shooter from 20 feet. You also seem to rely more frequently on your left hand on drives to the basket. What were some of the specific things in your game that you worked on this summer?
West: This summer was all about repetition and getting shots up and getting that confidence back. There were times during my rookie year where guys were definitely yelling at me to shoot the ball. Even one of the coaches told me that the closer shot isn’t always the better shot, because a lot of times (when you try to penetrate), you’re going to end up with a turnover. For a majority of the summer I worked on my shot, and that’s helped with my range and my overall game.
I’m actually probably a lot better penetrator than I am a perimeter shooter. Once my jump shot starts falling, guys start pushing up on me.
theBuzz: Have you noticed opponents making any specific defensive adjustments against you, considering how much more productive you’ve been this season?
West: A lot of guards are helping a little more because maybe the bigs can’t get out to me. That’s where I’ve got to keep working, because you know teams are going to make adjustments. They’re not going to let the same guy hurt them over and over again.
There are a variety of ways you can help a basketball team outside of scoring. Right now teams are focusing on me shooting the basketball.
As far as my left hand, I’ve always had a strong left hand and always felt comfortable playing on the left side of the floor. Since I’m right-handed, guys are going to play me that way, but I can easily go either way.
theBuzz: Just curious: You have a degree in communications from Xavier. Do you have any plans to go into broadcasting or some related field after your playing career?
West: Well, my focus with that degree was partly on political communication, and the other part was organizational communications in businesses. I guess people always talk about my voice being good for radio (Editor’s Note: West’s possesses a deep voice).
I did a couple radio spots (during college), small things, in Cincinnati. That was something I was really into in school.
