How have your first few workouts been compared to college?

Ryan Anderson: “The strength and quickness is something that’s definitely different from the college game. Everybody is an elite athlete and ready to come out and dunk on each other’s heads. It’s a different atmosphere in that aspect. Everybody can make their own plays. Everybody can score, everyone can play defense, and everyone can get rebounds. It’s definitely fun to play against elite competition while improving everyday.”

Is the gap between college play and the pros as big as everyone says?

RA: “Yeah, I definitely think so. It’s different because in college, people get recruited because their great defenders or because they can block shots, but all these guys here can do everything.”

What is your first impression of Coach Frank and the coaching staff?

RA: “Their great, they definitely slow down things for you and if you need help with something they’ll correct you right there on the spot. It’s great, coming to an organization as a rookie, it’s just different. You want to learn, you want to know what you are going to be doing on offense, and you want to learn it to the “T”, exactly how they want you to run it. It’s great to have guys out there to direct you and lead you in the manner that they do. They are definitely straight to the point and that’s what I really like. They’re great guys and they want to see you improve.”

How has it been playing with older, more experienced players? Have they been helping you out along the way?

RA: “Yeah, I mean its great playing with guys like Marcus Williams who have had a lot of experience playing in the league. Playing with a guy like Marcus who’s eventually going to be dishing me the ball and someone who I’m going to be playing off of during the season. It’s great to be playing with him right now, get a feel for his game, and get a feel for what he does. It’s great playing with guys who have had experience because you know that you can compete with them out here and you can play with the elite competition.”

Playing in the PAC-10 with guys like OJ Mayo, Brook (Lopez), Bayless, Love…all those guys were picked ahead of you but you lead the conference in scoring. Do you feel like you have something to prove out here?

RA: “Well I’ve always had that underdog mentality. Everybody’s always been looking at me and thinking that I can’t do things. So, I always have a chip on my shoulder with that. I do want to prove that I can do things in the NBA and that I can compete at the highest level and do my thing. I feel like I have a game that matches what the NBA wants. They need outside shooters and big guys that can spread the court, guys that can be real versatile. That’s the kind of player I am. Those guys are great players. We had so much talent in the PAC-10. They had a lot of press and hype growing through their experience. More power to them, I wish them the best of luck in the NBA. I’m going to keep working hard and doing my thing, be the best player I can be.”

What is the biggest challenge you are facing coming into the NBA?

RA: “Basically I need to get stronger, that’s my biggest thing. If I’m going to be a power forward, I’m going to need to put on more muscle. I know I can rebound with these guys. I have strong legs so I know I can post up guys down low and box out. It will help me a lot if I can put on more muscle.”

You played some center at Cal when DeVon Hardin went out. How has that helped you develop?

RA: “That helped me a lot. It gave me more experience playing down in the post, especially versus bigger guys like Brook Lopez. I know how to guard guys down low and I know how to guard perimeter guys. It definitely helped a lot.”

Did you play any other sports when you were younger?

RA: “Not in high school, I’ve always just played basketball. I love playing golf, that’s one of my hobbies. I use to play baseball in junior high.”

What does your family mean to you and how have they supported you along the way?

RA: “I have an incredibly supportive family. My mom, Sue, she’s an interior designer. She works from the house and she’s always been there for us. She’s a great mom and very supportive. Of course it’s hard for her because I’m all the way over here on the east coast. She’s kind of struggling with that.”
“My dad works at Chevron. He works in the innovation technology department. Basically, he runs meetings and thinks of innovative ways to do things. He’s not a gasoline guy.”
“My sister, Rachel, is going to Sac. State (Sacramento) to work on her graphic design. We’re really close and I’m going to have them down here a lot.”

Are you coming out here by yourself and do you know where you will be living yet?

RA: “Yeah I’ll be out here myself. I’m thinking NJ; we’ve been looking around at places. Brook and I are thinking about getting a place near each other. It would be a lot of fun.”

In middle school you were considered the laughing stock of your team at one point. How did that experience help your basketball growth?

RA: “Well there’s a story behind that. I was kind of a chubby 6’5” kid in 7th grade, a kid who couldn’t shoot the ball at all. One of my buddies was making fun of my shot because I had a horrible looking shot; I shot it from my waist. They were like, “Man, you need to work on that.” Everybody was laughing at me because I was playing up at the 8th grade level. So I was like fine whatever. So I modeled my shot after one of the older guys on the team who shot from his shoulder. I started shooting and by the next year I became a three-point shooter. I worked on my shot a ton. Even in junior high, I got in the gym a lot and shot everyday. So even then, I’ve always been the underdog, people couldn’t think I could do things and I would prove them wrong. I weighed 260 pounds my senior year coming into my freshman year at college. I dropped that a couple months before I entered into Cal, doing a diet plan and working out. I got down to 225. That’s what really helped me at the next level with quickness and strength.”

Coming from a small town in California, how do you think you are going to adjust to the east coast? What are your first impressions so far?

RA: “I love it, I love New York City. My dad is ecstatic, he loves New York. We took a family trip down to NY in junior high and we loved it. My dad and I always raved about that Carnage Deli; we just loved the cheese cake. It’s a great atmosphere and it a great organization to play for. The guys are great and my family’s just really excited and happy about it. I think it will be a pretty quick adjustment, besides the driving. I hear it’s a little different then in the Sacramento area.

Have you done any touring at all? What’s your favorite site so far?

RA: “Well, I went with my family. My dad gets a map and tries to find all the awesome destinations. We went up to the top of the Empire State Building, we went to time square and we saw a show on Broadway. My family loves that kind of stuff. We were going to go through Central Park and just walk through it. There are just so many great things and you’re never going to be board and that’s what I love about it. I also love being in New Jersey because it’s kind of a more suburbanized NYC. It’s just a 15 minute drive to the city.”

Talk about your experiences with the church group you were part of as a kid? How has that helped you?

RA: “Yeah, I come from a Christian family, a really religious household. It has really taught me. Going to Mexico (three times as a teenager) and doing a bible school type of thing for these kids. Man, it really taught me because these kids have nothing. You know I’m around people that are complaining because they didn’t get the newest car or something like that. It’s amazing. It put me in my place. It taught me that money isn’t everything. Some of these people were way happier then people in the United States that are a 100 times more fortunate then the people in Mexico. It has helped to just stay humble. Being a professional basketball player, it’s a tough atmosphere to stay humble. It’s taught me to stay humble and that’s important.”

What are you going to miss most about college life?

RA: “Just my buddies, we had a really close relationship on that team. Of course they are going to come and visit and come to games. We had a really tight knit group. I’m hoping to get that here. It was nice playing there. They were like family, and my brothers. “

Were your college teammates pulling for you to come back or make the jump to the league?

RA: “They said whatever decision you make will be the best decision. They were supportive with me either way. When I told them I was going to stay in the draft they were really excited for me. They were great.”

Favorite basketball player growing up?

RA: “I love Michael Jordan; he was awesome to watch growing up. I love Dirk Nowitzki. Those are probably the two that stand out.”

Would you say you model yourself after Dirk Nowitzki, being an outside shooting big man?

RA: “That’d be great. That’s they type of player I want to become; a real versatile guy that can do almost everything.”

Favorite TV show/movie?

RA:“I like ‘Family Guy’, that’s probably my favorite TV show. I like so many movies, that question is too hard to answer. The last movie I saw was that Zohan movie, it wasn’t that good.

Nicknames?

RA:"Everyone at Cal called my Rhino, which was really my only nickname."

Favorite sports teams?

RA:“I’m from Sacramento. When the Kings had that crazy run I was a huge fan. I followed the Bulls and Michael Jordan and of course the Nets.”

Baseball Fan?

RA:“No, but I heard I need to be a Yankees fan here and a Giants fan with football.”

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