On what he brings to the team:
Buddy Hield - “Just being a great teammate. Being a guy that can spread the floor. Space the floor for guys like Anthony, he’s so special the way he does things. He can play both ways. Score the ball in multiple ways, he can pick and pop. He posts up. So just spreading the floor and making life easier for Anthony.”
On his improvement throughout college:
Buddy Hield - “Just attacking my workouts each and every day. Being mentally focused and working on the things I need to work on to get better. And just watching a lot of film and looking at my mistakes.”
On being drafted by New Orleans:
Buddy Hield - “To be honest we knew we were going to be stuck in that 3-6 range. When the Pelicans organization, Mr. Demps and Coach Gentry, came down to Anaheim to watch me workout, it felt like family already. The way they connected with us, how they connect with me and Rob, one of my other teammates. When I worked out, the workouts were serious but after workouts they were just joking around so it felt like family and I felt comfortable and I felt welcome. I told Rob, ‘that’s the place I want to go to’. It was the perfect fit and I’m glad I’m here now.”
Cheick Diallo - “When I got the call I was like, ‘wow I’m going to the clippers’. And after people kept texting me saying you’re going to New Orleans. And I was like ‘okay’. I’m not going to say I’m not going there because they traded two people to get me. So I want to do anything to make Dell look good. I want to work hard every day, go 100% every workout. I don’t want to take a day off, because they did something for me, I want to give something back.”
On his experience at Kansas:
Cheick Diallo - “Basically at Kansas I did not play a lot because I was late. I showed people at the combine I can play. A lot of people said this team, this team, or this team would draft me. I always hoped I could be a first round pick, but I didn’t go there. So I think that this is a great fit for me here, so I’m so excited to be here.”
On talking to Anthony Davis:
Buddy Hield - “No we haven’t really touched base yet, but I’m willing to learn and pick his brain a little bit. He’s been in the league for 4 years now. He’s a top 5 player in the league, soon to be MVP. So I’m just waiting to learn from guys from Anthony in this league.”
Cheick Diallo - “Same thing with me too. I just want to learn from old players on the team. To be smart like them, to know how the system works here. And to know how they were treated like a rookie here, so I just want to be close with all my teammates here.”
On staying in school for 4 years helped prepare him for the NBA:
Buddy Hield - “Yes sir. No doubt, I feel like staying 4 years helped me. I could have left early, but I wanted to be there 4 years under Coach Kruger. He’s a great coach, great coaching staff. I was really able to learn and watch film and learn from my mistakes each and every year. After my junior year, coming into my senior year I just attacked all my workouts and was more mentally focused. It was now or never so I had to make that jump.”
On how he started playing basketball:
Buddy Hield - “I started running track as a kid. I was loving track, but after I started watching basketball I fell in love with Kobe Bryant. I started building my own courts, I know you alll heard the story. Coach Crutchfield, assistant at Oklahoma, saw me playing in a showcase in the Bahamas. I just picked Oklahoma because I felt it was the perfect fit for me with the up and down tempo they run on offense. The same way, talking to Coach Gentry, they want to play fast, and it’s a perfect system for me.
On representing the Bahamas:
Buddy Hield - “It means a lot, this doesn’t happen a lot back home. There isn’t a guy in the draft from the Bahamas every year, maybe every 15-20 years. So I’m just glad to be blessed, I thank god for every opportunity he’s blessed me and my family with. I just use that for motivation and continue to work to be the best that I can be.
On the Pelicans’ up tempo:
Cheick Diallo - “Basically yes, because I just want to keep fighting. A lot of people doubt me, saying he can’t really play because of the Kansas stuff. I don’t care about what happen before, I just want to keep moving forward and working hard.”
On the Kansas-Oklahoma game:
Buddy Hield - “Thank god he’s my teammate now.”
Buddy Hield - “It was fun. It was up and down. Tired, fatiguing, all the guys were fighting their hearts out for their teams trying to get a win.”
Chiekc Diallo - “I was on the bench so I was like wow. On the bench I was like ‘wow number 24 is good’. I was like ‘wow, someone needs to stop him’. That guy is from the Bahamas, I was like okay. He was getting buckets everywhere, I was like wow.”
On the importance of character:
Buddy Hield - “I feel like it’s important being good character guys and setting an example for young kids. It shows that we’ve been raised up right. We have good people around us like my mom, my brothers and sisters and all my family members around me. So I just use that to stay humble and hopefully kids can use us as examples.”
Cheick Diallo - “To me, I don’t have my family here, but they are watching over here. One day I want to move them over here to have good people surrounding me. I have my legal guardian and my agent so I have nice people surrounding me.”
On his game against LSU and being in Louisiana:
Buddy Hield - “I’m really looking forward to it. As soon as I came off the plane it felt hot, it reminded me of home. It’s the same feeling, a feeling I’m used to. I want to make a great impression on the fans, I hear the fans are great down here. I just can’t wait to connect with them and I’m just excited to play in front of them. So I’m just here playing for the fans and I’m going to give them my best and start a new legacy here.”
On playing at Kansas:
Cheick Diallo - “Yes, I want to prove people wrong a little bit, but that’s not enough. Sometimes I have to prove that people were wrong. A lot of people doubt me and think he wasn’t playing at Kansas because he wasn’t good enough. So I have to prove people wrong because I know people don’t know who I am. People don’t know what kind of things I do. People say oh second round pick, he didn’t start basketball until 2010. That doesn’t mean anything. That was 5 years, it doesn’t mean anything. I’m so happy to be here, but don’t know who I am, but I have a lot of opportunities and I want to do anything to get better. Anything in life, whether its my coach, my teammates, anything I just want to learn from anybody.”
On his fit on the court:
Cheick Diallo - “On the court I do three things best. I just want to do my main things, I don’t want to do anything different. I just want to listen and do whatever coach wants me to do. I want to block shots, rebound, and run the floor. Those are the three things I do best.
On his fit in the system:
Cheick Diallo - “Yes I see a lot of advantages, you know playing with a superstar like Anthony and a three point threat like me, it is kind of hard to pick your poison. If he’s operating in the post, guys can’t double him. It gives him more room to operate. His ability to pick and pop and catch and shoot. I feel like I can space the floor for everybody. I’ll do whatever coach needs me to do and I’ll be here all summer working on my game, watching a lot of film. I like the coaching staff’s mindset on what they’re trying to do with me to better this team.”
On when he started thinking about the NBA:
Buddy Hield - “When I started watching it, age 12. I loved the game, loved the hype around it, the atmosphere, the momentums, the crowd going crazy back and forth. When you’re on the road and the crowd is going crazy, I just wanted to be a part of it.”
Did you every think that this would be a reality? Becoming a first round draft pick:
Buddy Hield - When I came here I was 17. In the Bahamas, we always think of the big picture. I always had the confidence to know I was going to make it. Nobody knew about me yet, but I knew inside myself that I was still going to open up eyes anytime somebody watched me play. I was not scared of the moment. Every time I got an opportunity, I embraced it.
Who worked with you on your jumpshot and what did you change about it?
Buddy Hield - When you’re trying to fix your jumpshot or make it quicker, you start watching Youtube videos and try to copy the pros who shoot the ball well. I just worked with Coach Henson; we were in the gym all day with Coach Crutch. He and Coach Kruger told me to tuck my elbow in much more (at a) 90-degree angle. I just tried to get as close as I can to where I feel comfortable doing it. I just started working each and every day (until) I perfected it and shots started falling. I have good muscle memory, so once I release it and I have a feel for where it’s at, it’s going to go in.
Who would you watch?
Buddy Hield - I would watch all the great shooters. JJ Reddick, Ray Allen – their release. I watch Steph (Curry), I watch Klay (Thompson). I just started watching all of the NBA’s elite shooters.
