Several students from ASU's Cronckite School visited Suns practice recently to hone their skills. The following is one of the articles produced by the students.
He has one of those smiles that light up a room. A smile that makes you smile right back. Asked about this upcoming season, Eric Bledsoe, well, lit up the room. “It is going to be a fun season for us.’’
Bledsoe is one of the many new faces of the Phoenix Suns, bringing his talent and experience. Before his trade to the Suns, Bledsoe spent his first three years in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers alongside many of the league’s greats.
“There were a lot of veterans on the team that I could learn from. They had been a position where they had succeeded, been in multiple playoffs and won a championship so it was a great experience when I was there.”
Bledsoe’s time with Clippers was invaluable but he is looking forward to his future in Arizona.
“I couldn’t be in a better position and I am grateful that Phoenix has given me this opportunity,” says Bledsoe.
With a revamped team, the Suns organization is looking forward to the freshness players like Bledsoe bring.
“We have high hopes that he will really help us in getting in transition,” said new Suns coach Jeff Hornacek.”He sets the tone defensively. He has long arms, he’s strong and he is a great player. We are hoping he is going to become one of our leaders and send us in the right direction.”
Bledsoe has the same expectations and one goal: “Do better than I did last year, even better. I see myself playing a lot of minutes, trying to help our team out the best way I can winning wise.”
For the young point guard, it is about the preparation.
“Right now, I am a little bit more focused than I was my last three years because right now I have a little bit more on my shoulders. I am looking forward too and have been preparing for this moment so I am way more focused this year.”
Bledsoe’s leadership will play a pivotal role in the season.
“I think we have done a great job. This is everybody’s first year so I think everybody has kind of bought in a little bit. Just playing hard, playing hard is half the battle and I think everybody has done that.”
This tenacious play is exactly what Phoenix fans can look forward to.
“We are going to come out and play hard, as hard as we can giving a 110% effort every game and hopefully put ourselves in a place to win the game and that is all we can ask for.”
It isn’t just the fans who want to see a winning season, however.
“Everybody comes into practice and you can just tell how intense practice is and how everybody feels about going into next season. You can tell everybody has a chip on their shoulder and we are just going to come out and play every day like it is our last one.”