Q+A with Demar Derozen

La Bomba · Apr 13, 2009

SLAM: You just finished your freshman year at USC, how do you feel you fared this season?
DeMar DeRozan: Uh, you know. You could tell with my growth over my freshman year how much I learned and how much I really used that to my advantage and everything. I mean, I started off slow, but I really hit stride in the middle of the season and never looked back.

SLAM: Some analysts had stated that the reason you started off slow was because the USC system doesnt fit your skill set as well as a run-n-gun offense. Do you feel thats correct, and if so do you feel that being in the USC offense has further prepared you for the NBA?
DD: I think so very much. I do think it prepared me better for the NBA. Tim Floyd was an NBA coach before, so he knows how the League is played And I had to really learn how to play in the half court game, and I think thats something that really prepared me for the next level. In high school I was able to just play transition game at Compton and in AAU, I think that USC really made me a more versatile player.

SLAM: You really seemed to have improved your midrange game over the season. Is that something Tim wanted you to focus on or did you always have that but didnt necessarily have the system at Compton to showcase it?
DD: You know, theres been a lot of stuff that Ive been trying to work on to improve my gamejust by watching film and watching opponents; how they play in college, you gotta be able to put the ball on the floor, pull up for the jumper, curl and flare off screens and hit the cutter in the offense. So what I try to do is use a lot of the stuff that I see in film and focus on what defenders dont see a lot of and what theyre not very good at defending and use those specific items to my advantage, like my midrange game
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http://slamonline.com/online/nba/2009/04/the-gifted-one/

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Q+A with Demar Derozen

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Q+A with Demar Derozen

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