<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Q: Can you talk about your progress from your sophomore to junior years? Kaman: A lot of summer preparation. Lifted weights, put on some weight. Next thing I did was make sure I was in good condition. Then I worked on parts of my game that I needed to improve, which was my jump shot, and free throws. I struggle with free throws my first year, but got up to 79 percent this year, which was nice. And once we were able to start preseason workout with out coaches, I would go in the gym with my coach Jay Smith for hours at a time without a basketball and just work on footwork. I think that helped me tremendously. Q: Do you do all this with the thought that you could become a high draft pick? Kaman: It wasn’t really in my mind. Then the season started and I started off a little slow, and then I started playing against some good competition. I had a good game at Michigan, and then it started to slowly come around. It turned out that I ended up having a good season. I talked with (Central Michigan Head) Coach (Jay) Smith and felt like there wasn’t a whole lot more for me to do in our conference. There weren’t as many challenges. I was having constant conversations with people about the NBA and got the point where I felt I was ready, so I chose to leave. I weighed my options, and came in stronger in favor of leaving. Q: What affect did the big game at Michigan have on you? Kaman: I can’t really say if one game was the turning point. I was happy with the way I played and it was a good thing for me, playing against a Big Ten team, even though they were struggling. I had had a lousy game before that one against DePaul and, so I wanted to come out and really get after it. I thought I did that. I was aggressive on both ends of the floor. Q: Does the lack of centers in the NBA, along with your own talent, really help your cause in this draft? Kaman: It depends on the team. I’ll give you an example. A team like Dallas, they want to run. I think they’re looking for someone who’s more athletic and runs the floor. They don’t sit in the halfcourt and run the shot clock down. Other teams like to slow it down and make it a halfcourt game, and that’s where a true center with good footwork can make a bigger impact. Q: Is it true you were reluctant to work out for the Knicks, who have the ninth pick? Kaman: No. To be honest, I talked to my agent and told him I wanted to work out for the Knicks, but I wanted to work out for teams four through eight first. Q: Do you feel like you can step in and play right away? Kaman: I think I need to work on my strength, because it’s a whole new level. The guys are real men in this league. </div>
