Being told to get out, not being afraid to fail and try new things - that really makes a difference.
You gotta deal with a lot of people, the naysayers... but I've always been the guy who kinda just smiles and laughs at it. I use it as constructive criticism to be honest. Whether they're intentionally trying to be kind of spiteful or not, it's constructive criticism because you can't say there's always truth to it but there's definitely something.
I don't want to take away from anything from my time at Texas. I think it was actually pretty darn special.
Both offensively and defensively, the presence that I have is pretty profound.
I need to improve on a lot of different areas. I need to improve on my timing on my shot-blocking, when to go, and when not to go. And there's definitely always room for improvement on my shooting.
As far as what teams need and what I need, I'm open to anything a team has to say about how they envision me in their future.
Chicago is a great city.
It feels great when you work on something so long, and you see signs of growth. When you see it starting to pay off, it's such a great feeling.
If you look at all the great shot-blockers of all time, they had length, and they had instincts. Even when you look at guards, like Dwyane Wade. He's one of the best shot-blocking guards ever, and he has great instincts. He's kind of cat-like.
What makes me unique is my ability to adapt to different situations and switch onto smaller guards and stay out there. Another component to being out there on the floor - and this is something that I learned as my college career went on - was staying on the floor, literally, comes down to not picking up fouls.
I watched the Knicks when they were at their worst, and I would always root for them because it's always been in my heart.
A unicorn is a mythical creature that you've never seen before. And a unicorn player, he makes plays and does stuff you've never seen before.
I got everything I wanted out of Texas. Obviously, you'd love to win more. You'd love to win a national championship and compete at that level. But as far as relationships and development, I couldn't be happier.
I have the natural ability to pick things up a lot faster than I think most people would.
Whenever I guard a guard, I don't want to reach too much, but I will poke at the ball once to get him thinking.
I don't really want to be cocky when I say this, but I really feel I can be one of the best rim protectors in the league, you know, as a rookie.
There's a rumor that my great-grandmother was 6'7''. I don't know if it's necessarily true, but that's a big woman.
A 7-footer who hits a step-back jumper - that's a pretty unicorn-like thing. Or someone who blocks a shot off the top of the backboard, pushes it in transition, and finds a shooter in the corner - that's pretty unicorn-like.
My whole thing is if you want to do it, then do it. Kobe told me this, but he said, 'You don't wanna lay all your eggs in one basket, but you wanna lay all your eggs in one basket.' If you wanna do something and be great at it, that's what you're going to have to specialize in. Just take it and run.
