What are some goals you have set for yourself this season?
One of my goals is to get better from last year. I made second team all-conference last year so I want to make the first team this year and I want to win player of the year. Those are the individual goals I set for myself. I set them high.

How do you feel about this season being your last as a collegiate player?
It’s bittersweet. We talk about this all the time. I’m excited because it’s my senior year but at the same time I don’t want it to be over. I’m going to miss playing a lot.

What game are you looking forward to the most?
I’m looking forward to all the conference games. I know we have LSU here and we go to Alabama, but the conference is what makes your season.

What kind of leadership responsibilities are you taking on this season since you're one of the seniors?
I’m the only returning captain from last year’s team and I think our team has a lot of respect for me, from the freshmen to the seniors. I just try to be the coach on the floor like Coach Arrow wants me to be since I am a returning player. I try to share the knowledge that I have and help the other players deal with the coaches.

How do you think you’ll respond knowing the opposition will be keying in on you from the very first game?
I think I’ll be OK. It’s been that way practically my whole life, especially in junior college. But it’s different once you get that preseason publicity. It’ll be tough but I just have to find easier ways to score and get my teammates involved.

What’s the one part of your game you need to work on the most?
I think I need to work on ball-handling and defense. But those are things you can’t stop working hard at. You can always get better defensively. And I can work on my own or in practice on my ball-handling skills—you can get a tennis ball and dribbling it around. That helps a lot. I’m watching more film than ever and I think that’s helped me a lot too, especially in how I look at the game.

Have you done anything different to prepare for this season as opposed to last season?
I watch way more film than I did last year. That’s a big part in improving my game. There will be a lot of people keying on me so I’ll have to make it easier on myself. Watching film helps you see the things you did right and the things you should have done differently. You can understand better what the coach wants. He was yelling at me about this and now that I see it on film I can see it for myself and understand why he was mad. You see the game in a completely different perspective.

What are your career plans after this season?
I plan on getting my degree during the summer and I want to make money playing ball somewhere, whether it’s in the NBA or in Europe. I’d like to do that for a couple of years. But I really want to coach. Ultimately that’s where I want to be—that’s my passion.

Who has been the biggest influence on your playing career?
My whole family, basically. My mom and my granddad are my two biggest fans. I do a lot of what I do for them. They’ve been supportive of me since day one. There are a lot of times when you’re in college that you need their support, when you feel like nothing is going your way and you want to give up, but they didn’t let me give up.

What do you like the most about South Alabama?
It’s a very diverse school. There are a lot of people on campus that I like that I’ve gotten to know. I’m good friends with a lot of the guys on the football team. There are a lot of people that are willing to help you and it’s a comfortable setting.

What helped you choose South Alabama?
Coach Arrow came to me and told me what his plans were for me and the program and how the team worked. My coach from junior college, Mike Brown, came with me from Motlow State. That helped a lot because it gave me a familiar face since we were both new. I liked the group of guys on the team last year. We were a young team but we were all good friends. We’ve grown closer and that’s a big part of why we’re going to be good this year.

What would playing in the NCAA Tournament mean to you?
It would mean the world to me. I’ve never experienced it but I’ve talked to people who have and they say there’s nothing like it. It’ll change my whole career.