Washington Wizards rookie forward Andray Blatche came to the NBA straight out of prep school. His rookie season was interrupted by a shooting. He recovered quickly and has been with the team until recently when for a brief period the Wizards sent him down to the D-League for some minor league experience. InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner recently met with Blatche to catch up on the D-League and Wizards experience.
InsideHoops.com: So how's the career going so far? What kind of things have you learned about your game, the league, this job, the life?
Andray Blatche: Pretty much how you have to be prepared for the job. Come to work every day, work hard, every day you have to bring 100 percent. It's like having a real job now with a lot of responsibilities to take care of.
InsideHoops.com: Are you as ready to be an NBA player as you thought you'd be before entering the league?
Andray Blatche: Not at all. After I got up here I learned there were some things that I didn't know. That I wasn't prepared for. But now that I'm here, I'm concentrating on preparing for the job.
InsideHoops.com: What was your reaction to the D-League experience? How did it go for you?
Andray Blatche: That was a good experience for me. It gave me a chance to run down the court, get my confidence back up, get some conditioning, so it was a good experience for me.
InsideHoops.com: Before the Wizards sent you down, did they ask you how you'd feel about it or talk to you about it?
Andray Blatche: No, but well, they said a while ago they would send me or another rook down, and a couple days later they said it would be for a week. So, I went down.
InsideHoops.com: So what was it like?
Andray Blatche: I pretty much got what I wanted out of it. Some good conditioning and my confidence back. I pretty much gained 100 percent going down there.
InsideHoops.com: Is there a chance you may get sent down there again?
Andray Blatche: I have no idea.
InsideHoops.com: So what's up with the Wizards? On paper you guys are solid but so far on the floor there have been some issues.
Andray Blatche: We're a really good team, we just make mistakes at the wrong times. But we are a good team, good players. You win some, you lose some.
InsideHoops.com: Talk about Gilbert Arenas, who goes out there and destroys everybody regularly.
Andray Blatche: Gilbert, that's one of my favorite players on the team aside from the rookies -- I mean off the court. Gilbert is a good guy. He works hard for it, every night.
Washington Wizards rookie forward Andray Blatche came to the NBA straight out of prep school. His rookie season was interrupted by a shooting. He recovered quickly and has been with the team until recently when for a brief period the Wizards sent him down to the D-League for some minor league experience. InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner recently met with Blatche to catch up on the D-League and Wizards experience.
