I feel for the guy — that has to be one of the most painful interviews of someone not running for vice president I’ve seen in a very long time. On the other hand, it’s somewhat amusing to see an NBA guy interviewed before he’s mastered the art of cliches. It won’t take long before he learns (Update: because they actually teach this stuff, and Henry Abbott is finding out) — as you’ll see below the jump, Arron Afflalo, in his second training camp, has it down pat.
Random segue: I’m not sure Afflalo will ever emerge as a regular starter for the Pistons, but if he were cloned 11 times, I’m convinced a team consisting solely of 12 Afflalo’s could post a winning record in the NBA. Also, if you’re interested, Kwame Brown speaks. All three interviews come courtesy of WOLV TV, the University of Michigan’s student television.
….sorry, I kind of fell asleep during Walter’s interview.
(one ticket to hell, please)
This one’s for Laughton — it’s Nathan Jawai!
Ha Ha!
Thank you kindly.
Weird.
Anyhoo, thanks MW.
I have seen Sharpe interviewed before. I thought he did okay in this one compared to how he has done in other interviews.
I think it is extremely unfair to compare Sharpe’s ability to handle interviews with Afflalo’s.
I think it is a put down of Afflalo to say that he has “mastered the art of cliches”.
Arron is a very smart person. He has a lot of grey matter and he has been educated at one of the leading universities in the world.
He has a hell of lot more going for him in inteviews then “mastering the art of cliches”.
Easy, Mike, with the “leading universities in the world” business. It’s not like he went to a big ten school.
Mike: No harm intended, I have all the respect in the world for Afflalo, which I clumsily tried to explain with my weird cloning comment. Between covering the team for HoopsWorld and FanHouse, I’ve talked to him dozens of times last season and this summer in Vegas, and all I meant is that he’s never caught off-guard by any question, not that he mails in interviews.
Matt:
Thanks for your response:
I just think that maybe Pistons related websites should focus more on Sharpe’s game rather than his interview skills, since that is what we are paying him to do.
I know that there is not a lot of video at this time of Sharpe playing, but there will be within the next couple of months.
That is what I am more interesting in.
I want to see his game and not his interviews.
@Mike,
I’m interested in seeing his game as well, but these interviews are great. DBB truly rounds out the Pistons basketball experience by bringing us the details that the mainstream media tend to ignore. EPSN won’t play a Sharpe interview, to an extent neither will McClosky. Its videos like that which make me love DBB– because I can learn stuff about my team that I can’t anywhere else.
“I just think that maybe Pistons related websites should focus more on Sharpe’s game rather than his interview skills, since that is what we are paying him to do.”
I think Pistons-related websites should cover the WHOLE EXPERIENCE. If you just want to see/read about his game, just stick to box scores and AP reviews. DBB is about a lot more than just that, at least to me.
Mike: since you’re only interested in Sharpe’s performance on the court, you’ll probably appreciate this bit of info from Dana Gauruder:
Some quick observations: Sharpe, the team’s top draft pick, won’t play much this season but he didn’t look out of place. He stroked a sweet 20-footer during the half-hour that the media was allowed to watch. He also made a nifty putback, fighting off Prince for a rebound and then scoring on a jump hook in the lane.
I think it is very unprofessional for them not to edit the video… people make mistakes all the time… even people who are interviewed many times a day. The interview was not live, so there was time to make it professional. Anyways I think the interview was good, and honest.
Wow, you sound like a Walter Sharpe groupie or better yet “Bopper” although you’ve gotta admit the clip was hilarious!!