Jared McCain and Adem Bona intro presser for Sixers

Jared McCain and Adem Bona intro presser for Sixers

all right cool you guys please give your name and affiliation as well we’ll start with Keith hey how you doing I’m Keith pompe with the affili choir Jared I just wanted this question for you what has the last couple days been like for you since being drafted yeah it’s been um it’s been pretty hectic um obviously I’m living out my dream right now so I’m trying to be present trying to take in every moment but it’s hard when um I’m an NBA player now it’s it’s crazy to even say that I feel like I’m in 2K but um it’s a blessing I’m just is incredibly blessed to be here Jared Kyle newbeck from PHL a lot of guys when they come into the league when they get asked you know who do you pading your game off I talk about offense I guess is there anybody defensively that you look to as know I can kind of replicate what that guy does and yeah um and when I was in college I used to ask my trainer a lot um who I who I should watch on defense and he sent me a lot of Fred Van Fleet highlights um just being sneaky um trying to get steals trying to just get deflections and obviously be a good on ball Defender um so I think Fred is a is a good good one to look at Gina out also with the Philadelphia inquire I’m Adam you’ve had an even quicker turnaround with getting drafted last night and then coming here just can you describe what the emotions and kind of the Whirlwind nature of that has been like for you um it’s just been amazing you know um I felt everything at the same time happiness sness Joy um every emotion is hit me at the same time um it’s just so unreal to like get your name called um like still can’t believe it like I’m an NBA player right now like we walk towards this goal every single day of our life to get yeah and like we yeah now so it’s pretty pretty exciting and then for both of you just what have the early conversations been like with whether it’s the front office coaching staff just about kind of the early expectations for you what they want to see out of you this summer just to get ready for your here I gu um this has been amazing um I spoke um I spoke with the FR office um pretty much right after I got drafted um I can like feel the energy like through the phone um I can tell um what the the organization is about um the hard working the expectations um this this is amazing program um we’re part of great great great things to happen you know um it’s really exciting to be here and I I can’t wait to get a walk yeah a lot of it um lot of has been just kind of finding out where I’m going to live and uh just excitement obviously but U trying to figure out the little details of just being in Philadelphia um so I think uh I’ll I’ll find more out later but definitely just um using myself using my game obviously to incorporate with the other players that are here Paul hudrick Liberty Ballers Jared for you uh there was a lot of talk to the other end about you know your personality and you know you’re very positive person but there is the other part of you on the court that’s very competitive you like to talk some trash just where does that part of your personality kind of come from and how do you kind of I guess uh you know kind of regulate that yeah uh I think it’s a good balance I have you know being on social media and doing all the stuff outside of basketball it comes with a lot of hate and when you when you get a lot of hate you kind of want to prove yourself that you can be one of the best players in the world uh in college and obviously now being a rookie it’s just I got a lot to prove so I’m just willing to take on that ch and once I set a goal I’m going to put put my mind to it and and work as hard as I can to keep going so I think that that mindset is just always wanted to be the best um always motivates me uh Kai Carlin Sixers wire D yesterday you mentioned Joel like like once who got drafted I guess like how much are you really looking forward to kind of I guess learning from a guy like that and playing with him um joed is is an amazing player um we have similar Roots um he’s he’s African I am African too I always like watched him um playing against him going against him every day is going to be it’s going to be a handy job for me and also it’s going to be a learning process for me to be able to learn from such an amazing player it’s going to be a really good step for me towards my career and like practicing against him every day going against him in practice I think that’s going to help me with my progression uh Daniel oler right riy Sanchez Jared for you um do you could kind of balance the role of being an off ball scorer and seeing some on ball reps too and Tyrese Maxi and his years here in Philly he’s kind of done the same thing are you looking forward to learning from him just kind of how to balance a specific offensive role like that for sure um obviously someone being successful in the NBA as quick as he did I’m going to try and learn everything I can from him whether it’s the the work ethic how he how his transition was from college to NBA um I’m going to try and learn everything I can from him obviously he’s an All-Star now so um everything I can I’m going I’m going to try and U figure it out and and learn from and then a Dem for you um your like motor and how you go after offensive rebounds how you recover on defense been like things been talked about you the last two years just you pride yourself on how hard you play every game um the one thing about me you always going to get um all our effort from me um every time I step on the floor I come with with all energy I could give um I give everything for my team to get whatever I want to get to um I think Philly is going to getting one of had this work kind the draft so yeah back to Z hey guys this is both you Zach Chella Metro Philadelphia Philly sports network what’s something that you’re really looking to prove in your rookie season maybe something that people aren’t quite familiar with about your game uh for me um in college obviously I played more of an offb role so I think just being able to obviously learning from Tyrese on ball stuff and being able to show that I can be on the ball make reads on on picking roles um and then show defensively that I’m willing to to be that Defender um obviously learning the team rotations learning the defense I think um the mind is something uh a lot of people undervalue in this draft just being able to figure out stuff the IQ and I think I’m good at that so I’m going to try and show that as much as I can in my rookie season um I think um for me I um one of the things I I would love to show this to be able to do everything defensively on ball um pick and roll um switching um that’s one I think I I would love to show my rookie here and also offensively to be able to initiate plays get out the pick and roll and play Fast which is one of my strength thank Adam to maybe go off of that defensive stuff just you know you being Pack 12 Defensive Player of the Year known for that end of the floor just how did you develop that part of your game just not just at UCLA but just you know throughout throughout your life um growing up I played soccer I think that kind of help with my speed and U my agility and U my my mess do I move on the floor and also playing a UCL I played um behind the defensive player of the year my freshman year Jen Clark I think that kind of opened my eyes to like how much defense can can make an impact in the game and um after playing off him he left for the league and I saw lot from him learned a lot from him obviously we play different position but justce um the alertness how quick he’s on his F to like go after balls I think I think that kind of help me like be focused and like understand how much a difference can make an impact in a basketball game and and like for both you guys I mean we’re joining a team that has Championship aspirations that really wants to to win now obviously just how what what does that feel like kind of entering a situation where you know some rookies they’re part of a rebuilding team and you’re can sort of grow together you guys are being put in a situation where this team wants to win right now just how do you think that’s going to impact on just you know how you kind of approach things now um I mean since high school I feel like I’ve I’ve wanted to be on the biggest platforms be on the biggest stages and that’s why I chose Duke and now to be in Philly to have those Championship aspirations um I feel like I’m ready for it um I’ve always wanted to play in the big games and I feel like when the when the lights are the brightest I feel like that’s when I want to show out and be be myself out there on the court so I’m excited it’s something that I’ve looked forward to my entire life and and now I’m finally here um just from what he said I’ve I’ve always wanted to be in a team that competes you know um I played for UCLA um we’re one of the best team in college basketball my freshman here which was really exciting to learn from guys like tiger and haime a freshman year it’s really exciting like to be able to continue there in the league to playing for team that’s contending for the championship um that’s really everything I wanted um compet with the best and they up there with the best hey guys Lauren Rosen Sixers um do you what do you feel about the next couple months understanding that in in a few months you’ll be playing against all NBA players but there are some opportunities in the next few weeks to maybe play against some other guys that are getting their first taste in the NBA what do you hope to prove as you look towards Summer League and workouts with your new teammates um I don’t know if it’s looking to prove anything I I just want to you know find my way on this team find my way just you know get to know the people around me and and learn from everyone obviously I have the talent to be here so just trying to always be myself and um on when I’m on the court for summer league obviously going against the people that were and drafted in front of me obviously have motivations for that um but yeah just trying to learn and find my opportunity on this team and um learn for the best yeah I would say um establishing myself as a contributor on the team um I want to be a part of something great um I want to be um contributing to the team not just one of the player on the team you know so that’s one of my go like this year to be able to be acknowledge and make accounts of myself on the team hey guys s gavan clutch points you guys each have obviously your own um strengths and weaknesses you guys have each skills that you can kind of lean on as you learn but how do you sort of balance making sure that your best skills translate to the league and also trying to work on your weaknesses as you guys learn to progress is one of those like Stand Out is like more important I would I would say um like stay in True to Myself you know do the team I do best um what the team needs me to do I would do it um doing what I do best like defensively of like running the floor using my atletism I think that’s what’s going to get me on the floor so I wouldn’t deviate from that try to do something new or different so I just got to do what I do best uh yeah when I’m in the league use you have to use what got you here um and that’s my shooting ability so obviously being able to have that my most translatable skill and then continue to work on my weaknesses whatever the coaches need me to do um I’m I’m going to work on it and I’m going to um try to be the best at of it hadam you know when the draft came a lot of people were raving over your athleticism you know your Defensive Player of the Year you you played at UCLA how much do you use being a second round pick as motivation because everyone after you were picked they were raving over you and saying they were shocked but you you know you you want in the second round do you use that as a motivation do you have a chip um I’m always motivated you know I’m always going to bring the mot in I’m going to bring the energy um I I felt like this was the perfect spot for me um this is where I wanted to be this was part of the plan um falling into the second round doesn’t change anything for me I’m still going to be the same person I am bring the same energy bring the moral bring the energy that’s what you’re going to get from me all the long as change about me but why was why was this the place you wanted to be because I felt like um the team feel was compeed I like I I love to compete you know this is one of the team that’ll be competing for the championship next year um they had they have a really great score um they have really great players like tyres Joel um I feel like we can they can do something great and being part of something great like that was was huge for me thank you J Jared I guess I guess just real quick going back to uh your competitiveness and everything else can you prepared for this challenge you guys about to take on I guess what did Duke you think every time of Duke kind of do to help you prepare for that just cuz you know they’re one of the boot Bloods of college basketball yeah uh being at Duke you know the the best college program in the country by far uh you you learned that when you’re at the top there’s going to be haters there’s going to be people who um going to find any way to discredit your work discredit everything about you and you learn to live with it you learn to find motivation for it and so coming here um to Philly where it’s kind of the same Vibe um I’ve already learned from it and I’ve already kind of been through it so I know how to to understand it and how to learn from it you know you talked about um there’s going to be some hate right um but it just seems like you’re extremely comfortable in yourself where does that come from yeah uh I credit my parents um my brother my family they they’ve been sealing me from a young age just to be confident in myself um work hard find your goals and um since I was a kid I’ve always loved to just be myself be me no matter where I’ve gone and I think that confidence just comes from them uh whether it’s painting my nails doing Tik toks like it’s just stuff I like to do whether people like it or not um a lot of people don’t like it but you know that’s fine with me I’m just going to continue to embrace it and and I’m always always going to be myself cuz it’s what got me here and what a what a follow up with that is I know you said there some people who don’t like a lot of people don’t like it but it seems like there are a lot of people who recognize you and and look up to you it’s prime example yesterday I’m walking down the block and people are asking me about the draft and I’m talking and then they’re like what jersey number is he going to wear I’m like huh they like oh we follow him on Tik Tok so you do have an influence man like especially with you know the younger group definitely definitely as someone who you’re on social media you try not to look at the hate because you’re going to single it out even if it’s one hate comment and and a hundred great comments um so I never want to um shy away from the the love I get I get so much love from kids who just who DM me and tell them I influence them and and I I Inspire them sometimes so just to be that influence I feel like I have to always understand the confidence and always bring that be myself no matter what and always just just show love to them cuz it sometimes goes goes undervalued when you look at the the hate sometimes Austin Kell 973 ESPN this is for both of you you know college season is 30 something games and NBA is double that have you guys given any thought to how you’re going to have to adapt your bodies and your mindset to a season that is double the length uh for me I’ve always loved the recovery side the mental side of basketball and so I think this is like the ultimate challenge for me um obviously it’s like three College seasons in ones four College seasons in one um so using the meditation uh the visualization when you when you’re able to visualize your body being healthy it it happens and it truly can can change your whole life uh when you when you don’t imagine yourself being hurt you don’t imagine yourself being uh yeah hurt in general so I think I’m I’m excited to learn the recovery process but just using my my will to win and every time I step out on the court I’m trying to prove something so I think that’ll that’ll allow me to be healthy each night yeah um I I think um recovery is really big um to get through um the long season um I I love to take care of my body um I have like a really long frame and I stretch it lot so I think um taking care of my bud is going to get me TR the long TR the long stretch and I’m a big dude I run I jump I bang so it’s like that’s going to be a long season for me but um I think recovery is huge and I I I love the recovery so that’s going to be amazing for me and then is there any alums at your respective universities where you guys have kind of talked to them about the next level that they’ve made um unfortunately JJ reick um but uh yeah I’ve got to talk to him a little bit about it um even just like I’ve got to talk to like a Seth Curry um really even even my teammates Apollo when he’s came back Jabari Parker um just talking to him about how they withstand the whole season how they withstand just um being the trans the easy transition from college to to the NBA so just finding any little detail I can to to help myself um obviously spoke with ha which was my teammates my freshman year um he’s had his own faes of like injuries back in college and um like I asked him through how did he go through like um like the whole season like he had in college and like the NB two times that and like how did he manage to go to there and he gave me like the little um little advice which is like the little extra time you spend in the gym and the way through takes you a long way like the little time you spend like more massages more C up you know um just are the team that’s going to get through the long stret we all s like the man

After being drafted by Daryl Morey in the 2024 NBA Draft, Duke guard Jared McCain and UCLA center Adem Bona spoke to Philadelphia reporters at the Sixers’ practice facility in Camden.

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