Nikebasketball.com/nyc talks to Chicago guard and NY native Ben Gordon about summer ball, training, and hoops in NYC.
“It’s hard to stay away from the game, but after the season I stay away a few weeks and then I get back into it. I focus on things I need to get better at, so when I start training again I have an idea of what exactly I will be doing.”
On the strengths of his game:
“I think some of my strengths are creating my own shot. I do, however, want to become a better defender, and I want to make more plays for my teammates.”
On NYC basketball:
“I think New York produces the best basketball players year in and year out. I could be wrong, but that is just from my playing against guys that made it to the league, and that didn’t make it to the league. I think that when you come out [to play] with heart then everything takes care of itself. I think that New York basketball players are aggressive and tough-minded, with a take-no-prisoners mentality.”
“It’s a certain kind of pressure that you feel as a basketball player in New York, because you know that every time you step on the court, someone is going to go at you. You have to go out there and be ready to hold it down every time you step on the court. Somebody is going to come out on the court and go after you…especially if you have a name. They are going to try to take your name, and it’s just about holding it down every time you step on the court, because at any given moment you are going to be tested.”
“When you play against people who are good and they haven’t made it to the league, you know that they have something to prove to you. Everyone in the stands is watching them and they have nothing to lose, because they are playing against so-and-so. They go out and try to make a name for themselves. I know if I go to Pro City I can’t just go through the motions, because I know the next guy is going to come after me. You have to play like you are in the same position as those guys, because everyone is hungry.”
“There are so many good players, and I always wanted to be mentioned as one of the top players in New York. That was the thing that motivated me. Also, the thing that kept me focused was that I knew guys were out there working on their game, and I didn’t want to get embarrassed. That is what helped get me to the league.”
On the differences between the players around the 5 boroughs:
“It seems like players in the Bronx, Harlem and uptown…to me those guys have the best ball-handling skills, and Brooklyn and Queens, those are like the toughest players, the most physical players. The thing that is similar about everyone is that all of them are tough-minded and everyone plays with heart. That’s the whole theme of NYC basketball. Being tough and playing with heart.”
On returning to New York to play in the tournaments:
“I go back in the summer and play in New York. I like to play indoors, so I play in the Pro-Am League at Pro City, most of the time. Even when I was in college I wanted to come back to New York because that is where I got my game from and my state of mind. It got me to where I am today. I like to come back and get that feeling again, and that makes you hungry. When I leave [New York] I’m still in that state of mind.”
On being a NYC basketball player:
“I always feel that I’m representing New York. No matter where I’m playing, I represent New York. When I play in New York I’m home.
