I'm a very emotional player. I use emotion because my team feeds off it.

I wanted to prove people wrong who didn't think I could play at this level. I also wanted to take care of my family. It was a chance to play against the best players in the world. Mentally and physically I don't think I was ready, but I was ready to take on the challenge.

It's a huge, huge pressure that so many people depend on you. The type of player I am and people look at me to come out and perform a certain way. Not being able to play on the biggest stage of the season, it's frustrating. One thing I wanted to do was not be frustrated about it and figure out what I can do to change and better myself on the court.

In college you learn about college

My reward is just to be a better man. You're so close to losing a loved one ... the ultimate goal is to be a better daddy, a better son, a better teammate.

I want to be in the best winning situation. I don't want to be around anybody who's just interested in playing out the season and then going home for the summer.

We are a terrible defensive team right now. We're not putting forth the maximum effort that we need to put forth, especially in our position. You'd think that we'd put forth that maximum effort to not only win the game, but to get a good rhythm to get into the playoffs.