Daily Bruin: What’s it like being the youngest player on
the team?
Russell Westbrook: I like being young. A lot of people put a lot
of stuff on you, a lot of pressure. I like taking that on.
DB: Do you have any siblings?
RW: I have a younger brother. He’s 15 and in 10th grade.
He plays football at my high school. He’s pretty good.
DB: Why did you choose UCLA?
RW: I just thought it was the best decision for me, a great
opportunity to come and play. It’s close to home, and they
have good coaching and a good tradition here. I watched them a lot
last year during their run, a little the year before that, but not
a lot when I was a little kid.
DB: What has sophomore guard Darren Collison taught you?
RW: He just told me little pointers ““ like slow down, keep
my dribble low ““ things like that. He helps.
DB: What do you think of the little Afro that Collison’s
got going?
RW: It’s cool. I think eventually he’s going to cut
it probably. Last year he had that bald head, so he’ll
probably cut it. Nobody says anything about it.
DB: How quick is he really, and what’s it like to guard
him in practice?
RW: He’s really quick, actually. You just have to stand in
front of him and keep your distance. He’s so fast you never
know which way he’s going to go. You just have to stand your
ground and stay in front of him.
DB: What’s coach Ben Howland like?
RW: He’s a nice coach. He’ll tell you what
you’re doing wrong, what you can do better. (The assistants)
are supportive. They might tell you something on the side before
(Howland) does. They’re all cool with me.
DB: What was playing in the summer pick-up games like?
RW: That was fun. It was great to play with all the alumni that
come back to play. It was my first year doing that, so it was
fun.
DB: Who was the toughest guy you had to guard?
RW: Baron Davis, Paul Pierce ““ all those guys. It was
better for me to work on my defense, but it was tough. They were
still scoring. If they scored, though ““ hey, I did what I
could do.
DB: Do you think you’re still growing?
RW: I think so. I’ve grown like an inch in the past year.
I’m like 6 feet 2 inches, 6 feet 3 inches.
DB: What’s it like playing in Pauley Pavilion?
RW: It’s great. A lot of great players have come out of
this gym, so it’s good.
DB: Is there anything you listen to pre-game?
RW: Nothing in particular, just something fast to get me going,
like E-40.
DB: You’re roommates with Nikola Dragovic. How hard is it
to understand him with his accent?
RW: It’s not that hard. It was a little harder at first,
but now it’s easier to understand what he’s saying. You
just have to listen or ask him to repeat something. It’s not
that hard.
DB: Who’s the funniest guy on the team?
RW: Josh (Shipp) is probably the funniest guy to me ““ Josh
and Arron (Afflalo). They’re just always smiling and
laughing. They rag on guys before practice or in the locker room.
They usually say something about something that happened in
practice, or something the coaches said about somebody, and they
laugh about it afterward.
DB: What are your goals at UCLA?
RW: Just to be the best I can be ““ try to get a degree,
and just go from there. I want to make it to the NBA. If that
doesn’t work out, I want to be a real estate agent.
DB: Why a real estate agent?
RW: Just because there’s a lot of money in that. I’m
good with people, so I think I’ll be fine.
DB: Does being left-handed give you an advantage?
RW: It helps with basketball kind of because a lot of people
think I’m right-handed because I shoot with my right. I can
eat with my right hand, throw a football. I can use both hands for
whatever. It’s kind of opposite.
DB: You guys are going to Maui next week. Ever been to
Hawaii?
RW: Yeah, when I was about 9 or 10. There are a little things I
remember, but I didn’t really get to go out.
DB: Who’s your favorite player of all time?
RW: Magic Johnson. He could play every position on the floor. He
could do everything, shoot rebounds and defend. He made his team
win.
DB: Favorite current NBA player?
RW: Pau Gasol. He does everything just like Magic. He shoots,
dribbles, rebounds, defends, plays hard.
DB: How do you like his mountain-man beard?
RW: I like that. It’s very different.
DB: Can you grow a beard like that?
RW: Nah, I can’t. I have a baby face, so I keep it
smooth.
DB: What do you think of the student section?
RW: I love them. They distract the other team, so I love
them.
DB: What do you think about getting your name called before the
game?
RW: That’s exciting. I never had that in high school.
It’s exciting to have the whole Den say your name.
DB: What was that like the first time?
RW: I didn’t know what they were doing. I didn’t
know I was supposed to wave or anything, so that was exciting.
DB: Why did you pick No. 0 to wear?
RW: It’s like a new beginning. A new me. All my life I
wore No. 4. That was my main number since I was little. My cousin
wore No. 4, everybody in my family wore No. 4. I’ll probably
try to (switch eventually). It depends. I’ll just see how the
season goes.