Christian: You're a Chicago guy, what was it like to bring this experience to your hometown?
Coach K: It’s great, I grew up a mile and a half from the United Center. Chicago is a great sports town, but it also is an amazing basketball town and has produced some of the best players ever.
Christian: Do you have any fears that after the Mark Cuban comments that some owners might suggest to their players that they not take part in National Team events?
Coach K: First you have to look into his comments. Mark is a brilliant man, if players are gonna play and he is the owner of a team that has one of those players, he would like to be the beneficiary of some of the things that you get from playing at the international level. I don't necessarily think he is against national play, USA basketball helps basketball, all the players get better, its good for the globalization of the game and the greater the game grows, the greater it is for everyone. For these guys, they get better by being involved in every way and it's shown up in the last 8 years. The guys who've played have had great years, they haven't gotten tired and again no one can predict injury. Up until Paul (George) got hurt there weren't any and besides you are not gonna play a sport without getting an injury at some point, its part of life. Although we try not to practice long, and we try to give them great care.
Christian: What's Impressed you about Mason Plumlee?
Coach K: Just his maturity. First off I think he benefited for being in school for 4 years and becoming a really good player before going to the pros, in other words he already knew that he was good from having a great senior year, and then he went to a veteran team where he can learn even more from those veterans and it shows, I think he has gotten better as a player. What he does well fits in with the talents of some really good players.
Christian: Would you like to see him bring back that little hook shot that he developed during his senior year at Duke?
Coach K: I would just like to see him play and complement the Harden, Curry, Rose and these guys and id like to see him rebound and play defense more.
Christian: The Curry’s are another family you're close with, how have you seen Stephen grow these past couple years and what is it about his game that has impressed you the most?
Coach K: He has gotten so much better, you can tell that he's worked so much on his game, where he gets his shot off quickly no matter who is guarding him. His ball handling is better, offense is stronger, defense is better, he has gotten better in every way. He is a pro's pro, he is one of the most outstanding players in the entire game.
Christian: Could you talk about two or three variables that you look at to decide who makes the team and who doesn't?
Coach K: There are a lot of variables , how hard you work, how you fit in, how you complement one another, how your talents mesh with the talents of others, so there are a number of variables that I look at.
Christian: How much has Anthony Davis game improved since the last time you saw him?
Coach K: I last saw him in London, when he was a young guy. He was getting ready to go into the NBA, and he is about 20-25 lbs. heavier, he is more of a man now, and he is one of the top players in the entire league.