Brandon Roy Goes Back to Camp
The Blazers star checks in with Slamonline after working Paul Pierce’s camp in L.A.
Brandon Roy, who suffered nothing close to a sophomore slump after his Rookie of the Year season by averaging nearly 20 points per game last season to lead the Blazers, filled in as the feature counselor at Paul Pierce’s Skill Academy Camp last week in Los Angeles. Pierce’s NIKE-sponsored camp, which was held in from June 20th-22nd, brings in the top 20 high-school players from each position and 10 of the top college ballers as well at each spot. Roy, who was called by NIKE to step in for the understandably pre-occupied Pierce, shares his thoughts on camp, the Blazers, and Portland with SLAM intern Matthew Eil.
Matt: Brandon, as it says in the name of the camp, this is Paul’s camp, not yours. How come you are here and not him?
Brandon: Well what happened was Nike called me up and asked me to come down and help out. I was up in Seattle and it’s really not a bad flight at all so I was happy to come down. I guess Paul was a little too busy winning a championship or something like that…..
Matt: Yeah not a bad excuse I guess….so how did you personally end up here, are you friends with Paul or you just have a lot of respect for him?
Brandon: I know Paul a little bit just from being in the league and playing against him, but I definitely have a ton of respect for him and his game of course. I would like to think that we have some similarities in our games’. I’m glad they called me to work though, I’m happy to be here.
Matt: What do you like about working a camp like this?
Brandon: I’ve worked at a few camps before but never one of this magnitude so it’s fun to be here, around so much talent. I really like working with the high schoolers especially, they want to learn so badly and it’s cool to see that. You can just tell that when you talk as an NBA player they are listening.
Matt: Do you see yourself in some of these kids?
Brandon: Totally. I mean when you think about I’m not that much older than some of them, so it wasn’t too long ago when I was here.
Matt: Do you have camp memories yourself?
Brandon: Ha, I do actually. I went to Nate McMillan’s (the Blazer’s current coach) camp up in Seattle. It was a lot of fun, I was there with people like Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson so there was some serious talent there too.
Matt: Ok, so the Blazers won 41 games last season, and that was obviously without Greg Oden. How are you guys feeling for this season?
Brandon: Oh we are excited, there’s no question about that. The draft is coming up so we are excited for that too. There’s definitely a buzz around Portland, Greg is going to be healthy, Rudy (Fernandez) is coming back, and LaMarcus had a great season and is only getting better so we are hoping for big things. We are thinking people are going to want to pay attention to us.
Matt: How is life in Portland? Was it an adjustment for you?
Brandon: I like Portland, and I’m from Seattle anyway so I’m used to the rain. I was ready to go out and live by myself I think, I knew it was going to help me grow. Portland is cool though, it’s a laid back place and that fits me well. I’m a laid back guy, I’m just as happy to chill and watch a movie in my house. I work so hard it’s nice to stay in and rest when I’m not playing.
Matt: You have had two outstanding years since you’ve been in the league, when you left UW could you possible imagine that things were going to go this well for you?
Brandon: Realistically, no not really. I mean of course I hoped that it would be like this, but it’s hard to expect it to happen like this. This has definitely been like a dream come true for me. But having said that, I also work extremely hard to get where I am. I practice hard, and try to improve every single day and get better for every game.
Image courtesy of Kelly Kline/NIKE
21 Responses to “Brandon Roy Goes Back to Camp”
Jun.24 at 2:27 pm
TADOne says:
From the pics, it appears Roy has been hitting the weight room.
Jun.24 at 2:35 pm
trick says:
yeah, now he’s their franchise player
Jun.24 at 2:37 pm
trick says:
with oden next season, obviously….. Aldridge had a good season too… Blazers are a force for the next 10 years if they stay together
Jun.24 at 2:57 pm
Co Co says:
His arms are beeyoootiful!
Jun.24 at 3:09 pm
DP says:
people said that Roy was like the next wade…he is better than wade at this point in his career and I see him being a top 10 player in the L in the next few years. B-roy is the man.
Jun.24 at 4:48 pm
Balla says:
Caputo for president
Jun.24 at 5:50 pm
ciolkstar says:
He’s so different from Wade that I don’t like the comparison. He’s actually like a more well rounded version of Paul Pirece (at this stage) He’s an amazing passer/decision maker and has the “right” attitude: Humble, Hard worker, over acheiver. This Portland team is gonna be really easy to root for. BRoy, Oden, Aldridge, Outlaw, RUDY, Jarret Jack, They are stacked with promisisng young players. PLEASE TRADE YOUR 1ST ROUND PICK TO SA, we are in desperate need !!!
Jun.24 at 7:30 pm
Dre says:
B.Roy is the man Blazers are my team… it looks pretty good for us next year. As long as we don’t do like the Bulls did this year.
Jun.24 at 8:13 pm
The Promise says:
Wow. I noticed you Portland fans talking about Rudy Fernandez, so I checked him out on youtube, and I was impressed. He reminded me of Rex Chapman, the way he can shoot the ball very well as and also can get up for some nice dunks. Portland should be a very good team next year.
Jun.24 at 9:00 pm
prezofdeath says:
Rex Chapman? Now there’s a throwback to the Suns’ glory days.
Jun.25 at 12:07 am
Matt says:
The Blazers are in for some very high times; and everyone who follows the NBA should know we deserve it after the past few intolerable seasons. Roy, Oden, Aldridge and Fernandez will all be household names in the next 5 years. Who knows, maybe Kevin Pritchard (POR GM) will once again work some magic and bring in some playoff tested players to take this team to the next level. And by next level I don’t mean 1st round flame-outs (like Houston and Denver), but championship contenders. It all goes down on Thursday!
Jun.25 at 1:50 am
The Truth says:
I am from portland so i had some big hopes for them this season, but seeing this gives me a whole new perspective on where we could be this year. With brandon getting him self in this good of shape, I think he could definetly be one of the top five players in the game next year. All this just makes the blazers a more intriguing team to watch in the coming years,
Jun.25 at 2:15 am
Dma says:
New Orleans just got Pritch-slapped by selling that #27 pick. Blazers are going to destroy the league for the next 10 years.
Jun.25 at 3:14 am
Ami says:
Why isn’t Pierce there? They won the championship a week ago…how long is he gonna celebrate for?
Jun.25 at 5:09 am
Darksaber says:
The truth shall celebrate for as long as the truth deems it necessary. Amen!
Jun.25 at 5:11 am
Darksaber says:
Isn’t the Mambiatch on Nike’s payroll now? (jeez, i nearly puked when i first heard of them signing him, NIKEMANIAC for Life!) maybe he should have taken over the camp. Would have been strangely ironic. PP Camp, your counselor, KB24. Yueahhh.
Jun.25 at 6:33 am
Matt Caputo says:
Roy is a beast, but even if the Blazers won 51 games, they probably still wouldn’t have made the playoffs.
Jun.25 at 9:52 am
Gant says:
Ami says:
“Why isn’t Pierce there? They won the championship a week ago…how long is he gonna celebrate for?” For the rest of his life.
Jun.25 at 10:28 am
Squirrel7 says:
I’m a huge B.Roy fan, I like his game, and I like his approach, he seems a lot more grounded than most ’superstars’. And if only Portland were in the East, I could see them finishing top3 next season. As it stands, I think they’ll still struggle to make the Western Conference Playoffs…
Jun.25 at 1:22 pm
blackjack says:
I wish Paul Allen would adopt me
Jul.6 at 9:38 pm
JLVanWATough says:
BRoy is gonna kill this year. I cant wait. Already got my season tix. Roy, Rudy, Bayless, Oden, LA, Outlaw, Webster, Zilla, Frye, Blake, Serdio, Diogu…..and it goes on and on.. Championship?