San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich speaks to the media prior to his team’s matchup against the Boston Celtics about Derrick White and his growth as a player.
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00:00 Wow.
00:00 What's a Kelvin status? He's out.
00:05 When these on track to become the
00:13 first rookie since my new goal to
00:15 leave the league and block shots,
00:17 what besides the obvious what?
00:20 How many games have we played?
00:23 How many games have we played?
00:26 And you've already decided he's going
00:27 to leave the league and block shots.
00:29 I don't go there.
00:32 It's the league this year just started.
00:34 He's 73. And he's got a knack for it.
00:43 Coach, you have had an increase in
00:48 best breaks for the last five games.
00:49 Is that something you often pushing
00:50 as an emphasis or just naturally
00:52 happening now?
00:53 We've been trying to push pace all year.
00:58 Coach, but since you said last time
01:03 that you hopefully you would get
01:04 some more playing time, can we expect
01:07 to get some times tonight?
01:10 Yes, yeah, I think so.
01:13 How's Charles Bassey coming around?
01:15 Did he have to have surgery?
01:17 Oh yeah, did they told you any of that?
01:19 No, he had surgery.
01:21 Yeah, yeah, he's out for the year
01:23 and you know he's doing the rehab.
01:27 Wonder what happened?
01:29 And what hasn't been made public at all?
01:32 We knew he was out for the year.
01:33 He just didn't know about the surgery.
01:35 Derek has talked a lot about how
01:40 formative his time here was.
01:41 What have you thought about these next steps
01:43 he seems to have taken, particularly this year?
01:47 My, I just couldn't be more proud of the player.
01:53 You know, when he first came, I don't think he believed
01:58 he belonged in the NBA.
02:01 And to watch him develop through the years here,
02:06 starting with the G League and playing with us
02:10 and then starting for us and then taking more steps
02:15 in Boston has just been a thrill to watch.
02:19 He's one of the greatest guys ever.
02:22 And his confidence has just exploded.
02:26 So it's been a process.
02:29 I don't know, he's been in the league now, what, six, seven
02:32 years?
02:32 I'm not sure anymore.
02:34 But he's a great story.
02:38 And starting out at the bottom and believing in himself
02:45 and doing the work necessary to get where he is now.
02:48 So just thrilled for him.
02:52 What was the key to helping him with that belief?
02:54 Like you said, obviously, his confidence right now
02:56 is high.
02:57 What was the key while he was here to getting him
02:59 to believe in himself?
03:01 Just gaining the confidence.
03:03 You know, that's what it was all about.
03:06 And the minutes and supporting him and playing him
03:10 and making sure he knew he was on the right track
03:14 all the time and doing well.
03:18 And he had a natural affinity and understanding of the game,
03:23 IQ wise, that I don't think he knew about himself.
03:28 He's an innately good passer, for instance.
03:31 And you could see it immediately,
03:33 but he didn't even think of himself that way.
03:35 He was too humble, I guess, to start out.
03:41 Now he's figured it out.
03:43 You also mentioned he got pretty lucky being
03:45 Manu's last year here was his rookie season.
03:48 What kind of influence do you see in him?
03:51 Well, when you're able to see a guy like Manu practice hard,
04:01 come early and stay late, and compete the way he did
04:06 in every drill and practice, and the things
04:10 he would do to help win a basketball game,
04:14 that's a great example for a young player
04:17 like Derek at the time.
04:19 Because Manu is the most fierce competitor I've ever coached.
04:25 And anybody that could watch that
04:29 would be a recipient of some really good stuff.
04:33 And Derek soaked it up, for sure.
04:37 How much of a boost do you anticipate
04:39 being back at home, especially after coming
04:41 from a loss on the road, is to the players tonight?
04:45 Well, being home is more comfortable for every player.
04:51 So that's just a natural thing.
04:52 Anyone else?
04:56 OK.
04:56 Have a good night.
04:57 Thank you.