Are you alright?
Alright Gigi Memphis man.
Just describe your emotions man.
When you found out what was
going through your mind uh
you know it was a long nights
in here you know you expect for better
but at the end of the day your m
is to you know land somewhere in
NBA and I feel like I you know d
has put me in the right situati.
Um you know now it's up to me,
you know off the court antics gg
to Memphis and all that making e
I keep the clean nose but also.
I got to work my* off with me
because a lot of guys that got
in front of me, yeah, yeah,
you get to call there, you get drafted,
you turn around and have that moment.
What was that moment like, to kind of
celebrate with all those people there?
And then kind of burst into mot,
to be honest, it was kind of
the makeup for me from when
we won the state championship.
I didn't really celebrate
too much with the guys,
and I feel like I, you know,
I got that opportunity to
share with them again.
Head coach in the gym.
It was on the phone.
It was like, you know,
welcome to the Memphis Grizzlie.
We're very, very,
very excited to have you.
And you know,
I cried and I told him I was li,
you made the right choice.
So I promise you you're
not going to grab this.
Hopefully I can stay on the good
side of Memphis town, you know.
But, you know, I'm excited nonetheless
and I'm ready to get to work as soon as
possible because I got a lot to prove.
And the fact that
you had to wait, you know,
a little bit longer than a lot
of us anticipated, How much is
that going to motivate you as yu
go for? I'm boiling inside right now,
definitely. But at the end of the day,
it's still a huge blessing.
And, you know, I started from the bottom
and became #1 recruit in high school.
And, you know,
I followed into college and all that.
And I feel like now I'm just starting
from the bottom again and I got
to work my way back up to the tp
again. A hell of a player.
And a very, very versatile player who can,
you know, play multiple positio,
score from anywhere on the floo,
defend multiple positions.
And someone who hates to lose
have a feeling at all that
it was going to be them.
I had a workout with them.
It was an individual just by my.
You know, it was extremely fun
getting the beautiful facilitie.
I got the shake hands with Desmond Baynes,
so that was pretty cool. What
kind of feedback did you get
throughout the NBA process from scouts,
teams, things like that?
What did people say that maybe we never
work on or things like that? Ma,
they was telling me
there was like talent wise, you
know, he's top five talent and I
thought that would have carried,
you know, some leeway here.
But nonetheless,
I'm still happy where I'm at.
But. Definitely. You know,
he's young, he's raw, but you k,
if he gets in the right place
with development, he can,
you know, be a problem.
What did it mean for you just looking
back at this past season,
be able to play here in your
hometown from Gamecock fans to
be able to be here tonight.
What did it mean to you to be
able to have that experience?
I feel like I shouldn't have had it any
other way going to New York, you know,
didn't get the green room invitation.
So I feel like it was no
point in me going to New York,
but you know. My grandparents
was here, all my family
was here and you know,
there's no better feeling.
I got to turn around and,
you know, get off a year.
So just feel good.
It's a I'm sorry, it's a it's a
great feeling and a huge blessi.
I still remember them days when I was,
you know, in the backyard and
I just thought about basketball,
Just always wanted to play basketball
and to be in this moment and toe
the support that I have, you kn,
by the state, it's unbelievable.
And I feel like I definitely made the right
choice of staying home in South Carolina.
And, you know, hopefully they
can cherish me for forever.
What's the next step?
What are you doing tomorrow?
I have no idea if they want me there early.
I get there early if they want me to.
But I got to get in the gym somewhere.
I got some steam to let off.
And then,
like, the fact that you may, you know,
get the chance to play with Job,
just was that going to be like, you know,
two South Carolina kids on the same floor?
I've never had a thought about
playing with Job and Red before,
but it's going to get crazy.
Definitely a lot of highlight reel plays.
But, you know, I'm really feelig
to lock in like I've never
locked in before in basketball.
And you know, I'm, I'm a kid at heart,
you know, smile, giddy and all .
But you know, it's time
to get down to business.
And uh, this tonight
definitely motivated me a lot.
So it's definitely going to be a
few changes in not only my game,
but mentally as well.