:::: HANDLE ISSUE 001 COVER STORY: Andrew Bogut FEATURES: Andrew Gaze, Dwyane Wade, Eban Hyams and Terry Amir, SHOEnanigans PLUS: Anthony Susnjara, The Top Ten Basketball Movies, Emma Bramston, Jade Newman, Andre Dimalanta, Samantha Brincat and more!

Andrew Bogut: Year One Q&A

How do you look back on your first NBA season?

It was up and down for me, personally. Milwaukee had good wins and bad wins. I think in terms of me meeting and exceeding my expectations, and I was able to do that because we made the playoffs, but we also should’ve had a much higher seed. It was average. Hopefully this coming season will be a lot better.

How was your transition into the NBA, and how was it made smoother by Toni Kukoc?

Toni was great because we get along quite well off the court. He’s been in the L for 10, 15 years. He knows the ropes and he knows where to go, where to eat, stuff like that. He helped me out with a lot of the shopping, getting clothes, all the little day-to-day aspects of living in a new city. That’s off the court, especially On the court he taught all about how the NBA works, how to treat it like a business because it is more of a business. He taught me how to how to look out for yourself, which is unfortunate, but I guess it’s a part of the life in the NBA.

How was Michael Redd (team captain of the Bucks) on and off the court?

He’s not that vocal for a leader, he’s kind of different that way; he lets his play do the talking. He leads more by example. The Bucks have other players who have are more vocal. Redd did a really good job for us this year, it’s the first year that he has had that much responsibility and weight put on his shoulder, so he learnt a lot too. I think next year he will be more ready. He understands that he needs to be the guy who takes the last shot, so he may need to become more vocal.

Will you see Redd at the Champs in Japan?

No, I won’t see him there because he is getting married this summer.

What was meeting Michael Jordan at the All-Star weekend like for you?

That was pretty good. It’s always good to meet the world’s greatest ever basketball player. He was a great guy. He had feedback for me about certain things. It was a great opportunity to be able to meet him.

Was meeting Jordan something that you dreamt of growing up?

It wasn’t something I had dreamt of, but it’s still exciting to meet the elite people. It was a big deal, but it wasn’t a huge deal just to meet him. It wasn’t like I had grown up idolizing him, waiting to meet him. Playing against him would be different though.

Were you disappointed that you didn’t win the Rookie of the Year trophy?

Not really. It was a tough situation for me because I wasn’t putting up 15 to 20 shots a game to get that notoriety. Obviously Chris Paul was an unbelievable player on the court. I thought he would challenge me for the number one pick in the draft – I knew he was great coming out of Wake Forrest. It comes down to the situation you’re playing in. If I had played for the Atlanta Hawks it would be a different story because I would have more opportunities individually, but the team wouldn‘t have been as good. I was one of the only top couple of picks to make the playoffs, so that was good.

Now that T.J Ford has been traded, will your role change?

The Bucks will probably make a few changes, before the season starts. Charlie (Villanueva) will play the three-four. I don’t know if the Bucks will trade Jamaal Malgoire, or who else may get traded. I don’t how if it will work out, exactly, but we will be more athletic and younger then we were last year. I think the tempo will slow from the point guard position because T.J. was very quick. Sometimes it was good and other times it got us into trouble so we had to take the good with the bad when it came to T.J.’s game.

Have you ever been concerned that you might be on the trading block?

I’ll just have to see how it goes, at the moment I’m not. There have been a few trade offers already that I’ve heard about, but the Bucks have said that there is no chance at the moment. It’s nice to have that security but you never take their word for it. You just have to take it day-by-day and if you get traded, you get traded, you can’t really do all that much about it.

Going back to the draft day, what was going through your mind?

That moment passed by really quickly. The lead up was quite slow and tedious but that moment went fast. All of a sudden I found myself in Milwaukee meeting all the people. From that point, everything flew by. It was quite exciting for me, an experience I will never forget. My family, my sister, aunties and everyone were there with me, it was a good time.

Have you gotten used to the media attention?

I have, but the Bucks weren’t on national TV a whole lot in the US. I think we only had one game on ESPN. We weren’t televised a lot that much because Milwaukee is a small market team. The broadcasters usually go to the Lakers – we don’t get that much attention. I personally have gotten used to the notoriety.

In Milwaukee, does the team get coverage from the local media?

The Milwaukee media is all over us. Every practise they are there, asking questions. It’s good at times and bad at times, like everything in life, I guess. The media is not too bad, they don’t hound you and if you’re good to them, they’re good back to you.

Take us through your game winning shot against the Spurs?

That game was great. We beat the world champs on our home court at the buzzer. It left me on a high all night after the game. I woke up the next day and thought, ‘I’m never going to be forgetting that one,’ even though we had a game that very next day.

Was the play draw up for you by Coach Stotts?

Yeah, he drew up the play, there was 0.7 left, and we knew we had to get a quick shot up. It was thrown up there for me and I was able to make the clutch shot.

How about your game-winning block on Jason Terry against the Dallas Mavericks?

It was another good play, more luck than anything else. He ran into me and I tried to read the play, doing my best not to foul him. I got lucky with that block, and we won that game, plus that was game that Michael Redd didn’t play. That was the game that proved we could play against the best and win without our superstar. It showed that we were a good team.

Do you keep track of your stats during the season?

I definitely try to keep aware of what I’m doing and how I’m shooting the ball and so on. Hopefully, next year there will be an overall improvement on all aspects of my game.

Are there any particular areas of your game that you’re looking to improve?

My jump shooting: I want to stick jump shot after jump shot, the way it should be to play at the NBA level.

Do you still feel you need to improve, even though you among the league leaders in shooting percentage last season?

That was mainly because I didn’t shoot that many shots outside of the paint. If I can shoot half the percentage I did when I put up my shots outside of the paint I’ll be very happy. I’ll be able to draw the centres out.

Now that the first-pick hype is behind you, and you are “just another player,” do you feel a need to stand out?

I think it’ll be much better for me. I can focus on just playing basketball; I don’t have to worry about any of that other stuff.

How do you see your role with the national team?

It’s going to be tough now because, obviously, everyone is looking at me, but we’re going to need all five players, who can not only play, but everyone – from the starters to the 12th man – we all need to know our role. If we don’t have that, the national team we will be in a lot of trouble against the bigger, stronger teams. The Boomers can’t just throw the ball into me in the post while all the other players watch. We need guys who can play together, who understand each other. That is what the most successful national programs have.

Are we about to embark on a new golden era of basketball as all the Emus players, yourself, Steve Markovic, Brad Newley, Aaron Bruce, etcetera, who won gold in ‘99 are now eligible for the senior team?

I kind of think it is. The older guys have all retired and then there are a lot of guys whose bodies are hurt and frail. The younger players all have to step up, but it will take quite some time. A lot of the guys haven’t played at a senior level, and you can’t compare it to any other league in the world. It’s much more intense and there are national rivalries out there. We’ll have to learn a lot early on.

Will you take on a leadership role, having been at the Olympics?

I definitely will be. I want to get other young guys over the shock of when they first play on that stage. The earlier on you get over that, the better.

What’s Milwaukee like to live in?

Milwaukee’s nice, there isn’t a whole lot to do there – it’s a smaller city. You might just hang out in the day, go have a coffee, maybe go out to have a little drink during the night. The winter is pretty miserable and it gets quite cold. I was OK because I was used to that sort of weather being at Utah in college. The tough part was making new friends and being on the other side of the country, closer to the opposite coast.

How much down time do the NBA players really get at home?

There’s more than enough down time. If we don’t have a game that day we practice in the morning, work out in the afternoons.

Did you ever feel like you hit the so-called “rookie wall”?

No not really, I was definitely tired at points in the season, but I think that every player gets tired, not just rookies. I played hard from the start, while other players take it easy at the start and pace them selves to play harder at the end. You just have to be smart with it when you get into the NBA. You need to rest and look after yourself.

Is the schedule gruelling, given the extensive travel?

Yeah, it really is. You travel all the time; you’re consistently on a plane, so it does get gruelling. You just have to be careful with your body, and what you’re doing with yourself.

Who has the influential opinion of your game?

I definitely hold myself accountable. The coaching staff can always give you feedback but at the end of the day, it comes down to what you do in the gym and how you treat your off season.

How important has Terry Stotts and the Bucks coaching staff been in helping you during your first NBA season to develop?

There are very important and have given me help but, like I said, it’s up to me not up to them. Especially NBA players, the coaches have a say up until a point but they don’t do the work for you.

Do Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and the premier players actually stand out when you play against them?

Every team has that one guy who is incredible. If you’re asking who’s the best player that I’ve played against, I can’t name one. Every team has an unbelievable player. Chris Bosh, Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade, Gilbert Arenas, LeBron James, the list never ends. Every game you set out to shut down your player and every game is different set of challenges.

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