Josh McRoberts: "I felt like I had to move on"

Jonathan Givony: So how are you enjoying the whole workout process so far? Working out with Joe…

Josh McRoberts: It’s been really good so far. It’s great to have the chance to work out with some of these good players out here. Working out with Joe…he’s one of the best at what he does.



Jonathan Givony: Anything specific that you guys are working on? Skills, or perhaps things you need to improve on?

Josh McRoberts: We’re working on a lot of things right now. Nothing really specific. I’ve been here since Thursday…..

Jonathan Givony: Oh, so you just got here then?

Josh McRoberts: Yeah, we just finished school, and I came right out here when I finished. I had been working out with Coach Dawkins. He was working out a lot with me on strength. It’s been good to be out here.

Jonathan Givony: Considering that you were leaving school early anyway, was it very important for you to finish the semester? Any specific reason for that?

Josh McRoberts: It was something that I wanted to do. It’s something that one day I’d like to go back and finish up.

Jonathan Givony: So how difficult of a decision was it for you to put your name in the draft and leave Duke?

Josh McRoberts: It’s always a tough decision, when you have to leave people you’ve spent a lot of time with..a lot of my best friends are on the team. Its tough to do…it was a tough decision. But at the same time I felt like I had to move on.

Jonathan Givony: How do you think they will do next year with Kyle Singler coming in…..it wasn’t the most successful year for Duke this past year, do you think they will be able to rebound next year?

Josh McRoberts: I don’t know. I mean, I'll be pulling for them, all of my friends are still there. I don’t know much about Kyle, I know he’s a great player, Ill be rooting for him to, I hope he goes out there and has a lot of success. I know Gerald Henderson is a great player, Demarcus Nelson is a great player, I think those two can take the team a long way.

Jonathan Givony: What do you think are some of the reasons you guys didn’t make it out of the first round this year? Anything in particular that you can pinpoint that went wrong?

Josh McRoberts: There were a lot of things that went wrong. You can’t point fingers at any one thing, but it was a frustrating year, and that’s the best way to put it. It was a tough way to end, but you can’t really look back now because there’s nothing you can do about it.

Jonathan Givony: How do you think you played from an individual standpoint, considering your talents?

Josh McRoberts: I think I played as well as I could. I played as hard as I could every time out. I put it all out there, I have no regrets about it. It was something that well, the season didn’t go like we had hoped and there’s nothing to do about it now. I mean, I know that no matter what everyone else says, I gave it my best in my time at Duke and that’s something that I can leave happy about.



Jonathan Givony: Something we like to ask guys is to do a self evaluation. If you’re sitting in front of a GM, trying to sell him, why you should be drafted over another guy….what do you think are some of your strengths as a player..what separates you from the pack?

Josh McRoberts: I don’t know…I think that’s something that everyone who watched me can decide..I think that I’m going to try to come in and do whatever I can to help the team win, that’s one thing I did at Duke, not being worried about the individual stuff more, I was more worried about trying to help the team win. I think the best thing that I can do at this stage is pass and be active on both ends of the floor.

Jonathan Givony: In terms of weaknesses? Things you need to improve on?

Josh McRoberts: There’s a lot of areas I always want to improve on, not just one thing. I want to improve everything.

Jonathan Givony: What’s your take on the kind of player you’ll end up being in two or three years down the road…the kind of role you’ll play in the NBA?

Josh McRoberts: I think it will depend a lot on where I end up. I want to make the best of whatever situation comes up. I’m concentrating on getting my workouts down now, and then well see how everything goes when the time comes.

Jonathan Givony: What team do you think best suits your playing style?

Josh McRoberts: I think that I can pretty much go in and play on any team, and fit into their system. But what would probably suit me best would be on an up and down team a little more open, but like I said, wherever I go, I’ll be happy and I’ll do whatever I can to help the team to win.

Jonathan Givony: Do you more comfortable facing the basket or with your back to the basket? Do you see yourself more as a 4 or 5….you know in today’s modern NBA?

Josh McRoberts: I’m definitely a 4, but I don’t know. There’s a lot of people who are better facing the basket or back to the basket, but at this point I think I’m better facing the basket.

Jonathan Givony: I’m curious about Coach K. He’s known as probably the best in game tactician in the NCAA, but how do you feel like he has prepared you to play at the next level?

Josh McRoberts: I think he prepared me well, really all the guys there prepared me. The biggest thing I got out of my time there was having to come out every day and work hard, and be mature. Also, from my time there I saw how hard I have to work to be where I want to be, to get where I want to be. They teach you how to be a professional. I’m lucky in the sense that I’m going to get to play professional basketball in the NBA. I really don’t know how to say it, but they really helped me to grow up and be more mature person…a better person.



Jonathan Givony: Why do you think that in his tenure, aside from Carlos Boozer and Elton Brand, there haven’t really been a lot of big guys come out to the NBA and have a lot of success?

Josh McRoberts: I don’t know. I think there’s other guys you could say had success like, Luol played a big position when he was there...I think if you compare it to any other school…I mean outside of maybe two or three schools, there’s not really many schools I can think of that have had more than two or three big guys in the NBA. I think that I'm prepared, and they prepared me to be the best player I can be.

Jonathan Givony: You’ve heard the whole Duke NBA thing, I really didn’t invent this, do you think its just typical hating on Duke?

Josh McRoberts: Yeah…everyone hates Duke because it’s a popular thing. Everyone wants to see bad things happen to Duke. It’s just something that’s out there and that you have to deal with. It doesn’t affect me, it’s not something I think about.

Jonathan Givony: How do you feel you’ve dealt with the pressure of playing at Duke this year, did it ever get to you? Was it something that ever made you say, damn, maybe I should have gone to Tulane or something…because every game you play is on TV, every mistake you make is on Sportscenter, Its got to be a pretty pressure filled situation?

Josh McRoberts: Yeah, I guess it would be, but you know going in that’s the kind of situation you’re going into. So to me it was an opportunity more than pressure. I think that it was a great opportunity for me and pressure wise, I think I put more pressure on myself than anyone outside. I don’t watch TV or read anything about myself. The only thing I worried about was my teammates and what the coaches think.

Jonathan Givony: In terms of an NBA comparison, some people have compared you to Chris Webber. How do you feel about that comparison, or is there anyone else that you think you are more similar to, someone you look at and think, ‘yeah I can play that kind of role in the NBA.’

Josh McRoberts: Well, Chris Webber, that’s a good compliment. He’s a great player and I’ve always kind of looked up to him. I love the way he passes the ball, the way he operates in the clutch, the way he faces up and shoots the ball. Hopefully one day I can earn that comparison.

Jonathan Givony: Anything that a team is going to perhaps see in a workout from you that they didn’t get to see while you were at Duke? Like something in particular about your game that we don’t know about yet?

Josh McRoberts: I don’t know. Hopefully I’ll show them a lot of stuff that they didn’t get to see before. I’m looking forward to my workouts, I’m hoping to do the best I can.

Jonathan Givony: What are you hearing about your draft range, where you’re projected to go?

Josh McRoberts: I don’t know, it’s a little bit too early to say that I guess. I mean, we have a pretty good idea, but once things settle down a little bit and workouts start, we’ll know a little bit more.

Jonathan Givony: Are you going to be playing at the predraft camp at the end of May? Have you thought about that yet?

Josh McRoberts: No, yeah…I’m not going to play.

Jonathan Givony: Is there a reason for that?

Josh McRoberts: Well, we just decided that its better for me not to.

Jonathan Givony: Well, thanks for your time Josh, Best of luck to you.