HoopsHype.com Interviews
Chris
Porter: "I still think about returning to the
NBA"
by Jorge
Sierra / September 5, 2003
 CHRIS
PORTER - QUICK FACTS
- Named SEC Player of the Year and 2nd Team All-America in 1998-99,
his first year at Auburn.
- Appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in November 1999.
- Selected by Golden State as 55th overall pick in the 2000
NBA Draft.
- Averaged 8.6 ppg and 3.7 rpg with the Warriors in 2000-01.
- Traded to Charlotte on October 25, 2001. Was soon waived.
- Signed with Oliveirense (Portugal) in August 2003. |
Why did you choose
to play in Portugal this season?
Chris Porter: They
told me it was a pretty good league. I thought this could be a good situation
for me, so I came to play here.
What's the hardest
part of playing abroad?
CP: The language.
It has to be the language. The game is the same. Basketball is all about
space, timing... The same things matter wherever you play. It's all pretty
much the same wherever you play.
Do you take your
family with you when you have to play overseas or you are alone like many
others?
CP: I'm a family-oriented
person, so I try to have my family with me every time it's possible. You
have to check out what the situation is first, but if it's possible I
take my family with me.
You've played in
several countries in the last couple of years. Did you have any bad experience
playing overseas?
CP: Yes, in
Italy.
What happened there?
CP: We weren't
paid. It was a good league and all. We played against Euroleague teams
and it was a very good competition. But we were not getting paid. We were
not paid for three months, so I had to leave.
Are you disappointed
about the way things have gone in your basketball career so far?
CP: I wouldn't
say so. All things happen for a reason. You just have to do what you think
it's best for you. I'm just happy and grateful for being able to live
doing what I love to do -- play basketball. It doesn't matter if it's
here, in the CBA, in the NBA... Wherever.
You were a star
in college and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated once. Do you
still have that magazine?
CP: Yeah, I
still have that magazine.
You graced the
cover of the magazine in your senior season at Auburn, but you could have
declared eligible for the NBA Draft after your junior season and most
people think you would have been a first-round pick. Looking back, do
you regret not declaring for the draft then?
CP: No, I don't.
I don't regret that. I wanted to play my four years in college. I really
enjoyed all the college experience. Fans loved us. They loved the way
we played and I thought it was the best thing for me at the time to stay.
You had a pretty
decent rookie year in Golden
State. Why do you think you are not in the NBA now?
CP: I don't
know. It's general managers and executives who should answer that. They
are the ones who pick the players and make the teams. I can't answer that.
Do you think off-the-court
issues [Chris Porter was arrested on drug charges two years ago] may have
something to do with the fact that you are not in the NBA?
CP: All that
is in the past. Issues that happened off the court are in the past. It's
all definitely behind me. And I don't think it has nothing to do with
it.
What's your best
memory of that year in the NBA?
CP: Beating
the Lakers.
And the worst?
CP: When I
got hurt. I had an ankle injury in my rookie year.
Was that worse
than getting traded to Charlotte?
CP: Yeah, that
was worse. Being traded, that's part of the business. Just see what happened
this summer. A million players have been traded this summer. That's just
the nature of the business.
Many American players
stop thinking about the NBA after some years in Europe. Is that your case
or do you still think about returning to the league?
CP: I still
think about the NBA. I still want to return to the league. Hopefully somebody
in the NBA sees me play, sees how much I have improved over the years
and gives me a chance to return.
Jorge Sierra is
the editor of HoopsHype.com.
Tell us what
you think about this interview. E-mail us at HoopsHype@HoopsHype.com
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