For a college basketball player, it’s amazing how one moment in March can change a life.
It is a fairy-tale time for basketball players. It’s a rite of duty for the favorites. It’s heaven on Earth for the underdogs. It’s a stage set to experience the unthinkable, unimaginable, unforeseeable to everyone but the guy who hits the buzzer-beater to send the No. 2 seeded team home wondering, “What just happened here?”
Madness, that’s what happened. For Kyle O’Quinn, that madness put him directly in front of the people that could alter the course of his life.
“That’s what got me here. That shot!” the rookie center said jokingly. He was referring to the shot heard around the basketball world, the one that stunned second-seeded Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season. Not that his performance — 26 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, two blocks, a steal and the game winner — in the 86-84 win for Norfolk State University was the sole reason he made it to the NBA, but it definitely got his foot in the door. His personality and his eagerness to learn are what sealed the deal -- and maybe the fact that he has a 7-foot, 5-inch wing span.
In this week's Q&A, FOX Sports Florida sat down with the Magic’s young center to learn a little bit more about the guy behind that massive reach. FS Florida: "From the time you finished playing your last college game until the night you were drafted, what was that period in your life like?"
O’Quinn: "Ahh man. It was a time of uncertainty. You don’t know where you were going to end up. You don’t know who’s going to draft you, or if your even going to get drafted. You don’t really know anything."
FS Florida: "That’s not just in the draft process though. A lot of recent college graduates are in that same period of uncertainty right now. They may not be working to get to the NBA, but they're in an internship or looking for a job and they have goals, but they have that pressure, that voice in their ear saying, “What’s next?” How were you able to get your mind off all the unknown and just focus on your goals?"
O’Quinn: "Just realizing that whatever step you take next is an opportunity. It may not be the end goal, but it's movement in the right direction. Sometimes when we don’t know what’s coming next, we’re afraid to step out there, afraid of going for it and failing in a sense. But if it’s something you're passionate about you have to be willing to put yourself out there. I personally relied on God and a lot of prayer and staying close to the people that will help you and encourage you through the ups and downs. You don’t need a lot of people in your ear because that’s when all the worry starts to set in. You just need a lot of hoping and praying and hard work." FS Florida: "Pretty wise for a 22 year-old."
O’Quinn: (laughing) "Nah, I just try to learn something from every experience."
FS Florida: "Well you’re here now, so that’s good."
O’Quinn: (laughing) "Yeah, yeah I am. And I think the hard work is what makes you cherish it more. Everybody has a story; you know the work they put in behind the scenes that nobody knows about. I think that’s what makes us not take it for granted."
FS Florida: "Talk about the relationship you have with the other rookies. It’s kind of like coming into college with the guys in your graduating class, they usually end up being your closest friends." O’Quinn: "Yeah, I know what you mean. We’re all going through this rookie year together, so it is a lot like a class as you said. Some of the mistakes we see each other make we’re able to talk to each other and learn from them together. Rookies have good days and bad days, so it’s great to have each other to lift each other up on the bad days and to humble each other on the good ones. Keeps you balanced because it’s a long season."
FS Florida: "How is it like off the court hanging out with those guys?"
O’Quinn: "All fun. All fun. All of us are four-year guys, so we’re all the same age. So we’re close." FS Florida: "But not Moe (Maurice Harkless), though."
O’Quinn: "Yeah that’s true. But, Moe is very mature for his age. So he’s cool. Then me, Drew (Andrew Nicholson), and DJ (DeQuan Jones), we just came out of the same situation, four years of college, graduating and then going through the draft and everything that comes with that. We can relate to each other really well. So we’re all cool off the court. And we all joke around a lot and take jokes well, so it’s all fun."
FS Florida: "Those guys are all on Twitter, as are a lot of young people. But, you’re off Twitter now. Why no more Twitter?"
O’Quinn: "I just felt like it was a distraction. Just all around, I mean I looked at it all the time. And taking it away took away that distraction in my life and helped me focus on the task at hand, you know the job I have now. It was hard for me to say, oh, I can just have it and not look at it. I tried that. But, you’re on the plane with a lot of down time, you’re in the hotels, and it’s right on your phone. You’re going to look at it. So I just stopped it all as a whole." FS Florida: "Outside of basketball, what do you do with your time?"
O’Quinn: "Recover. Rest! (laughing). No, right now I just hang out. Try to find things to do to get my mind off of basketball sometimes because it can be a lot if you’re just all-basketball all the time. So you try to do some fun things. Maybe go out to dinner or catch a movie or other fun things you can do in the great city of Orlando."
FS Florida: "Do you have a favorite restaurant that you like to go to?"
O’Quinn: "Oh yeah. KeKe’s. The breakfast is amazing. I try to go there every chance I get. I try to get there before they close, because they close at 2 p.m."
FS Florida: What is it like being a rookie in the NBA?
O’Quinn: "It’s a huge learning experience. It’s leaving the absolute top of college and going straight to the bottom in the NBA."
FS Florida: "What is it like with the veterans and the relationship you have with them?"
O’Quinn: "I think we have some of the best veterans on this team. I haven’t been around any other veterans so I may be biased. But our guys are extremely helpful on and off the court. So it helps out a lot having them here."
FS Florida: "Some teams assign one veteran to one rookie almost as in a mentor role. Do you all do that here? It seems like it’s more mentorship by committee with you guys."
O’Quinn: "At the beginning it was kind of like each veteran tried to help out one rookie, but they're such good people and such helpful people that they couldn’t do that. So now it’s definitely more like a committee. We as rookies can go to anyone for help or advice." FS Florida: "So are you in to fashion, style, sneakers?"
O’Quinn: "Mmmm. I mean I do get a pair of Jordan’s every now and then."
FS Florida: "And what about your fashion sense?"
O’Quinn: "It was always tough get all the latest clothes and shoes because I’m so tall. But, now I’m getting into a little bit more now that I have the money to shop for my size."
FS Florida: "Do you consider yourself fashionable?"
O’Quinn: "Yeah. But, Moe (Maurice Harkless) helps me out a lot. He’s a pretty fashionable guy, so he lets me know what’s nice and what’s not."
FS Florida: "So what’s up with the beard?"
O’Quinn: "(laughing) Just something new I’m trying. I usually just keep it real low like a shadow. But, it was hard keeping it shaved down with all of this traveling. I couldn’t get to the barber shop so I said, “Let me see how it looks if it I grow it out.” It’s less maintenance this way."
FS Florida: "Do you like it?"
O’Quinn: "Yeah I do. I like it."
FS Florida: "What’s your biggest pet peeve?"
O’Quinn: "Someone talking on the phone in the car. It’s kind of rude. It’s kind of rude. DJ does it the most. That’s why I never drive with him. We always have to take separate cars. That and loud music in the car. Especially when you’re the passenger, you can’t really control the music because it’s not your radio. Hate loud music in the car. That’s why I'm always the driver." FS Florida: "What type of music do you listen to, not loudly of course?"
O’Quinn: "(laughing) I mean I listen to a mixture. R&B, Hip-Hop, Gospel. Just depending on how I’m feeling at the moment. You know before a game and on Sundays you got to get some gospel in."
FS Florida: "On Sundays?"
O’Quinn: "Oh yeah! Every Sunday."
FS Florida: "So name some gospel artists that you like."
O’Quinn: "Smokie Norful, Donnie McClurkin, Tye Tribbett if you want to get hype a little bit." FS Florida: "What was it like growing up in Jamaica Queens, NY?" O’Quinn: "It was pretty good. I lived in a pretty good area, it wasn’t a really tough area. Nice community."
FS Florida: "Do you like New York?"
O’Quinn: "No. Too many people. It’s always crowded everywhere you go."
FS Florida: "It’s a fast life ..."
O’Quinn: "Yeah, I would never live there. I don’t like it. I’m more of like a ‘let’s take it easy’ type of guy.'"
