TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

Your hometown is Dover, NJ. What made you decide to come to the University at Buffalo?

I came here because of the family atmosphere and because they were winning.

You lead this year’s team in minutes played, averaging 32.8 minutes per game through the Bulls’ first 13 games. How do you prepare physically to endure the physical demand of playing so many minutes?

I start my week off with good meal plans and I also get a good amount of rest before and after games and practice.

Describe your role as a point-guard.

My role as a point guard is to orchestrate the offense and the defense. I basically set my players up on offense and on defense I control what goes on and tell people what to do.

Now that you have a year of experience under your belt, do you have any personal goals this season?

One of the personal goals in mind is to make the All-MAC team. That’s probably the only personal goal I have. As far as the team though, I would like to win a MAC championship more than anything.

On Sunday, you open up the MAC portion of your schedule after almost two months of pre-season action. How do you think your non-conference schedule helps you to prepare to face conference opponents?

I think it prepared us very well. I think we had one of the tougher non-conference schedules so we should see on Sunday how much it prepared us.

Last season, the Bulls lost to Kent State 76-67 in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament. What are your expectations for the team this season?

Obviously we would like to go a lot deeper into the MAC Tournament and win it.

One of the main strengths of your game is the finesse of your three-point shot, having already hit 35 shots from beyond the arc this season. What is the key to getting off a good shot?

I would say getting open is probably the best way to get a look and then once you get the look, its all about the practice and preparation you did before so it should be easy from there.

Who is the toughest opponent you expect to face or have already faced one-on-one this season?

That’s a hard question, I’m not sure. Probably the guards from Pitt were the best. They were pretty tough.

All of the winter sports teams have to make a couple of pretty large sacrifices during the season, having a shortened Thanksgiving break and a brief Winter Break. Is it tough not having as lengthily a period of downtime, compared with the general student population?

It’s kind of tough, but I have been going through it since high school. In high school, we never had a break during Christmas or New Year’s, so I’m kind of actually used to it.

What has been your favorite moment as a UB student-athlete?

I would have to say the Pitt game. That was one of my favorite moments because we had a lot of fans there and everybody cheering for us.

The “10 Questions with…” feature is compiled by Jackie O’Brien.