Darren Collison Interview With Some Cool Quotes About UCLA

This is going to be a tough one to blog from a formatting point of view.

For those of you who don't read it, The Sporting News is available as a free, daily email. It's really a good read, like getting a really good daily newspaper delivered. I've been getting it for a while and have actually seen some UCLA stuff in it in the past.

But it's hard to "blog" because it doesn't really have links to the individual stories -- it's just one big file. And as far as I can tell, you can't "grab" anything in it and use it to post into a blog like Bruins Nation.

But today's interview with Darren Collison was just too good not to share. So, I had to save it as a pdf as if I was going to print it out (this is a feature of the email) and then I was able to use Acrobat to copy and paste.

I know that one of the customs of blogging is that you can use copy from another site provided you link over and give them credit. In this case, I can't really link to the article, but I can link to today's copy of The Sporting News and then I'll post some highlights. I trust that all these props for what is really a worthwhile daily read cover me on the quid quo pro of blogging etiquette.

Now, without any further ado or apologies for my overall Internet lameness, here is some of the Darren Collison interview from The Sporting News. Click over to read the rest and the rest of the issue.

Darren Collison returned to UCLA for his senior season intent on leading his team to a national championship. The Bruins came up short in that quest, but Collison’s speed and shooting skills as a point guard persuaded the Hornets to pick him with the 21st pick in the first round of last Thursday’s draft. Collison told Sporting News Today’s Bill Eichenberger and other media members that he is looking forward to learning the finer points of point-guard play from All-Star teammate Chris Paul.

Q: Any second thoughts about returning to UCLA for your senior season?

A: If you understood the emotion when you’re sitting in this chair right now, you’d understand that it doesn’t matter what anybody says about my past. I did what I had to do at UCLA. It was a project I was trying to build, and unfortunately we didn’t win the national championship last year.

<snip>

Q: Being a four-year player, what assets do you bring to the Hornets?

A: Maturity. UCLA is not just any school. It’s a high-profile school. Being there for four years … I think I can come in and produce right away.

Q: What about your ability to play defense? Is that a strength?

A: Yeah, you can speak to the other guys at UCLA, they will tell you the same thing. Coach (Ben) Howland, he gets you ready for the future. Defensively, he doesn’t play. Every day he emphasizes defense.

Click over and read the rest. This was a posting pain in the neck, so I don't know if I'll be doing it again.

LOL.