Instant Interview Replay: Moussa Badiane

Instant Interview Replay: Moussa Badiane

06/26/2003

GREENVILLE, N.C. -- East Carolina basketball player Moussa Badiane joined ECUpirates.com for an exclusive, live chat session on Thursday. Following is a complete transcript of his responses.

ECUpirates.com : Welcome to ECUpirates.com's Instant Interview. Moussa, on behalf of all the online Pirate fans that are watching, thank you for joining us this afternoon!
Moussa Badiane : I'm glad to be here. I'm excited to be here.

jamie : why do you think your shot blocking totals dropped this past season?
Moussa Badiane : It dropped down this season for a couple of reasons. First of all, people were more familiar with and prepared to play against me. I altered more shots because people were more aware of my presence in the lane. Secondly, I was in foul trouble a lot last, so I didn't play as much. It was very disappointing for me last year.

Baltimore_pirate : How will the loss of Holcomb-Faye effect this year's team?
Moussa Badiane : Travis was a good player and a solid point guard, but we've a good new point guard coming in this season in Japhet McNeil. We won a lot of games with him, but we also won some games without him, like Marquette. He's the only player we lose and I don't think one player affects the whole team.

Alex : What are your plans after your collegiate career at ECU is finished?
Moussa Badiane : I plan to play professionally, but the question is where. I can go overseas and play with my club team. I'd like the opportunity to play here at the next level. The more I play, the more I realize I have the potential to play at the next level, but I haven't reached my full potential yet. I still have a lot of work to do and everything depends on how much I improve over the next couple of years. I haven't proven anything yet.

Luke Mackay : hey moussa....you aint gunna get my shot man!!!! hahaha
Moussa Badiane : I've already blocked your shot twice last year and now I know you're scared of me.

Cameron : MOOUUUUUSAAAA!!! Hey man you are my favorite player and I was wondering, what is a typical summer day in terms of practice time and how much work you put in during the offseason. How much time do you spend weightlifting also? Thanks and good luck.
Moussa Badiane : We don't have official practices during the summer, but we have mandatory lifts. This summer I've tried to really focus on getting stronger. I know I"ll never be 300 pounds, but I feel like I've gotten a lot stronger since I arrived on campus. We lift three times a week. I spend a lot of time in the gym working on my offensive skills.

Phillip : Moose, you are the man. Are you related to the Badiane that's being projected as a draft pick in tonight's NBA draft?
Moussa Badiane : I have a lot of relatives in Senegal, that's where my parents are from. It is possible that he may be a distant relative of mine. I'd talked to my father about it a couple of days ago and he said he needed to know what region of Senegal is from to find out. I wouldn't be surprised if he was because I saw a picture of him and he looked just like my brother.

Ben "Sweet B" Schechter : I'd like to see you shoot more next season. Do you think you'll get the opportunity?
Moussa Badiane : I'd like to get more shots too, but that depends on how much my offense improves over the summer. I have to prove to my teammates and coaches that a can be a real factor on offense. I'm working on it and believe that I'm getting there.

Charles Saunders : Have you had a chance to see any of the new incoming players for next year?? Do you see any potential for there being an "impact player" among the new recruits? Do you see improvement in current players through the summer, especially in 3-pt. shooting? Thanks!
Moussa Badiane : I had the chance to play with Mike and Frank during the first summer session. I really like them and personally I think they can help us right away. It is hard to say during the summer because pick-up games are so much different than the actual games during the season. I played once with Japhet and he is a true point guard. He is unselfish and I hope he has the mental toughness to take some responsibility. I know being a freshman point guard is going to be difficult.

Frank : How do you like the nickname Moose? Does it pump you up everytime the Minges Maniacs chant "Mooooooooooose!" after another rejection handing out by you like back in high school prom?
Moussa Badiane : I like the nickname because it gives me an identity. I've been here two years and I'm still not use to it. Its getting weird because people are calling my name off the court as well. It gives me energy and when Minges is packed and people are yelling out my name gives me a great feeling.

Jason Beasley : What are your personal and team expectations for next season?
Moussa Badiane : Personally I expect to have a great year. Last year was real disappoininting to me. I didn't have the impact I expected to have on the team. I really hope that his upcoming year will be my year. I'm working hard to put myself into position to have a good year. My expectation for the team are really high too because we have a lot of experience. We lost only one senior and the fact that we'll be playing in one division in Conference USa should help us. Last season we got off to a great start and when we started to play conference games, we realized how tough it was to play in C-USA. I think we really competed well at the end of the season, especially on the road at Cincinnati and Louisville, two games we should've won. I think we have to compete hard every night if we expect to win in C-USA and on the road.

RBpirate : Why did you come to ECU?
Moussa Badiane : I had the choice to play professionally and discontinue my education or come to school and play basketball at the same time. Playing college basketball was a great opportunity for me because I could do both at the same time. i was really attracted by the fact that I could be a student-athlete. where I'm from basketball isn't that popular and it always better when people care about what you're doing. My brother visited ECU the year before I came here and really liked it. So when I decided I wanted to go to to college and didn't even visit the campus I just signed the letter because I trusted my brother.

rob : Moussa, being from a different country, how much do you know about football and how many home football games do you think you will attend this year?
Moussa Badiane : Back home we don't watch football at all, so I didn't know anything about it. I went to most of the home games and I understand the rules. I know some of the players and that makes me come to the games to.

ricky : with your size and jumping ability, have you worked at all on your rebounding?
Moussa Badiane : This is a good question because thats is the first aspect of my game I want to get better in. I'm 6-10 and with my abilities I should be able to get more rebounds. I've talked a lot about it with Coach Herrion and I'm really trying to focus on it during the summer.

Drew : Do you think you're going to be given an opportunity to start on a full time basis this year?
Moussa Badiane : tI don't think it real important whether you start the game or not because some of the games I started I only played 10 minutes or so because I got in foul trouble. The best games I played, I came off the bench. The question is going to be whether I can stay on the court or not. Staying out of foul trouble and being productive are going to determine how much I play.

Justin O. : What is the toughest arena in the C-USA you have played in?
Moussa Badiane : I thin the toughest arena to play in Conference USA is Minges. When it is packed there is no atmosphere like it. We've played in tough arena in C-USA, but I honestly believe that we have the best environment when all the seats are filled. The Minges Maniacs are doing a great job of supporting us.

ECUpirates.com : That's all the time we have for today. Thanks again, Moussa, for being our guest. Any closing comments?
Moussa Badiane : I'd really like to thank the fans who support us through thick and thin. We're really going to need everyone's support next year. Playing in C-USA is tough, but we expect really good things next season. I look forward to seeing all the fans at the games next season.

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