Here are quotes from both Sam Singer and Stephen Domingo. Cuonzo Martin's quotes will be on a separate thread.
Stephen Doming on the Australia trip: “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’ve been out of the country a couple of times, but never to Australia, so it’s going to be a very learning experience, it’s going to be an exciting time to bond with my teammates.”
Stephen Domingo on what he has added to his game since he got to Cal last year: “Pretty much my motor, always going hard, my defense, just refining things, getting my jump shot tighter, all that. But learning Coach Martin’s system, I know what he wants, I know what he expects, I know what he thinks makes the team run, so it’s going to be my job to implement those things to provide that leadership and veteran presence. I haven’t been on the court yet, but I’ve been a whole year under Coach Martin just as much as everyone else, I know what he expects as much as anyone.
Stephen Domingo on how much this last year has helped him: “Coach Nick has helped me a lot physically, we just saw before and after pictures and it’s a complete 180 degree turn. My body’s gotten really strong, I feel really good, my conditioning is tight, my core is tight, so I’m just excited to use that and move forward. I came in at 196 and now I weigh 216 or 217.”
Stephen Domingo on what the added weight has helped him do: “Play defense one hundred percent and then my athleticism. When you get stronger, you only get more athletic and stronger around the rim. So all that stuff is helping my game definitely.”
Stephen Domingo on what he has to diversify his game and be more than a “shooter”: “I’ve done a lot to diversify my game, I can still shoot the lights out of the ball, and I’m still going to do that. I’m going to use that to use other parts of my game. Pump fakes; the coaches have been working with me on using my pump fake a lot to get the mid-ranges and then finishing and being athletic around the rim in transition. We’re going to run a lot, so I’m going to have to finish around the rim and do things like that.”
Stephen Domingo on his struggles at Georgetown: “I’m past that now. I’m looking forward to getting on the court with my guys. I’m excited about the year ahead and I’m excited about what I’m going to do on the court.”
Stephen Domingo on how practicing for a year helped: “Familiarity with my teammates, so I could build camaraderie with them, build a relationship with Coach Martin and him earning trust in me to learning his style, and all the things that I’ve said: Refining my game, refining my body, just sort of getting ready. I’ve had 18 months to get ready for it, so that’s a good time to clear my head, good time to get back to the basics so I can be ready to do what I’m supposed to do this year.”
Stephen Domingo on his confidence: “I feel really confident. Coach Martin has instilled a lot of confidence in me, I’ve instilled a lot of confidence in myself, and I think that’s the most important thing going forward. Confidence is just as much a part of my game as anything else. When I’m playing confident basketball I don’t think a lot of people can stop me.”
Stephen Domingo on his relationship with former Georgetown teammate and current Washington Wizards small forward Otto Porter, Jr.: “I know Otto’s work ethic was very contagious at Georgetown and that’s one of the greatest things I learned from him and so that’s something that carries on is if something’s not going to work for me I’ve got to keep pushing forward, keep that work ethic high, and at the end of the day those who work hard, they reap the benefits. So that’s a big thing for me.”
Stephen Domingo on the team dynamic changes from last season: “We can put 11 different guys on the court and obviously five play, but 11 different guys with different combinations. I mean it’d be lethal in so many of those lineups. It’s great for us to have different looks. We have a lot of different looks we can give people and a lot of them are going to work.”
Stephen Domingo on his confidence in the team’s ability to play great defense: “One hundred percent. One hundred percent. We’re going to be fresh at all times. Coach Nick is really; we were there physically [last year], but he’s getting us there mentally in terms of pushing through what’s hard. Last year it was hard to push through what was hard because of the fatigue, but this year we’re going to push through. We’re not going to be tired this year. For all 40 minutes, we’re going to be going 110 percent and I think that’s the way we’re going to stifle a lot of teams because I don’t think a lot of other teams in the country can do that.”
Sam Singer on the benefits of returning home during the summer: “It was good to get home in the summer and see family. I was able to work out with some of my coaches from back home.”
Sam Singer on improving his defense: “Just during the offseason in the weight room I’ve gotten much stronger, I feel like I’m much quicker, much more athletic and at the end of last year coach and I talked. We talked about becoming an elite defender, being able to rebound the ball really well for a guard and being able to guard multiple positions and so that’s really what I’ve been focusing on.”
Sam Singer on what he’s done to build on last year’s personal successes and improvements: “Obviously towards the last probably third of the year offensively I was much more confident attacking the rim and shots started to fall. But also I feel like defensively I was able to guard probably 1 through 4. So I was really able to really learn how to play against bigs, play against guards, and obviously just that confidence. Feeling confident in being able to hit shots, get to the rim, and set up teammates.”
Sam Singer on how much it helped to finally see the shots fall: “It was really frustrating [to not see the shots fall in games]. It was probably the biggest slump I went through in my whole career. Finally when my shot went in against Washington, it started to fall like I knew they could and from there it helped me tremendously and now I put up a lot of shots. I feel more confident in my ability to hit shots.”
Sam Singer on the change in the team’s dynamic: “It’s a little different. We have more size down low obviously with Kameron and then obviously bringing in the two freshmen. Ivan is 6’10, he can shoot from three, he’s really athletic, and Jaylen’s just doing what he does, he’s a very supreme athlete, he does a lot of stuff that not a lot of people can do and so it’s a little different from last year, every team is different and this one should be much more exciting.”
Sam Singer on guarding Jaylen Brown: “It’s hard. He’s shifty, he’s athletic, he’s quick, he’s very strong, and he likes to get to his spots. He can pretty much get off whatever shot he wants.”
Sam Singer on playing with Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown: “It takes a lot of pressure off of us. With Ivan, he can either pop or roll. His ability to pop opens up for me because big guys have to honor his jump shot and also when he rolls I can put it up at the rim and let him go get it.”
Sam Singer on what he has done to be so good at taking care of the ball and being a good “pure point guard”: “ I always grew up playing point guard. It was only when I got to Ransom when I started playing high school ball that I started to score the ball more, but I was always a point guard naturally, a point guard setting my teammates up, valuing every possession, taking care of the ball. So I used to watch a lot of Steve Nash, John Stockton, guys like that. I watched the way they played and I try to emulate their game.”
Stephen Doming on the Australia trip: “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’ve been out of the country a couple of times, but never to Australia, so it’s going to be a very learning experience, it’s going to be an exciting time to bond with my teammates.”
Stephen Domingo on what he has added to his game since he got to Cal last year: “Pretty much my motor, always going hard, my defense, just refining things, getting my jump shot tighter, all that. But learning Coach Martin’s system, I know what he wants, I know what he expects, I know what he thinks makes the team run, so it’s going to be my job to implement those things to provide that leadership and veteran presence. I haven’t been on the court yet, but I’ve been a whole year under Coach Martin just as much as everyone else, I know what he expects as much as anyone.
Stephen Domingo on how much this last year has helped him: “Coach Nick has helped me a lot physically, we just saw before and after pictures and it’s a complete 180 degree turn. My body’s gotten really strong, I feel really good, my conditioning is tight, my core is tight, so I’m just excited to use that and move forward. I came in at 196 and now I weigh 216 or 217.”
Stephen Domingo on what the added weight has helped him do: “Play defense one hundred percent and then my athleticism. When you get stronger, you only get more athletic and stronger around the rim. So all that stuff is helping my game definitely.”
Stephen Domingo on what he has to diversify his game and be more than a “shooter”: “I’ve done a lot to diversify my game, I can still shoot the lights out of the ball, and I’m still going to do that. I’m going to use that to use other parts of my game. Pump fakes; the coaches have been working with me on using my pump fake a lot to get the mid-ranges and then finishing and being athletic around the rim in transition. We’re going to run a lot, so I’m going to have to finish around the rim and do things like that.”
Stephen Domingo on his struggles at Georgetown: “I’m past that now. I’m looking forward to getting on the court with my guys. I’m excited about the year ahead and I’m excited about what I’m going to do on the court.”
Stephen Domingo on how practicing for a year helped: “Familiarity with my teammates, so I could build camaraderie with them, build a relationship with Coach Martin and him earning trust in me to learning his style, and all the things that I’ve said: Refining my game, refining my body, just sort of getting ready. I’ve had 18 months to get ready for it, so that’s a good time to clear my head, good time to get back to the basics so I can be ready to do what I’m supposed to do this year.”
Stephen Domingo on his confidence: “I feel really confident. Coach Martin has instilled a lot of confidence in me, I’ve instilled a lot of confidence in myself, and I think that’s the most important thing going forward. Confidence is just as much a part of my game as anything else. When I’m playing confident basketball I don’t think a lot of people can stop me.”
Stephen Domingo on his relationship with former Georgetown teammate and current Washington Wizards small forward Otto Porter, Jr.: “I know Otto’s work ethic was very contagious at Georgetown and that’s one of the greatest things I learned from him and so that’s something that carries on is if something’s not going to work for me I’ve got to keep pushing forward, keep that work ethic high, and at the end of the day those who work hard, they reap the benefits. So that’s a big thing for me.”
Stephen Domingo on the team dynamic changes from last season: “We can put 11 different guys on the court and obviously five play, but 11 different guys with different combinations. I mean it’d be lethal in so many of those lineups. It’s great for us to have different looks. We have a lot of different looks we can give people and a lot of them are going to work.”
Stephen Domingo on his confidence in the team’s ability to play great defense: “One hundred percent. One hundred percent. We’re going to be fresh at all times. Coach Nick is really; we were there physically [last year], but he’s getting us there mentally in terms of pushing through what’s hard. Last year it was hard to push through what was hard because of the fatigue, but this year we’re going to push through. We’re not going to be tired this year. For all 40 minutes, we’re going to be going 110 percent and I think that’s the way we’re going to stifle a lot of teams because I don’t think a lot of other teams in the country can do that.”
Sam Singer on the benefits of returning home during the summer: “It was good to get home in the summer and see family. I was able to work out with some of my coaches from back home.”
Sam Singer on improving his defense: “Just during the offseason in the weight room I’ve gotten much stronger, I feel like I’m much quicker, much more athletic and at the end of last year coach and I talked. We talked about becoming an elite defender, being able to rebound the ball really well for a guard and being able to guard multiple positions and so that’s really what I’ve been focusing on.”
Sam Singer on what he’s done to build on last year’s personal successes and improvements: “Obviously towards the last probably third of the year offensively I was much more confident attacking the rim and shots started to fall. But also I feel like defensively I was able to guard probably 1 through 4. So I was really able to really learn how to play against bigs, play against guards, and obviously just that confidence. Feeling confident in being able to hit shots, get to the rim, and set up teammates.”
Sam Singer on how much it helped to finally see the shots fall: “It was really frustrating [to not see the shots fall in games]. It was probably the biggest slump I went through in my whole career. Finally when my shot went in against Washington, it started to fall like I knew they could and from there it helped me tremendously and now I put up a lot of shots. I feel more confident in my ability to hit shots.”
Sam Singer on the change in the team’s dynamic: “It’s a little different. We have more size down low obviously with Kameron and then obviously bringing in the two freshmen. Ivan is 6’10, he can shoot from three, he’s really athletic, and Jaylen’s just doing what he does, he’s a very supreme athlete, he does a lot of stuff that not a lot of people can do and so it’s a little different from last year, every team is different and this one should be much more exciting.”
Sam Singer on guarding Jaylen Brown: “It’s hard. He’s shifty, he’s athletic, he’s quick, he’s very strong, and he likes to get to his spots. He can pretty much get off whatever shot he wants.”
Sam Singer on playing with Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown: “It takes a lot of pressure off of us. With Ivan, he can either pop or roll. His ability to pop opens up for me because big guys have to honor his jump shot and also when he rolls I can put it up at the rim and let him go get it.”
Sam Singer on what he has done to be so good at taking care of the ball and being a good “pure point guard”: “ I always grew up playing point guard. It was only when I got to Ransom when I started playing high school ball that I started to score the ball more, but I was always a point guard naturally, a point guard setting my teammates up, valuing every possession, taking care of the ball. So I used to watch a lot of Steve Nash, John Stockton, guys like that. I watched the way they played and I try to emulate their game.”
