Former IU basketball forward Sam Alexis addressed the media on Friday following a workout for the Indiana Pacers, his fourth workout in the NBA pre-draft process.
Alexis met with the media as well as Pacers PR and talked about being back in Indiana, winning a national championship at Florida, what it was like playing for the Hoosiers last season and more.
We’ve compiled some of the more notable quotes from both interviews below and you can watch both videos provided by the Pacers following his workout below:
On how the workout with the Pacers went:
“It went good, smooth, quick little workout, about 45 minutes.”
On returning to the state of Indiana:
“Yeah, it feels great to be back, because I haven’t been back since I graduated. Just knowing I was able to play in Indiana.”
On what it was like playing for Indiana last season:
“I mean, it was great, man. I was kind of sort of a fan favorite. The fans always showing love. It was a great feeling.”
On setting an IU program record for field goal percentage last season:
“I mean, I don’t really think about it too much or pride myself in it. I mean, it just ends up happening. We had a lot of great shooters like Tucker and Lamar just opening up the floor, making it easy for me to score.”
On how winning a national championship at Florida helped with his development:
“It helped a lot, you know, just practicing against guys like Reuben, Tommy, and Alex, you know, helped me a lot. You know, the physicality, you know, they had. Every day in practice, I was able to bring it at Indiana in the Big Ten. And I feel like it showcased a lot.”
On what he’s trying to show in workouts:
“I’m trying to show them I’m skilled enough to, you know, be on the perimeter, being able to guard every position, and just being able to show them I can shoot it a little bit, and just a great energy guy, you know, a great teammate. I’m willing to put in the work every day.”
On what he knows about the Pacers:
“I mean, I know a lot about the Pacers, you know, because when I came in in the summer, you guys was in the NBA Finals, so I was watching y’all constantly. You know, fast-paced team, play through the bigs and stuff like that.”
On how the Pacers workout was different from his previous workouts:
“Just a lot more playing, a lot more competitive. The coaches were into it. You know, they were bringing the energy from the jump.”
On how playing in the Big Ten can help him as a professional:
“I mean, it’s going to help a lot because I’m not the tallest guy when I’m in the NBA. So, it’s like just the physicality. Just being tough, being mentally strong. You know, you’re going to play against bigger guys every day.”
On his perception of the Pacers organization and also what it was like playing in Indiana:
“What’s crazy was like my first AAU tournament was here in Indianapolis. So, like, I remember just seeing the Pacers logo a lot when I was younger and that’s when I just started kind of playing basketball. And it’s like kind of a full-circle moment just going to Indiana, coming back here, working out with the Pacers.
And, you know, we always played here. Like, we played Louisville here. So we were just always around.”
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