Arron Afflalo
Arron Afflalo
Arron Agustin Afflalois an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for UCLA. As a junior, he was named a consensus NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans and was voted the player of the year in the Pac-12 Conference. After electing to forgo his senior year in college, Afflalo was selected in the first round of the 2007 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons with the 27th overall pick...
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth15 October 1985
CityLos Angeles, CA
We knew if we played at that pace, we weren't going to win. We're a pretty dominant defensive team right now.
It wasn't just me. It was a lot of guys. ...I knew once I relaxed, he would hit three or and get a dunk and it would ignite the whole (Memphis) team. That'd be disastrous.
They knew how to handle every double-team, they passed out of it great and then they made open shots. They didn't turn the ball over. Everything our defense is designed to do, they were able to go against that.
I definitely feel a bond with Jordan. Him being from L.A., I got plenty of opportunities to see him play. I definitely knew I'd be coming into a school with another talented guard, and you have to enjoy that.
I knew all along this team could be at the top and remain at the top, because we definitely have the personnel. If we put our mind to it, play 'D' and do all the right things, play for each other, we shouldn't lose.
I knew I couldn't relax for a second against him. I couldn't let him get open for a 3 or drive for a dunk, because I knew that would ignite their whole team.
We just played with a lot of energy at the end. Obviously, it was desperation time. We were very fortunate tonight.
We just needed to execute. We were getting good shots. We were just missing them. What changed was on the defensive end.
The shot clock went down and I have no problem taking that shot.
Right now, we're on a mission. There's nothing individual about myself or Jordan or anyone else on this team.
Right now we're co-Pac-10 champs. We're definitely not satisfied with that. We'll enjoy this bus ride and enjoy tonight, but after that, it's business as usual. ... Being co-champs was not one of our goals. It was being Pac-10 champs.
We have different personnel than the '95 team. We have tough, tough guys who are willing to do whatever it takes to win.
Being turnover-free and rebounding, those are coach's two main things. And he's definitely a defensive-minded coach.
I wanted to congratulate him on a good year, but I didn't want to do anything dramatic, like hug him for an hour.