Quotes from Mohamed Bamba

There's a rumor that my great-grandmother was 6'7''. I don't know if it's necessarily true, but that's a big woman.

At first, Coach Smart was big on not overwhelming me. But I told him, 'My mental capacity is a lot more than you think it is. I can take it.'

The biggest misconception about my game is my love for it. This is what I want to do. I owe this thing my life. There's no other way around it.

I want everything and anything I can get from this game. Because in reality, I owe this game my life.

I'm not a guy who is out there looking to get his game going or put up shots; I'm out there to win, and I don't care if I'm playing three or 30 minutes.

One of my goals is to be Defensive Player of the Year. One of my goals is to be Rookie of the Year. And one of my long-term goals is to be walking across that stage with a jacket on and a nice little patch on it that says 'Hall of Fame.'

With that corner 3, it's the highest percentage shot in the game.

If you look at all the great shot-blockers of all time, they had length, and they had instincts. Even when you look at guards, like Dwyane Wade. He's one of the best shot-blocking guards ever, and he has great instincts. He's kind of cat-like.

As much as I hate that it's a business decision - like, I'm just picking a school - it really is a business decision. I really don't see anything wrong with waiting it out.

My whole thing is if you want to do it, then do it. Kobe told me this, but he said, 'You don't wanna lay all your eggs in one basket, but you wanna lay all your eggs in one basket.' If you wanna do something and be great at it, that's what you're going to have to specialize in. Just take it and run.

What makes me unique is my ability to adapt to different situations and switch onto smaller guards and stay out there. Another component to being out there on the floor - and this is something that I learned as my college career went on - was staying on the floor, literally, comes down to not picking up fouls.

Whenever I guard a guard, I don't want to reach too much, but I will poke at the ball once to get him thinking.

I'm going to be a guy who can defend a bunch of different positions.

A lot of playcalls are for the corner 3. I thought that's something I should really work on.

I don't know why, but I don't really get too nervous before games or practices or whatever.

I like to think of myself as a pretty good shot blocker.

Anthony Davis' lateral movement is one of a kind.

I have game-changing defensive abilities.

I love fast breaks, and I love playing full-court basketball, but offensively in the half court, I kind of take my time, let guys cut, and let the defense move. Then, if I have a move, I'll go. If not, I'll just hand it off to a teammate.

Rebounding in practice and rebounding in games are two completely different things.

As far as what teams need and what I need, I'm open to anything a team has to say about how they envision me in their future.

Both offensively and defensively, the presence that I have is pretty profound.

I don't really want to be cocky when I say this, but I really feel I can be one of the best rim protectors in the league, you know, as a rookie.

I want to put myself in the best position to stay out on the floor.