A teaser to the Green and White Review's interview with Maurice Ndour, which will air Thursday at 7 p.m. on WOUB AM 1340.
Ohio men’s basketball senior forward Maurice Ndour joined this week’s taping of the Green and White Review, which will air Thursday at 7 p.m. on WOUB AM 1340. Here's a teaser to his interview, featuring his thoughts on Bobcats basketball and his NBA dreams.
Ndour will be flying to Tempe, Arizona, on Friday in advance of the Ohio women’s basketball team’s first-round NCAA Tournament game against third-seeded Arizona State.
Green and White Review: Do you think No. 12 Buffalo is capable of causing any damage in the NCAA Tournament?
Maurice Ndour: It’s basketball at the end of the day. I think, Buffalo, they have good chemistry, they have a great coach, too. Bobby Hurley, that guy, when it comes to basketball, you can just see how energized he his and his willingness to coach his team and get them better.
GWR: What’s the next step for you as you prepare to play professionally?
MN: Tying to get ready for the Portsmouth Invitational. At this point, that’s my No. 1 goal, because I look at it like, well this is my first job interview if I want to be a pro. I’m approaching it with that mentality. At this point, I’m just trying to get ready for that and get workouts in because you never know, it’s summer time and anything can happen.
I’m definitely shooting for the NBA, I think I have a chance. Definitely can play in Europe, it’s possible, no doubt in my mind.
GWR: If you had to choose one team to play for who would it be?
MN: That’s a tough question. I like the Cavs, they have great team chemistry, but one team to play for would have to be the Boston Celtics. I’ve been a Celtics fan. It’s a team full of tradition, that’s the way I look at it. I’ve always been a fan of Bill Russell before Kevin Garnett got there.
GWR: What basketball players did you look up to and idolize?
MN: When I was growing up, I had a poster of Allen Iverson in my room — I remember that. Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant. That was the year they first got drafted. We didn’t have NBA TV like you guys do too. It wasn’t available for us, so sometimes I would go to the supermarket and read it to keep up with the NBA and stuff.
GWR: What is your favorite part of being in Athens?
MN: Everything pretty much. Athens is just a great city, it’s a beautiful city. I just like walking up Court Street and seeing people talking. I think just the motion of being in college and going to practices, chilling with your teammates and having fun – the daily activities, really.
GWR: How cool is it to watch the Ohio women’s team make the NCAA Tournament.
MN: It’s special for them and special for the Bobcat community because they haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament in 20 years. To see them get to that level makes me really, really happy.
Last year I know how frustrated they were and this year whenever I saw them on the court or outside the basketball court they were always happy and I’m happy for them and think they deserve it.
