USC guard De'Anthony Melton talks about improving his shot, studying NBA players like Rajon Rondo and Kawhi Leonard, and working on ball-handling against quicker defenders. He's staying home to develop rather than entering pre-draft workouts, confident he can play both guard and forward positions.
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Mike Schmitz here with De'anthony Melton of USC at Adidas Nations in Houston. What has this experience been like for you so far? I know you haven't been to a lot of exposure camps like this with potential number 1 picks and a bunch of NBA scouts. What has this experience been like?
Experience has been really fun. Like you said, I haven't really been to a lot of exposure camps, so coming into my sophomore year, I really have to have a big jump. Coming out here and like they kind of tell us they have a lot of scouts here, so I really want to show my game and what I've been working on and prove some of these other people wrong.
What are you hoping to show out here?
I really want to show my improved shooting form. I think my jump shot has gotten like a lot more fluid and it feels a lot more better. So even like in the stations, I just want to show I can hit open jump shots, contested shots, mid-range threes, and So I'm a 3-way player.
And what type of year do you think you had at USC last year?
I feel like I had a pretty good year. Watching film, watching games, I saw some games recorded at home, just like watching the games I played bad in, just improving on those. And just watching those games and just realizing I need to have a big sophomore jump.
What were your expectations, you know, coming in last year? 'Cause I mean, I remember going to preseason practices and I had never really even heard of you. So what, you know, were you expecting to play as big a role as you did as a freshman?
Well, like, when I first committed, they had a lot of, like, older guys, and then once I actually got there, 6 guys had left, so I was always aware of, like, my knowledge of the game, so I just kind of let that take over, and some people say I played older, but I just want to make sure I play and perform at the top of my game.
What type of player were you in high school?
I was like, I was a 4 man. We had like a lot of guards, so I played most of the 4. I brought up the ball, I didn't bring up the ball until like my senior year. That's when kind of my coach like trusted me and told me like, next level I'm gonna be a point guard and like slash shooting guard, so I just really started doing it then.
We see you do a lot of different things on the floor, you know, rebounding, getting in the passing lanes, defending. Where does all that come from for you?
I would say definitely my high school coach, Russell White. He kinda always preached defense and you couldn't get on the floor if you didn't play defense and always playing hard no matter what because if you play hard you can stay on the floor even if you can't hit a jump shot or even make a layup. But if you play hard and get extra possessions for your team, then everyone's gonna want you.
Did you play any other sports growing up?
I played football a lot. Wasn't too good at baseball. That's about it.
Any other athletes in your family?
Yeah, my mom played at Grant. She played against Lisa Leslie. My dad played football at Grant, and my sister has a city ring at Birmingham.
And what are the main areas you're still trying to improve as a player?
I think my ball handling, and especially when I go against like littler guys, they like to get under me because I'm a lot taller and bigger than them, so I just gotta focus on when I'm facing up and seeing the floor and make sure I'm able to pass with both hands.
Where do you see yourself having the most impact at the next level?
Honestly, I would say all. I feel like I have a complete game, but I just need to get better at every aspect because I can always get better at something. I'm not the best shooter, I'm not the best ball handler or best defender, but I feel like if I keep improving those, then my value goes up.
What do you see your role being on this USC team next year? You have a lot of guys coming in, return pretty much everyone.
I feel like we can kind of keep the same roles. Obviously, my coaches want me to be more aggressive. I feel like coming into my next year, I have a lot more confidence in myself, and so just trying to display my confidence out here right now.
Did you consider testing the waters at all and going through some of the pre-draft workout process?
Not really. I'd much rather just like stay home and get better behind closed doors and show my sophomore year that I want to be that potential lottery pick.
Is there anyone you like to watch and take little things away from?
I like to watch Rajon Rondo, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard and John Wall. It's kind of like this fast-paced, up and down, like to play two ways and like get their players involved too.
Are you more comfortable on the ball or off the ball?
It doesn't really matter to me. As long as I'm playing, I'm comfortable. So I just gotta realize that even in the NBA, some point guards may be a little bit better on the ball, so I may have to play off the ball and vice versa.
