MEDIA AVAILABILITY: JEFF WELTMAN & COACH MOSE PRESENTED BY FLORIDA LOTTERY

MEDIA AVAILABILITY: JEFF WELTMAN & COACH MOSE PRESENTED BY FLORIDA LOTTERY

jeff just kind of take us through the thought process on selecting Jace with with the 25th overall pick um well it’s funny you know we uh we actually brought Jayce in to look at with the 16th pick and so um you know throughout the process you never know how these drafts are going to go there have obviously been some big surprises tonight and um you know we kind of had our fingers crossed that he um we had heard that you know a couple teams didn’t have visits or you know were looking at different positions so um you know we were wondering if he could get into our range and uh here we are you know I mean this is this is how the draft works right it’s all a matter of you know what teams need what position what they’re looking for um and and Jace for us fits a lot of needs because he’s an excellent shooter he’s one of the lowest mistake players in the whole draft and um you know he’s he’s he’s about you know six feet six feet one but he’s got a 66 wingspan and um most importantly he’s an incredible young guy and he’s got a great feel for the game so um you know we look forward to uh indoctrinating him and um having him down here and making him part of the team jamal what stands out to you about Jayce Richardson and and where do you see him fitting in the future well you know I just one the young man that he is uh his toughness uh his basketball IQ he’s he’s a guy that can knock down shots not afraid of moments uh you know his family history of you know of who and what he comes from I think is just such an important piece uh and you know getting down here getting him on get him on the court get him around our guys uh just getting ready to get to work i think that’s going to be a big key piece for us uh for him yeah back here all the way back here what’s going on this is for either of y’all because Jace played for the great Tom Iso uh and to get on that court with the Spartans you have to play defense so how much of a factor did that go into selecting him knowing that just to even see the floor as a freshman he had to get it on the defensive end too well he’s been coached hard his whole life and I I think that’s a a big piece of who he is and what he’s capable of doing uh good on ball defender positional defender understands what he needs to do and how he needs to play again he he’s up for the challenge in whatever we ask him to do but his ability to have that IQ and understand what it takes to to get on the court is a big- time start jeff this is a this is a text that I received before the draft from Tom ISO from coach ISO he’s a great person a better teammate a great player a better teammate in person he has the quality many don’t have anymore high basketball IQ and winning is very important to him so that’s coming from the coach that you were talking about jeff you you’ve had a couple weeks to sit with the with the Desmond Bane trade and and what that that may or may not have have done to change the team how did though that time as you began kind of reassessing your options at at this pick without having 16 how much did did that change the the approach or or ch or change what you were looking to do with this pick um it’s a great question we’ve had a lot of discussions about that you know the timeline and and you know is this the time to pick a developmental player um we didn’t want to sacrifice you know a quality player a quality person just to put somebody on the court and we kind of felt Jace was the intersection of all those things you know because he’s such a smart player um he’s an excellent shooter which obviously you know was one of our missions to set out on the summer and um again you know I have to say we were we felt that when we moved 16 in the in the trade for Dez that you know we were going to be looking at a new group of players and largely we were but you know we brought Jason to look at it 16 and so uh you know ultimately uh I guess that part of it worked out well jay said throughout the pre-draft that you know he was utilized more at the for Jeff uh that he was utilized more at the two but he wanted to showcase teams that he could play the one what did you see from him in that sort of aspect of him playing at either position and how valuable does that make his selection knowing that coach could probably put him in at either guard position yeah well look that remains to be seen you know that’s up to Jet to prove and and obviously he comes in as the 25th pick on a team that’s been in the playoffs the last couple years he’s going to have to earn everything he gets um but you know again the interesting thing about about Jace is for a guy who really carried a huge part of their offense and uh had to generate shots for himself and for others next to no mistakes the guy the guy is a very easy ball mover he’s a quick decision maker um he’s got a crafty way to finish around the rim obviously being lefty helps a little bit probably and uh and just really loves basketball you know he’s very passionate about it he’s a relentless worker and um as as you guys were talking about earlier you don’t play for Tom Mizo if you don’t rebound and defend you know so he’s a fighter so all those things kind of rolled in and and you know that’s why that’s why we were excited about him this is a question for either of you you know this this pick follows a trend and a pattern that you guys have had over the last few years taking players that have had family members also in the league what kind of value does that bring and Jamal you talked a little bit about the family history so could you maybe open a little bit more about that i think you you get the history of what they’ve done where they’ve been uh understanding the game i think uh players that have you know family history of basketball players within it is there’s a higher basketball IQ uh understanding the game the love of the game uh you you fall in love with it a little bit more because you’ve been around it for a long time and you your work ethic have you’ve seen what it takes to get to that level and I think that’s very important but the family dynamic is huge just the way we’re we’ve created the environment here uh from top to bottom

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