Dime is the premier basketball magazine, covering the NBA, NCAA, High School, Playground and International basketball - as well as sneakers, fashion and music.
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know with all the scoring, Harden, West- brook and Durant, in 11 minutes you just have to come in and be an energy guy, and I'm fine with that. Dime: Where do you hope to get selected? JH: Anywhere that's going to be a good fit, a good situation for me. You know, whether it's the sixth pick or the 26th pick, just being able to come in there and show them what I can do. If you get drafted high, it could be a good fit, but it could also be good if you get drafted low. It just depends. A team picking at eight could be a good fit for you, or a team picking at 16 could be a good fit for you. So you might have to wait eight more spots to get that right fit. I just want to get to an organization that will help me progress and help my game. Dime: What part of your game have you been working on recently? JH: I've worked on my face-up game, driv- ing to the basket. At the end of the day, four weeks of training is not going to change your game drastically, so I just try to keep on working and keep improving. Dime: Is there any rivalry between yourself, Kendall Marshall, Tyler Zeller and Harrison PICTURE ME ROLLIN It's hard for a potential lottery pick to remain relatively under the radar, but UNC's John Henson has done just that. With Anthony Davis grabbing all the headlines with his defensive and rebounding prowess, Henson has let his game do the talking. In his third and final season wearing Tar Heel blue, Henson averaged 13.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in route to capturing his second ACC Defensive Player of the Year award, as well as joining fellow teammates Tyler Zeller and Harrison Barnes on the All-ACC first team. Despite a shelf full of individual hardware, Henson is now focused on improving his game and one day call himself an NBA champion. INTERVIEW. Dime: What was your first practice at UNC like? John Henson: I was nervous, didn't exactly know what was going on. We had the big dudes, Ed [Davis] and Deon [Thompson], so I was the young guy. But it was cool. I got through it and there were better days after that. Dime: What teams have you talked to or worked out for? JH: I worked out for New Orleans, Sacra- mento, Portland, Golden State, Phoenix. I talked to all those teams in Chicago during the interview process. It's been a ride, it's been a journey, but soon I'll have a better idea of what's going to happen. Barnes in terms of where you guys get drafted? JH: Nah, man. We're best of friends, we talk to each other a lot. We're all cool, and we just want the best for everyone. Everyone's going to get drafted, so we're just happy about that. Dime: What's the first thing you plan on buy- ing with your NBA money, and how do you plan on managing your money in general, especially in light of so many guys mismanaging it? JH: Well, my little sister is going to take my car to drive. So, I'm probably going to need to buy a new one, and you know, just a place in the city where I get drafted. DYLAN MURPHY PHOTO. JEFFREY Now, I've been told you want to save your money and you want to invest it, but you want to enjoy it too. You want to enjoy your- self. I think there's a fine line between enjoy- ing yourself and being irresponsible. For me to go pro and have a career in the NBA, it's amazing. But people make their own decisions, and hopefully I don't have to join that group. CAMARATI/UNC ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS Dime: What's the weirdest question you've gotten so far? JH: Probably an opinion on a current ros- ter. How many points would you score if you played 11 minutes, that's probably the weirdest question I'd say. Dime: Who asked you that question? JH: OKC did. I mean if I don't score I said I might get four, maybe three rebounds, you 51 Dime: Where do you see yourself in the NBA in five years? JH: Hopefully I'm going to con- tribute and be a factor on a team and help them win. That's all I want to do, man. I just want to find my niche. Dime: Are you worried at all about your rating in NBA 2K13? JH: Nah, I'm not worried at all. I know I'm going to be not high. I'm still going to pick myself and try to score 40, so it should be interesting.