Suns Q and A with Dickau

[Admin]

Question: How was your workout today?

Dickau: It thought it went well. I didn’t play at (the Chicago pre-draft camp last week) so I’ve had about a week to get back into the gym and do my own kind of workout and try to get back into the groove a little bit, but today I thought it went well.

Question: Has it been a hectic offseason for you getting ready for all the traveling and workouts?

Dickau: I didn’t have much time to rest after the season, but that’s good because you’re getting ready to work out for other NBA teams and do this and that. That’s one thing I want to put myself in a position to be able to do. I needed to try to get myself into the best shape I could and get my game ready for these workouts and so far they have gone well.

Question: What were your expectations? What have you been told? Do you have any idea what June 26 might hold for you?

Dickau: Yes and no (laughs). The workouts have gone well so I know I’ll be going somewhere. Where? I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s one of those things my agent works on every day and keeps me updated. My part of the deal is I just need to go to all these different workouts, be myself and just play hard.

Question: Have all of your workouts been the same?

Dickau: They are all really similar. They all want to see you shoot it. They all want to see how you compete in different drills, one on one, two on two. They want to see your fundamentals and your footwork. To me the main thing is I just want to show them I want to win and my competitiveness. They are all the same, but you always want to put your best foot forward.

Question: Are the workouts tougher than what you expected?

Dickau: They are probably about what I expected, simply because knowing you have to go from city to city, these teams aren’t going to kill you with workouts because No. 1, they know you are going to be tired. They want you to be fresh at their workout. They don’t want to kill you with theirs so when you go somewhere else you are going to be dead. Then that team comes right back and does it to them. It is tough, but at the same time, it is fun.

Question: These teams are trying to get to know you personally. Are you trying to do the same thing?

Dickau: A little bit. You obviously want to get to know the organization a little bit in the day or so you are here. You want to get to know a few people. You can get a feel for how things are run and see if you would like to be a part of this, but really it’s more of one of those things they choose you than you choose them.

Question: Have you ever thought of playing for the Suns?

Dickau: A little bit. It’s obviously a great climate during the wintertime and it’s a little warm for me in the summer. I was a huge Blazers fan growing up so I didn’t really like (the Suns) when they were battling in the Western Conference Finals and stuff, but now when I’m at this age (23), it would be a good fit I think.

Question: Do you see an NBA player who fits your style of play?

Dickau: I think a fairly easy similarity is Steve Nash. Besides the school he went to and the conference, his style of game is similar. He likes to push the ball. He can shoot the ball pretty good. He’s pretty creative, but at the same time, he’s an All-Star and I’m just trying to get into the league. It’s one of those things that I think I will be a lot different than anybody else.

Question: Have you already spoken to NBA players like Nash and John Stockton?

Dickau: Yes. I talked to Steve Nash in the process of choosing an agent. He told me to go with a gut feeling. I talked to Stockton a couple of days ago actually. He wanted to know how things were going because things are obviously a lot different now than they were 17 to 18 years ago when he went through this whole process.

Question: Do you see yourself playing for an Eastern Conference team or a Western Conference team because of your style of play?

Dickau: I don’t know. Personally, I don’t care if I’m on the west coast or east coast. I’m getting married in August so maybe getting far away from home would be good for my fiancée and me. But at the same time, I just want to go to a team that’s the right fit. If it’s on the east coast, fine. If it’s on the west coast, fine.

Question: Do you feel you’ve solidified yourself as a first round pick after your workouts the last couple of weeks?

Dickau: I would think so, but you can never rest on the fact that I think so or my agent thinks so because there’s still 13 days before the draft. There could be a lot of movement still and all the mock drafts you hear about, that’s all speculation. No one is really going to know until (draft) night. There’s always a lot of trading and scrambling on draft day so I don’t think too much about that.

Question: You’re known as a pretty good shooter. How far does your range extend to?

Dickau: In my workouts back home it’s stuff I do every day. I have some shooting drills where I step out three, four or five feet behind the three-point line so I don’t think that’s a problem.

Question: One of the knocks on you has been your defense. Have you been able to address some of those concerns?

Dickau: I think in a way I have. I think a lot of defense when you get to the NBA level is learning what you have to do, who you are playing against and know their weaknesses, and know what you have to do against them. For me, personally, I’m trying to show these teams that I’m not afraid to get in there and body people. I’m not going to back down and getting stronger is also going to help me too.